Divi Flamingo Beach Resort & Casino

Divi Flamingo Beach Resort & Casino is a waterfront diving resort, hotel and casino on Bonaire, an island in the Caribbean Netherlands. The property stands on the island's west coast in the southern part of Kralendijk, Bonaire's capital, and is close enough to the town centre for guests to reach it on foot. Its location places the resort beside the Caribbean Sea and near Calabas Reef, making marine recreation and shore-based diving central to its identity. The resort combines accommodation with a scuba-diving operation, restaurants, bars, a swimming pool and landscaped outdoor areas. Its pier functions as a practical and recreational focal point: guests can use it for sunbathing, boating, snorkeling and entry into the water for diving. Diving activities are offered with professional guidance, including day and night experiences, and the resort has a PADI-oriented diving facility. The diving operation has also been described as accessible to people with disabilities. Alongside diving, the property has promoted activities such as wine-and-dine cruises, pedal-powered bicycles, golf and tennis. The accommodation inventory has changed over time. Historical descriptions record 110 rooms in 1989, approximately 145 rooms in 2006 and 141 rooms in descriptions dating from 2013. The property includes standard rooms and about 40 suites with attached kitchens. Rooms have balconies facing either the sea or tropical gardens. The resort's visual character is associated with brightly painted exterior walls in shades including pink, ochre and cobalt blue, together with light-coloured tiled interiors and floral decorative details introduced during a major refurbishment. The site has a longer history than the Divi Flamingo name. During the Second World War, the building was used to house German internees. It was later converted into Bonaire's first hotel, known as the Zeebad. The property's subsequent development reflects Bonaire's emergence as a specialist diving destination and tourism market. By combining a hotel with a dedicated dive centre and a casino, the resort serves both marine-tourism visitors and conventional leisure travellers. The casino has been promoted as a notably informal venue because guests may enter barefoot, giving rise to the description “barefoot casino.” This positioning distinguishes it from more formal casino environments and connects the gaming facility to the resort's beach and diving atmosphere. The available reference material does not identify the property's current ownership, financial performance, executive leadership or a detailed sequence of later renovations. Divi Resorts' headquarters has been associated with Chapel Hill, North Carolina, while the resort itself is located in Kralendijk, Bonaire.

The property occupies a site with both wartime and tourism history. During the Second World War, the building was used to house German prisoners who had been interned on Bonaire. After the war, the structure was converted into Bonaire's first hotel, which operated under the name Zeebad. This earlier hotel established the site as a lodging location before Bonaire developed its modern reputation as an international diving destination. The later Divi Flamingo resort developed around the combination of accommodation, waterfront access and marine recreation. Its position on the west coast of Bonaire, close to central Kralendijk, provides direct access to the sea and to Calabas Reef. The beach in front of the property is relatively small, but the pier extends the resort's usable waterfront and supports swimming, sunbathing, snorkeling, boating and shore-based diving. This arrangement has helped make the property a recognizable base for visitors interested in Bonaire's reefs. The resort's room count changed across the historical descriptions available for the property. In 1989 it was reported to have 110 rooms. By 2006, accounts described approximately 145 rooms, a large swimming pool and landscaped gardens. Descriptions from 2013 recorded 141 rooms. The accommodation includes standard rooms as well as roughly 40 suites with attached kitchens. Balconies overlook either the sea or tropical gardens, giving the room stock a strong connection to the surrounding landscape. A refurbishment in 2001 refreshed the interiors with brightly coloured rooms, white tile flooring and floral design elements. The exterior is characterized by vivid pink, ochre and cobalt-blue surfaces, a visual style consistent with the informal and tropical character associated with the resort. The grounds include a swimming pool, gardens, restaurants and bars, allowing the property to function as a self-contained leisure destination while remaining within walking distance of Kralendijk's urban centre. Diving is the resort's principal specialist feature. The property has a fully equipped dive facility associated with PADI training and provides professionally guided diving during both daytime and nighttime. Its facilities have been described as accessible to disabled divers. Snorkeling and diving can be undertaken from the pier, reducing the need for boat transport for some activities. Other recreational offerings mentioned in descriptions of the property include wine-and-dine cruises, pedal-powered bicycles, golf and tennis. The casino adds a second distinctive element to the resort's identity. It has been described as a “barefoot casino,” reflecting an informal policy or atmosphere in which visitors can approach the gaming venue without conventional formal footwear. Rather than presenting itself solely as a gaming destination, the casino is integrated into a broader resort experience based on diving, beach access, dining and casual Caribbean leisure. The available material identifies the resort as part of the Divi Resorts network but does not provide a confirmed founding year for the Divi Flamingo name, current ownership details, financial information, current executive roster or a verified official website. The historical record supports its development from the former Zeebad hotel into a combined diving resort, hotel and casino, but later operational changes cannot be established from the supplied sources.

• 2013

  Room inventory described as 141 rooms

  [1]Divi Flamingo Beach Resort & Casinoen.wikipedia.org

  Later reference material described the resort as having 141 rooms, including approximately 40 suites with attached kitchens.

• 2006

  Expanded resort description

  [1]Divi Flamingo Beach Resort & Casinoen.wikipedia.org

  Descriptions from this period recorded approximately 145 rooms, a large swimming pool and landscaped gardens.

• 2001

  Major refurbishment

  [1]Divi Flamingo Beach Resort & Casinoen.wikipedia.org

  The resort underwent refurbishment that introduced brightly coloured rooms, white tile flooring and floral decorative elements.

• 1989

  Historical room inventory recorded at 110 rooms

  [1]Divi Flamingo Beach Resort & Casinoen.wikipedia.org

  A historical description of the property reported an accommodation inventory of 110 rooms.

• Former wartime internment facility becomes Zeebad hotel

  [1]Divi Flamingo Beach Resort & Casinoen.wikipedia.org

  The building was used during the Second World War to house German internees and was later converted into Bonaire's first hotel, operating as the Zeebad.

A relaxed, activity-led Caribbean resort centered on Bonaire's diving environment, with integrated hotel accommodation, marine recreation, dining and an informal barefoot casino.

• Accommodation

  Hotel rooms

  The resort offers standard guest rooms with balconies oriented toward either the sea or tropical gardens. Historical descriptions place the total room inventory at 110 in 1989, around 145 in 2006 and 141 in 2013, indicating that the configuration has changed over time.

• Accommodation

  Suites with kitchens

  Approximately 40 suites are described as having attached kitchens. These units extend the resort's accommodation beyond conventional hotel rooms and are suited to guests seeking additional self-catering space during a longer leisure stay.

• Marine recreation

  Scuba-diving centre

  The resort includes a fully equipped diving facility associated with PADI instruction and professionally guided dives. Diving and snorkeling can be accessed from the pier, with both daytime and nighttime guided experiences described in reference material. The facility has also been characterized as accessible to disabled divers.

• Gaming and entertainment

  Casino

  The casino is integrated into the hotel and resort grounds. Its informal, beach-oriented identity is captured by the description “barefoot casino,” referring to the ability or expectation that guests may approach it casually rather than in formal resort attire.

• Hospitality and leisure

  Dining and resort activities

  Supporting amenities include restaurants, bars, a swimming pool and landscaped gardens. Activities mentioned in descriptions of the property include wine-and-dine cruises, pedal-powered bicycles, golf and tennis, complementing the resort's principal diving offer.

1. 1Divi Flamingo Beach Resort & Casinoen.wikipedia.org