Great cigar lounges in the Caribbean are more of a rarity than you might think. You can find a few in places like St Kitts and Puerto Rico or Curacao, places that feel like your own private club, where the premium rum flows and the habanos are plentiful. 

That’s what makes the Caribbean’s newest cigar lounge just so special: the new La Casa del Habano Bonaire. 

The stunning new lounge, set right at the water’s edge in downtown Kralendik, is as good as a lounge as you’ll find in the Caribbean or beyond — with a sleek, upscale feel, a sweeping, well-stocked humidor (something that is also a rarity these days), and an impressive selection of premium aged rums from across the wider Caribbean. 

The puro selection is on point, from favorites like Montecristo and Cohiba to a range of Bolivar and Hoyo de Monterrey, along with a great selection of special La Casa del Habano editions. 

It’s the brainchild of entrepreneur Steven Van Buren, who opened the Kandela lounge, and later the Casa del Habano, in Curacao, and has taken his unique brand of upscale cigar bar to Bonaire. 

As with all the best cigar lounges, this is a place where you immediately feel at home, a place that becomes your private club for an hour or a day, and where the emphasis is the enjoyment of artisanal products. 

It’s one of the best Casa del Habano outposts we’ve been to in quite a while, and a major new addition to the gourmet landscape in Bonaire. 

And then there’s the location, just across the way from the Caribbean Sea, meaning when you’re sitting in one of the endlessly comfortable lounge chairs and look out the floor to ceiling windows, all you see is the turquoise water of Bonaire. Whether you’re in Bonaire for a weeklong vacation or just visiting in Kralendijk on a cruise, this is an essential stop.

It’s a true luxury oasis.