Holiday Inn and DiveTech - Any Feedback?

[KathyV]

I have never visited the Holiday Inn on Grand Cayman but I've read comments in the past that the hotel was rather old and in need of an upgrade; but now that Divetech is the onsite dive op I am wondering if things have improved? I am curious because I believe that you are eligible to do free shore dives at Lighthouse Point while you are boat diving with Divetech, so that would really stretch your diving dollars. And I think that Lighthouse Point would be a fairly easy drive from the HI.

I know that the HI is located "off the beaten path" but their website says that they offer free shuttles to places like Camana Bay, George Town, and Seven Mile Beach - so it might be a nice place for non-divers traveling with divers, but there isn't any beach on that side of the island.

The reason I am asking is because someone (not a diver) posted on the TripAdvisor Forum that they paid $170 per night including taxes for a suite at the Holiday Inn - and he said that it was very clean. So it might be an option for someone looking for a less expensive place to stay on Grand Cayman but with easy access to a dive op and including shore diving. I'm guessing that Divetech would take them to West Bay Marina to board the boats - but I am not sure about that. I also don't know how much it would cost for a suite including a dive package at the HI; does anyone have feedback on staying at the GC Holiday Inn in conjunction with a Divetech diving package?

Here is the information that was posted on TA:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g147365-i261-k11481852-Just_returned-Grand_Cayman_Cayman_Islands.html

“…Holiday in was fine a bit dated but very clean $170 per night all taxes included for a one bedroom suite…The speed bumps were the worst part of staying at the Holiday Inn…At a $550 savings on the room the speed bumps were worth it though…”

Here are the websites for the Grand Cayman Holiday Inn and Divetech:

https://www.ihg.com/holidayinnresorts/hotels/us/en/grand-cayman/gcmhi/hoteldetail#

Scuba Diving | Grand Cayman | Divetech

 

[jdcpa]

I have stayed at that Holiday Inn about six times now when Cayman Airways exiles us by being too late coming out of Tampa to make the connection to Little. No experience with the Divetech connection.

Each time, we had a suite.

The suite rooms are nice and spacious and ours has always been quite clean. Nice rooms in my opinion. Hotel staff was nice and friendly. From a room perspective, I think it is nicer that Comfort Suites and Sunshine Suites.

The downsides to the hotel are:

The restaurant is not good at all. Have not had lunch, but breakfast and dinner are sub par. Not sure why lunch would be any better. Restaurant and bar close at 10:00 PM.

The hotel is miles from the middle of nowhere. There is absolutely nothing, not a thing around it. You can't walk to anything.

There are a substantial number of speed bumps on the road leading to the hotel. I would guess that the road to the hotel is two miles long and there are speed bumps all along ride.

I can't speak to the shuttles, I did see a sign, but did not pay it a lot of attention.

I understand that it was sold late last year and they are going to make upgrades to the hotel. I thought the rooms were fine.

I feel bad about it, the rooms are nice, the restaurant is poor and the location is awful.

Just my experience, your mileage may vary.

 

[KathyV]

I have stayed at that Holiday Inn about six times now when Cayman Airways exiles us by being too late coming out of Tampa to make the connection to Little. No experience with the Divetech connection.

Each time, we had a suite.

The suite rooms are nice and spacious and ours has always been quite clean. Nice rooms in my opinion. Hotel staff was nice and friendly. From a room perspective, I think it is nicer that Comfort Suites and Sunshine Suites.

The downsides to the hotel are:

The restaurant is not good at all. Have not had lunch, but breakfast and dinner are sub par. Not sure why lunch would be any better. Restaurant and bar close at 10:00 PM.

The hotel is miles from the middle of nowhere. There is absolutely nothing, not a thing around it. You can't walk to anything.

There are a substantial number of speed bumps on the road leading to the hotel. I would guess that the road to the hotel is two miles long and there are speed bumps all along ride.

I can't speak to the shuttles, I did see a sign, but did not pay it a lot of attention.

I understand that it was sold late last year and they are going to make upgrades to the hotel. I thought the rooms were fine.

I feel bad about it, the rooms are nice, the restaurant is poor and the location is awful.

Just my experience, your mileage may vary.

Good to hear first hand experience, thanks!

 

[scoobydrew]

Hey there Kathy, I have some info based on your post but need to state up front that I work for Divetech so consider my post accordingly.

Holiday Inn is great value for money on Grand Cayman, you will struggle to find cheaper accommodation on the island that is comparable in terms of what you pay for what you get. Th rooms are clean and safe, the business is run very professionally and there is much on site entertainment that our customers who stay there often rave about

In contrast to the previous responders review of the restaurant I actually think the food they turn out is pretty good. The food and beverage manager was replaced a year or so ago and the guy who moved from the Sunshine Suites has been there as long as we have been running out of there so I only know it to be the good standard that they strive to offer.

The location is remote in as far as it is surrounded by a golf course and you do have to drive through roads with speed bumps to get to it. Having said that, you are still a 5 minute drive away from Seven Mile Beach and a 10 minute drive from Lighthouse Point. We do offer pick ups and drop offs for any of our guests who are doing training dives with us or boat dives. We don't schedule pick up services for shore divers but if we have pick ups scheduled for the Holiday Inn and there are shore divers there who want to jump on the ride then that's fine, we just won't schedule pick ups for shore divers alone.

The shuttle does exist and is regular and efficient. Having said that, my personal view is that if I were a paying guest in the hotel I would prefer to hire a car for my stay, we actually have a deal set up with the on site rental company which enables us to offer rentals in our packages.

You are right in saying that between the cost of staying in the Holiday Inn and the complimentary shore dive packages we offer mean that it is possible to get way more bang for your buck on you Cayman dive trip if you do it this way.

I hope the above gives some further clarity, always feel free to ask for more info publicly or privately.

I hope one day to get the chance to dive with you, whatever you plans are please do let me know if you are heading our way sometime.

All the best

Drew

 

[KathyV]

Hey there Kathy, I have some info based on your post but need to state up front that I work for Divetech so consider my post accordingly.

Holiday Inn is great value for money on Grand Cayman, you will struggle to find cheaper accommodation on the island that is comparable in terms of what you pay for what you get. Th rooms are clean and safe, the business is run very professionally and there is much on site entertainment that our customers who stay there often rave about

In contrast to the previous responders review of the restaurant I actually think the food they turn out is pretty good. The food and beverage manager was replaced a year or so ago and the guy who moved from the Sunshine Suites has been there as long as we have been running out of there so I only know it to be the good standard that they strive to offer.

The location is remote in as far as it is surrounded by a golf course and you do have to drive through roads with speed bumps to get to it. Having said that, you are still a 5 minute drive away from Seven Mile Beach and a 10 minute drive from Lighthouse Point. We do offer pick ups and drop offs for any of our guests who are doing training dives with us or boat dives. We don't schedule pick up services for shore divers but if we have pick ups scheduled for the Holiday Inn and there are shore divers there who want to jump on the ride then that's fine, we just won't schedule pick ups for shore divers alone.

The shuttle does exist and is regular and efficient. Having said that, my personal view is that if I were a paying guest in the hotel I would prefer to hire a car for my stay, we actually have a deal set up with the on site rental company which enables us to offer rentals in our packages.

You are right in saying that between the cost of staying in the Holiday Inn and the complimentary shore dive packages we offer mean that it is possible to get way more bang for your buck on you Cayman dive trip if you do it this way.

I hope the above gives some further clarity, always feel free to ask for more info publicly or privately.

I hope one day to get the chance to dive with you, whatever you plans are please do let me know if you are heading our way sometime.

All the best

Drew

Thanks Drew, I love finding out about good, reasonably-priced dive vacation options in the Caymans! I am so tired of hearing that "Cayman is too expensive!" Yes, it is expensive, no surprise! Especially if you travel in the high season and stay in the popular 7MB area hotels and regularly eat at the gourmet restaurants.

But I still maintain that "sometimes you get what you pay for" and also that there are good-quality, reasonably-priced options for lodging, food, and diving in the Caymans if you will just look for them!

So thanks for sharing information about another good, lower-priced option worth checking out - the Holiday Inn and Divetech - which includes shore diving at Lighthouse Point while you are doing boat dives with them.

P.S. The jury is still out regarding the HI restaurant, since we have heard both negative and positive feedback so far - any more comments out there?

 

[scoobydrew]

No problem. Another thing to consider is that it looks like restrictions on Air BNB are being dropped so that should open up a few more reasonable options for accommodation.

 

[Alucard]

I had lunch at the Blue Iguana there a few years back and it was decent - nothing I would go out of my way for, though, compared with the other dining options on the island. The change of management might make a big difference, because it's not a bad space.

The drive to get to and from there is annoying and seems to drag on (the speed bumps are killer), but if I were a couple looking for a 1 bedroom place to do lots of diving from, at the price they offer I would certainly consider it an option. Once you get beyond one room, though, the condo route usually works out more economical, in my experience. Divetech have a deservedly (in my experience) good reputation and if they can offer shuttles for the boat dives it means that the rental car can be available for the non-divers in the group.

 

[KathyV]

I had lunch at the Blue Iguana there a few years back and it was decent - nothing I would go out of my way for, though, compared with the other dining options on the island. The change of management might make a big difference, because it's not a bad space.

The drive to get to and from there is annoying and seems to drag on (the speed bumps are killer), but if I were a couple looking for a 1 bedroom place to do lots of diving from, at the price they offer I would certainly consider it an option. Once you get beyond one room, though, the condo route usually works out more economical, in my experience. Divetech have a deservedly (in my experience) good reputation and if they can offer shuttles for the boat dives it means that the rental car can be available for the non-divers in the group.

I agree that having a condo or apartment with the ability to prepare some simple meals provides major savings in Cayman because eating out 3 times per day is very expensive; but I've noticed that the Holiday Inn offers both guest rooms and suites with full kitchens - so perhaps a suite would be a good option?
Holiday Inn Resort Grand Cayman

 

[Alucard]

The 1 bedroom King Suite looks pretty good, and it's not that much more than a regular room, for the dates that I looked (July). Definitely an option.

 

[muzikbiz22]

Stayed there last year, king 1 bedroom, and it was immaculate ! Food on premises was great. And of course, dove with Divetech. Would have no problem staying there again, however, yeah it's a bit in the middle of nowhere. Divetech is always first choice when diving on GC. Would like to check out In Depth maybe next time. As fate would have it, heading to Little Cayman this summer.