Diver hubby and I stayed at Sunset House from 3/15 to 3/22. I'm late on this report as I'm in job hunting mode and just accepted a new position today. I should start by explaining I'm the non-diver in the family.
Overall, Sunset House is in excellent shape. Diver hubby did six days of 2 tank morning dives with no problem. Shore diving was fine, although we hit a couple days of windy, choppy weather that prevented it. At the time, he was on Red Sail Sports boats due to SH boats being in for maintenance, but only on one day was he combined with Red Sail divers, and they were a group of college students on Spring Break from Tennessee who were great, and we had had delightful conversation with them at Decker's restaurant one evening (meeting up completely by accident). Hubby reports the reefs overall were in as good a shape as he can ever remember, and he enjoyed the diving throughly (16 dives total in a one week trip). The mermaid is as lovely as ever, by his report. For me, the snorkeler, you can tell there is shallow damage to the reef at the resort, but the fish and sealife are as plentiful as before, and I can't complain.
We tend to stick to the Sunset House/Georgetown area by preference. Downtown Georgetown doesn't look much different from our trip in 11/03--aside from the new Kirk/Freeport mall, and most restaurants, save a few that were lost or heavily damaged
(Smuggler's Cove, The Tree House) are up and running. "My Bar" at Sunset House is fully functional again as of 3/13, and God Bless, they got their Stingray Beer taps back only a couple of days later!!! We only ventured into the 7 Mile Beach area when we went to Deckers, and damage is more evident there. You can see where the condos were hit heavily, and the Hyatt, much to Grand Cayman's displeasure, has only opened up the primo expensive beachfront portion of the resort and will not open the olde portion across the road until 2006. We didn't hit some of the tourist spots such as the Turtle Farm having gone there before, but most, if not open, are on the road to recovery. Cruise ship traffic is pretty much back to normal and hectic as usual on certain days.
It was the usual marvelous vacation we always have down there, although some sights were heartbreaking. A few old, classic houses near Sunset House were damaged heavily, and we both mourn the passing of the Seaview Resort. Many happy hours in the past were spent at the Naked Fish restaurant, and the chance of such a wonderful and charming, old-style place coming back are pretty much negligible; HOWEVER, Grand Cayman is definitely more than on the mend and WORTH THE TRIP. We had a wonderful time and plan to go back ASAP to Sunset House and our favorite island.
Best,
Yaz
Overall, Sunset House is in excellent shape. Diver hubby did six days of 2 tank morning dives with no problem. Shore diving was fine, although we hit a couple days of windy, choppy weather that prevented it. At the time, he was on Red Sail Sports boats due to SH boats being in for maintenance, but only on one day was he combined with Red Sail divers, and they were a group of college students on Spring Break from Tennessee who were great, and we had had delightful conversation with them at Decker's restaurant one evening (meeting up completely by accident). Hubby reports the reefs overall were in as good a shape as he can ever remember, and he enjoyed the diving throughly (16 dives total in a one week trip). The mermaid is as lovely as ever, by his report. For me, the snorkeler, you can tell there is shallow damage to the reef at the resort, but the fish and sealife are as plentiful as before, and I can't complain.
We tend to stick to the Sunset House/Georgetown area by preference. Downtown Georgetown doesn't look much different from our trip in 11/03--aside from the new Kirk/Freeport mall, and most restaurants, save a few that were lost or heavily damaged
(Smuggler's Cove, The Tree House) are up and running. "My Bar" at Sunset House is fully functional again as of 3/13, and God Bless, they got their Stingray Beer taps back only a couple of days later!!! We only ventured into the 7 Mile Beach area when we went to Deckers, and damage is more evident there. You can see where the condos were hit heavily, and the Hyatt, much to Grand Cayman's displeasure, has only opened up the primo expensive beachfront portion of the resort and will not open the olde portion across the road until 2006. We didn't hit some of the tourist spots such as the Turtle Farm having gone there before, but most, if not open, are on the road to recovery. Cruise ship traffic is pretty much back to normal and hectic as usual on certain days.
It was the usual marvelous vacation we always have down there, although some sights were heartbreaking. A few old, classic houses near Sunset House were damaged heavily, and we both mourn the passing of the Seaview Resort. Many happy hours in the past were spent at the Naked Fish restaurant, and the chance of such a wonderful and charming, old-style place coming back are pretty much negligible; HOWEVER, Grand Cayman is definitely more than on the mend and WORTH THE TRIP. We had a wonderful time and plan to go back ASAP to Sunset House and our favorite island.
Best,
Yaz
