reef resort GC

[janeandjay]

Doesn't anyone have anything to say about the reef resort on the east side of grand cayman? I am finding it difficult to find anything anywhere about it.
So far, we are planning on diving on the west side on Sun. and Mon. due to the fewer cruise ships on those days and then we'll dive with Ocean Frontiers for the rest of the week. All the while staying at the reef resort. We are going for a week beginning Oct. 25th and still have time to cancel/book elsewhere. We want to see and do the most of Grand Cayman yet still have time to relax. Any comments would be appreciated.

Happy Diving,
Jane

 

[Drew Sailbum]

It's one of the two large resorts in Colliers on East End, and located next door to Morritt's. Both are nice resorts on a very quiet part of the island.

First, you must rent a car. One way taxi fare to/from the airport can easily be more than the cost of renting a car for the day.

Pick up some groceries in Georgetown before driving out to Royal Reef. There is a small market, Lil' Hurley's, in East End for essentials, but selection is limited.

Diving East End is with Ocean Frontiers in Sand Bluff, Cayman Dive Lodge in East End village, or Tortuga Divers in Colliers. Sand Bluff is about 3 miles from Royal Reef. East End village is about 4 miles. TD is next door in Colliers.

Diving the west side is easiest when cruise ships are not in town. Relax and enjoy East End on other days.

 

[janeandjay]

Thanks Drew. Your posts have been very helpful for planning our trip. We have a car arranged. What times of the day is rush hour at its worst? We would like to avoid it. Does it happen on Sundays too?
Has anyone stayed at the Reef Resort and have comments about the rooms/property?

 

[Drew Sailbum]

Morning rush hour is bad from around 7:15am to about 9:00am. A bit spread out, and not usually as bad as the evening.

Evening can back up from near the airport to Grand Harbor (Big Hurley's). The last time I got stuck in that, it took about an hour to go a mile! Bad time is about 4:45pm-5:30pm.

 

[caymancase]

Drew summed it up... but there is no rush hour on Saturdays or Sundays... banks and many businesses are closed on the weekends which means no traffic.
Also, the cruise ship activity really does not affect your diving on the West Side or North Side... that is, unless you're on a dive boat full of 40 cruise ship folks You're doing your homework, so that won't happen.
I have had a few folks diving with us that have stayed at Royal Reef. They seemed to like it there. Sorry, no details.

 

[diveski01]

My sig other and I just spent a glorious week staying at the Royal Reef Resort and diving with Ocean Frontiers. OF put together an AWESOME package deal for us and even made arrangements for a rental car w/ discount.

At first we thought the studio room would be too cramped for a week of diving so we booked a 1BR suite. It was HUGE and very nicely appointed! We took a peak at the smaller unit and it was also very spacious and very well appointed. It would have been just fine for us. There is a series of lovely pools and a hot tub and the beach is well kept. Concierge and all other staffers were top-notch!

The restaurant at RR never seemed to be open when we wanted a meal, but with a full-service eatery at Morritt's Tortuga Club next door we didn't have any difficulties getting fed With a full kitchen we were able to have a couple of quiet dinners "at home". Portofino's is a very nice place for a sumptuous dinner and only a few minutes away.

OF runs a really excellent dive operation and I highly recommend them to any level of diver. I've heard only good things about Tortuga Divers on-site at Morritt's but haven't any first hand experience with them.

We spent our mornings on the dive boat then spent a few relaxing afternoons at Rum Point. You can take the ferry to Seven Mile Beach if dodging hordes of tourists is your idea of a good time. Actually it's not that bad, we were just in a VERY laid-back mood. We got in 10 dives, including Sting Ray City and a night dive and had 2 full days to do "other things" (like call US Airways every 2 hours for 3 days, but that's another story).

We were able to drive around the entire island before our early afternoon flight. One thing we might have done, but didn't get around to, is the submarines. That looked like it would be a fun non-diving activity.

 

[divebag]

the reef resort is an excellent place. new, clean, well kept, good and responsive staff. nice beach, decent(not great) snorkelling. i was just there last week and had a blast. we dove with both ocean frontiers and tortuga divers at morrit's resort next door. both are excellent operators and had great divemasters and nice boats (up to 12 people). make sure to make dive reservations ahead of time as the boats were completely booked (early august).

the location of the reef resort is on the far east end. great for getting away and being lazy. not many people at the bar or beach or pools. good for hanging out on your balcony and relaxing or reading a book. not a lot else to do on site. restaraunt is good, but not many people eating there. restaraunt is not open early enough to eat before a morning dive. take breakfast food and buy coffee for your room. the one bedroom suites are great because they have a full kitchen.

nightlife, shopping, activities, shore diving, ect. are about an hour away (sometimes longer) in the 7-mile beach area. if you want a lot of activity and action stay in that area.

on the east end, it makes for a long day if you want to dive in a.m., have lunch, then go to georgetown or 7 mile beach, have fun, drive back, then dive the next day. (too much road time)

eating establishments within walking distance include the resort restaraunt, the restaraunt next door at morrits resort and your room. we never ate in our room. evening meals would cost up to $100 per person if you want something nice. must have car (no taxis around) to get to other restaraunts such as portofinos or the edge -15min to 20min drives.

hope this helps

 

[janeandjay]

Yeah! thanks. finally there are a couple of reports about the resort itself. We are staying in a studio so it should be good for breakfast, qickie lunches, and simple/casual dinners in. Doesn't sound like we would benefit much from the uprgrade to 1bdrm. Any favorite dives we should request from OF?
What were typical daily max depths? We are considering doing some morning AND afternoon 2 tank dives with OF...worried about being too deep too much.
Thanks for all the responses on this thread,
Jane and Jay

 

[kywash]

Jane

My husband and I stayed at the Reef Resort at the beginning of June. We were in a studio room and it was ideal, plenty big enough and as you're diving with OF they will keep all your kit so you don't need to worry about having extra room at your resort to allow your stuff to dry.

I'm not sure if it's a culture thing but we found the welcome breakfast hilarious - so cheesy and very much focused on "owners" but it is free breakfast.

We didn't really eat in the room as it only has a fridge and, as far as I remember, a microwave so it limits what you can cook. Also we're foodies so liked to try different places every night (recommendations are Portofinos, the Lighthouse, Rum Point - Morritts is also good for lunch and there are some great restaurants on the west end).

The hot tub is HOT - but you can have the one in your room any temperature you want and much more private!

As for OF, I'd recommend their three tank safari where you're out most of the day. My husband dived morning and afternoon with them and didn't have a problem with depth. On normal two tank dives the first dive is usually around 30m and the second dive would be around 20m (I think that might be 120ft and then 80ft but I don't really work in feet and all my gauges are in metres so I'm guessing now!)

We considered diving the west end as we were staying on that side of the island for a week too, however we felt so comfortable with OF that we continued to dive with them on the east end instead, the good thing was it meant we were driving against the morning rush hour traffic.

As for favourite dives, hmm, snapper hole, andy's wall, cinderellas castle, shark alley can't remember the others without my log book. They were all great so go with the flow (OF do their best to ensure you don't dive the same site twice, unless you really want to)

Have a great time.

 

[Zippsy]

Based solely on my only trip to GC in 2001 and tons of research on this website and others, there are only two shops I would dive with when I return:

East End: Tortuga Divers http://redsailcayman.com/
West End: Neptune Divers http://www.neptunesdivers.com/

I don't want to dive with a crowd. Beyond that, lots of shops there are very similar. The difference is service and the people at these shops are the ones that impress me the most.

And - no, this is not a paid advert and I didn't get paid for saying it either!!