Trip Report Trip report April-May LCBR, CBBR, Holiday Inn GC

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stadevene

Contributor
Messages
109
Reaction score
71
Location
Calgary
# of dives
200 - 499
Sorry I’ve been slow on posting this. I promised Kathy a review so here it is. Get comfortable as I ramble on.

Summary
April 29-May 11
5 nights Little Cayman Beach Resort (LCBR)
5 nights Cayman Brac Beach Resort (CBBR)
2 nights Holiday Inn/Grand Caymanian

We had the 3 dives/day package at each LCBR and CBBR

Dive Summary
23 total dives: 14 LC, 9 CB, we’d dried out on GC. (We did 2 extra dives on LC as the boat on CB wanted to do a day at Bloody Bay.)

Average bottom time: LC 61.5 mins, CB 58 mins
Average depth: LC 56 feet, CB 58 feet
Water temp was 83F, 28C according to the computer.

Estimated average motor distance from resort to dive sites:
LCBR 25-30 mins. You need to motor around about a third of the island from the south side to north.
CBBR 3-15 mins. We mostly dove the north side of the island but the distances are much shorter as the resort is closer to the SW tip of the island.


What’s diving like?
As sister resorts the operations are very similar. 2 morning dives and 1 afternoon for those who opted in for it. First dive in the morning was deepest and they wanted max 110 feet for 50 mins. The other dives were max bottom time of 60 mins. We were usually one of the first in the water, don’t care about going deep and like to take our time therefore we were usually towards the back of the pack on exit hence our pretty consistent 60 min times.

LCBR has 4 boats they will take out and I think CBBR has 3. LCBR was packed the time we were there as there was at least one big dive shop group. We were 14-15 on the boat for the morning dives then half that in the afternoon. At CBBR we just missed some bigger groups and the resort was mostly empty, just running a single boat with about 12-14 divers in the morning, 6-8 in the afternoon.

In general, I don’t think new divers head to the outer islands therefore you have mostly experienced divers with good buoyancy control and consumption. Even though it was a reasonably big group, I never felt like it was a cattle call or we were constantly on each other’s way.

Perhaps that was more due to how they organized the dives. In both cases the guides give you an excellent dive briefing where they draw out the site on a whiteboard identifying the topography, things they typical see, and the route the guide(s) will take. After that the pool is open and you ca follow the guide or do your own thing. At both locations there were some who did their own thing which split the group up enough.

On LCBR we were out with 2 guides who would alternate dives while one stayed on the boat. At CBBR we had 3 on the boat with 2 in the water. I don’t know if 3 on the boat was a typical setup or if we got an extra because there was only 1 boat going out. We had a little bit of an alternating crew at CBBR where we stuck with the same 2 guides at LCBR. Regardless both groups ran a good ship. Romel and Julie at LCBR were a lot of fun.

Both resorts use the same boats, good setup on both, no issues. The hardest thing to get used to was the valet service. I kept wanting to walk to my spot with my gear on instead of having them take it from me while I sat on the back. It’s a good setup and probably really good if the boat is pitching a lot.

Both resorts had very good rental gear. At both if you had gear you wanted them to put on the boat for you, you stuck it in your numbered and labeled mesh bag outside your room in the morning and they’d take it to the boat.

Favourite sites?
Hard to pick on LC, they were all really good. Anything on Bloody Bay Wall was great. If I had to pick maybe Randy’s Gazebo for the friendly grouper or Great Wall East/West for the sheer drop. I think it was Joy’s Joy which lots of little coral/rock piles along the top of the reef which were great fun to circle especially as there seemed to be hot tub like water around them.

On CB I’d pick Lighthouse Reef, not just because we were the only two on the boat that afternoon and it was right in front of the resort. We liked it because of the nice easy swim throughs and the variety of things to see. It did help it was just us and the guide so we called the pace. The Tibbetts wreck is the famous site of course and it was interesting. I had hoped for more coral growth on it but it is getting there. If you go there is a cute blenny who has made a home on the front of the port site steer gun.

Is the diving different between the islands?
When we were at LCBR we were told by some Cayman pros the reef on CB starts at a deeper depth. I’d agree to that. Our first dive site on CB (Crab Alley) the top of the reef was at 65 feet. It was our least favourite dive as you spent more time feet above the reef watching your deco limits than close to,the reef looking at stuff. On LC the top of the reef was at 20 for most of the dives so you had great light and tons to see. Other than Crab Alley, most of the other sites on CB the reef top was say 30 feet. As you can see our average bottom time was a bit longer on LC. Our CB bottom time was helped out due to a 68 min dive as there was a traffic jam exiting the boat on one dive and we just waited for the end.

Tell me about the rooms?
As you can see from pictures on google or their sites, LCBR has multiple buildings where CBBR is one large motel like building. We had a beach front room for 4 of 5 nights at LCBR. I’d spring for it again as it had more room and better amenities like a bar area with fridge, microwave, and sink plus the balcony view or on the main floor patio doors to the beach and chairs.

My memory of the standard room at LCBR is a little foggy as it was our first night there but comparing it to CBBR I’d rank it higher. The rooms are larger at LCBR, where we had a little bit of a cramped feel at CBBR. The rooms at CBBR have a doorway front and back whereas LCBR has a single door which may take up a bit of usable space. Ore noticeable is they were able to situate the AC on the back of the rooms at LCBR, beside the bathroom and further away from the beds whereas the AC is a window unit beside the beds at CBBR. There was more noise from the AC at CBBR given the location and perhaps also because of the type of AC. If you’re used to the heat and humidity you might not need the AC at all. Regardless, at both resorts the rooms were completely adequate and you weren’t spending more than sleeping time and a bit of relaxing time in them anyway.

How was the food?
Food is good in both locations but CBBR wins. CBBR seemed to have more variety and more flavourful meals. I would guess the reason is based on availability of supplies. I think LC gets one supply run a week therefore I can see the resort focusing on the essentials. Also it might be more difficult to get chefs to stay put at more sleepy LC than CB. Regardless the food was a bit more vanilla at LCBR whereas we had things like curry dishes. Desserts were great at CBBR. Also a factor in our enjoyment was likely the small number of guests at CBBR. At LCBR you needed to get in line early or you had to wait for food to be replenished where you could take your time at CBBR.

Other things
The bar at CBBR is also superior in my view. Both had great bar staff. The bar at CBBR is new and modern while the one at LCBR is more of a rustic beach feel. Things like bar fridges where you could see the options at CBBR vs drinks that were held in the back room at LCBR. Pop was not refrigerated at LCBR, but was at LCBR. LCBR wins the eco-award as they have biodegradable corn based glasses plus paper straws. The CBBR bar staff said they were in the process of converting over. Thumbs up to the resorts for going that direction.

The pool is new and huge at CBBR. Google maps/earth is not up to date, it shows the old one.

Staff at both locations were great. Super friendly. I’d happily go back to either location and would recommend both. If I had to pick just one, even though CBBR had better food, I’d go with LCBR as the dive sites were more what we like and the rooms were better. It is really close though and I’d be happy at either.

Holiday Inn on Grand Cayman
Having read some of the negatives before we went I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was great. Having a 900 sq foot 1 bedroom suite was luxury after the smaller room at CBBR. King size bed, living room, full kitchen, dining table, in suite laundry for the price has to be one of the best deals on GC.

The resort has a shuttle which will take you to various places on the island if you don’t have a car. They would leave the hotel at the top of the hour and go to the north side of seven mile beach, grocery stores, Georgetown and a couple other locations. The shuttle drivers were great guys and you’d just tell them where you’d like to go and when then arrange for a pickup time. The drivers would hand you a slip of paper with the mobile number on it in case you needed to call them. We did not feel like we needed a car. The only place the aren’t allowed to take you is the airport but they will take you to Georgetown where you can catch a cab which saves you a bunch ($30 from the hotel vs $12 from Georgetown.)

The evil road. Yes, there is a drive basically through the edges of the golf course in front of the hotel get to and from it. There are 8 speed bumps along it. _It is no big deal_. I don’t get the complaints about it. There are golf carts and golfers around, they don’t want people ripping through the roads. Seems reasonable.

All in all it was a really good trip and I can see why the islands get repeat visitors.

If you have questions just ask.
 
Thank you for your report...we stayed on LCB last year and just booked CBBR for this Jan/Feb ....I expect the recent remodeling due to hurricane damage was overdue on CBB?..any pictures?
 
Thank you for an excellent and very useful, practical compare & contrast between LCBR and CBBR (and diving betwixt islands), plus experience at Holiday Inn, which is mentioned from time to time as a budget option.

Richard.
 
@stadevene thanks for the great report and congratulations on all the beautiful pictures! @flyboy08 was talking about a Cayman trifecta the other day but you really did do a trifecta, visiting 3 islands and 3 resorts in 2 weeks! Did you fly from LC to CB or did they cruise you over?

Have you ever dived around GC? There's some very good diving there including excellent shore dives, but it is hard to beat the easy living and diving available on Brac and Little. When we are on GC we've never stayed at an all-inclusive because there are so many good options for places to eat and buy food; but the CCGCR looks like an interesting option if you want an all-inclusive with both boat and shore diving; and we know that the Clearly Cayman resorts do a good job

I really appreciated your info about the Holiday Inn GC, for years it was written off as a bit of a dump, but the recent descriptions make it sound a lot more promising - an economical option with a lot of perks. Do they have any beach at the HI, even a man-made beach? That side of the island isn't usually considered a beach destination.

I will be interested to learn about the experiences of anyone that tries out the "Cayman Expedition" offer at LCBR and CBBR in September 2018. It's not cheap but you get a lot for your money, including all meals, transfers between the 2 islands, and up to 42 dives around LC and CB including some night and dusk dives; see the link below:

2 Islands. 14 Days. 42 Dives.

Glad to hear that you had such a nice trip!
 
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I would consider staying at Cobalt Coast on GC. I dived there a few times in May and the shore diving was outstanding. Now that Reef Divers runs the dive op, that should be excellent as well.
 
I would consider staying at Cobalt Coast on GC. I dived there a few times in May and the shore diving was outstanding. Now that Reef Divers runs the dive op, that should be excellent as well.

We did some dives with RD at CC and were pleased, but we couldn't shore dive because of the winds, but it looks nice and they are working to make it even nicer.
 
@stadevene thanks for the great report and congratulations on all the beautiful pictures! @flyboy08 was talking about a Cayman trifecta the other day but you really did do a trifecta, visiting 3 islands and 3 resorts in 2 weeks! Did you fly from LC to CB or did they cruise you over?

Have you ever dived around GC?

I really appreciated your info about the Holiday Inn GC, for years it was written off as a bit of a dump, but the recent descriptions make it sound a lot more promising - an economical option with a lot of perks. Do they have any beach at the HI, even a man-made beach?

Glad to hear that you had such a nice trip!

The only thing we didn’t do in the trifecta is dive on GC. Had we spent a couple more days we might have opted for Cobalt or booked something on our own. The outer islands are more what we like though, nice and chill.

We flew over to CB. Being newbies we didn’t know that might have been an option. The flight across was fun anyway so no biggy. I think we sat on the runway waiting for Brac to clear longer than it took to fly over. Was nice to see the islands from above anyway.

HI is probably not for everything. Those wanting the 5 star experience or fancy accommodations on a great beach should look elsewhere. It’s a value place and some of the fixtures aren’t brand new, there was some chips or worn spots -much like we all have in our houses - but everything worked fine and it was extremely comfortable given the size.

There is a little beach area, probably man made as you say. We did walk out on the newly rebuilt pier one evening and looked down at the sea grass and a few rocks. I did wonder if a snorkel might be worth it but we weren’t back during the day. Wandering along seven mile was a better option.
 

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