where to stay advice

[Scotttyd]

This is not a dive trip - my girlfriend does not dive, but I would like to get a dive or two in - so I don't need advice on diving and where to dive.

I have only been to the Caymans one a cruise ship, and am looking at a last minute trip the second week of February since I saw some good flight deals (~400 from Raleigh). I am not sure where to stay, as I do not know the layout of the island. What I am looking for - something nice, but not crazy expensive. Below 175 a night (is this possible?). On the beach a must (or at the very least a very short walk. Nice pool. I would like to be able to walk to restaurants and a grocery store (if hotel is not all-inclusive - don't know how popular those are in GC). I would like something that is near activities, kayak, water sports, and night life.

How expensive is GC overall? I would like to keep around $400 a day total expenses. Is this possible?
The trip will be me and my gilrfriend. I like seeing the "local" island, but also not having to worry about safety. We went to barbados and enjoyed it, but wish we had more relaxing and easy access to things.



Thanks in advance.

 

[diversteve]

Grand Cayman is very expensive - especially in high season in the winter. It's probably the 2nd most expensive dive location I've been to - tied with Turks/Caicos.

But if you're careful, it's possible. $400 should be doable - food is a big part of the expense, a good meal at a waterfront restaurant runs $40-50pp. The CI$ is fixed at .80 to the US$ so everything is 20% more. There's also U.S. chains - BK, Dominos, Subway, the Hard Rock and Margaritaville downtown - as options. There's also some decent mid-range local dining options - Chicken Chicken is one often mentioned. My Bar at Sunset House for lunch - it's a good shore dive also. Food options in all price ranges: http://www.caymangoodtaste.com/

Fosters is the grocery chain there - they have a website showing their locations. Store Locations « Foster's Food Fair Food in the markets is also high as would be expected where everything is imported.

The two AI resorts, Sunset House or Cobalt Coast - probably aren't what you want - both are semi-isolated, there's no beach at SH and the beach at CC has ironshore between it and the water's edge. CC is in a quiet residential neighborhood on the far north side - there's really not much nearby. Since you don't seem to be likely to stay at the AI all week, you'd need a car. You could walk to south Georgetown from SH.

Someplace like the Westin or Marriott - on the beach - is going to be in the ballpark of $450/nt in February. So you want to stay off of - but near the beach if possible. Two options:

Comfort Suites is an all suite hotel - just remodeled in Nov. It's set back from the beach slightly - there's condos? in front of it. It's a 50yd. walk to the beach and they have a path for access. There's a few dining options within walking distance - including the Wharf where they feed the Tarpon at night and it's a short ride to downtown. Ambassador Divers is on-site. It should be in the $200 & up range in Feb. - some of the bigger suites also have better cooking options. Welcome to Comfort Suites & Resort

Sunshine Suites is a little farther north across from the Ritz Carlton. It's on the opposite side of West Bay Road so about 200 yards to the water. There's a lot of dining/shops in that area - many within walking distance. It also borders the only golf course there. Should also be in the $200 ballpark - I don't know a lot about it - it was there in 2003 the first time we visited. Sunshine Suites Resort

You could possibly also rent a small condo. VRBO® is Vacation Rentals By Owner lists some 1 bedrooms in all price ranges. The ones that have an ocean view - instead of ocean front - are often cheaper even in the same complex. They'll mostly be in the $300+ range though - winter rates.

Anything on the north side/Rum Point area will require a car as it's a hour drive from there to anything. Same with anything on the East End - Compass Point is one option out there but plan on 45mins. to town, the airport or most of the restaurants.

If you needed a car - Andy's Rental is just across the street from Comfort Suites. If you stay elsewhere, they'll pick you up if you only wanted it for a couple of days. Also there is reliable bus service up and down West Bay road - the road that borders Seven Mile Beach. http://www.grandcayman4u.com/transport/buses.htm

hth, I did a lot of planning for a group trip last year (that fell apart) so this info should be current. We had planned to do some cooking also - and share condos to save money.

Given that it's the offshore banking capital of the Caribbean, I don't think there's much crime there. None that we noticed. And it's really clean - everywhere...

 

[LiquidDivingAdventure]

diversteve recommended Comfort Suites but I personally would not recommend that hotel, especially having stayed there. When we were there they were in construction as diversteve noted but that was not our problem. The hotel seemed to be filled with transient off-island construction workers. Nothing bad about that as I have done that myself many times. But the hotel is not the kind of place I would stay on a vacation to Grand Cayman. For an overnight between flights to the sister islands, maybe, but for a vacation, not a chance. However, with a limited budget, it may be an option.

There are the Marriott and Westin, the big chains and again not my idea of a Caymankind vacation and they probably exceed your budget. Cobalt Coast does have a little beach and for folks staying there or Compass Point, I usually recommend a rental car. You might look at the Turtle Nest Inn.

 

[BUDMANOK]

shangri-la B&B in WestBay is very nice. it's not on the beach but it's about ten minutes from some very nice beaches and SMB is close.

you would have to rent a car but at around $140 per night with breakfast it's a good deal.

 

[diversteve]

diversteve recommended Comfort Suites but I personally would not recommend that hotel, especially having stayed there. When we were there they were in construction as diversteve noted but that was not our problem. The hotel seemed to be filled with transient off-island construction workers. Nothing bad about that as I have done that myself many times. But the hotel is not the kind of place I would stay on a vacation to Grand Cayman. For an overnight between flights to the sister islands, maybe, but for a vacation, not a chance. However, with a limited budget, it may be an option.

There are the Marriott and Westin, the big chains and again not my idea of a Caymankind vacation and they probably exceed your budget. Cobalt Coast does have a little beach and for folks staying there or Compass Point, I usually recommend a rental car. You might look at the Turtle Nest Inn.

Just to clarify, I wasn't recommending Comfort Suites - just offering options available near the requested price.

Turtle Nest Inn is in Bodden Town on the south shore. It's not really near much of anything. To dive you'd have to drive back to town or out to Ocean Frontiers at Compass Point on the East End. For most dining also afaik.

Since

On the beach a must (or at the very least a very short walk. Nice pool.

are the important factors you should probably focus on the SMB area.

One other inexpensive place I just remembered - Treasure Island rents some of their rooms for around $150 daily. We rented a condo next door once - there's 2-3 restaurants nearby but we found ourselves driving to most things from there. It was trashed in the 04' hurricane and didn't seem in that great of shape in 2003. The beach was a little rough - mixed ironshore - but the condo residents put in a breakwater recently so it might be in better shape now. Big pool area.

From Travelocity:

Treasure Island rooms come nicely appointed with the following features armoire and television with digital cable, desk, dining table and chairs, kitchenette with cook-top, microwave and refrigerator, private decks. Our rooms come in a variety of bed configurations including queen plus daybed, king, 2 queens and 2 doubles. Originally constructed in the 1980s, this 280 room resort was ravaged by hurricane Ivan in 2004 and rescued from an otherwise uncertain future in 2006 by developers. The majority of our units are reserved for extended-stay, corporate guests. However, we have made 50 rooms available for short-stays. Once you are the guest of an apartment community rather than a traditional short-stay resort, you will enjoy genuine, casual hospitality not to mention the best per-night rates on island. After all, you have come to experience our beautiful island-not a hotel. Spoil YOURSELF in our beautiful waters, incredible restaurants and fun nightlife.

 

[Alucard]

On the beach (which usually means Seven Mile Beach) in the middle of February (peak season) and close to everything at less than $175 a night might be a challenge, and you may well be disappointed at the quality of the place. If you go with a condo that has a kitchen you can keep your costs down a little by visiting Fosters or bringing some smaller occasional items with you for breakfast and lunch (we bring coffee and sugar, for example - others bring other things, depending on their tastes and need). By having a rental car (and it's worth shopping around the airport rental companies - two weeks ago when we were there Hertz was cheaper than Andy's) you can easily get to the supermarkets, shore dive locations, and see the island. When it comes to areas, you do do West Bay Road (which is the road behind Seven Mile Beach), where you would cross the road to get to the beach - there are many public beach access walk-throughs and no "private" beaches, or up in West Bay, which isn't directly on the beach, but a short drive from them. West Bay will more than likely be quite a bit cheaper, but I'm not sure whether there are many 1 bedroom condos up there. VRBO.Com would give you that information.

Given what you want, I wouldn't stay on the south shore or up around on the East End or North shore - those are too far away from the things that it sounds like you want to have close-by.

We normally stay in West Bay and spend plenty of time outside at the condo or on Seven Mile Beach..

Hope this helps.

Hope this helps.

 

[releck97]

Eat in and enjoy the tranquil side of the island, along with the best diving - Ocean Frontiers and stay at Morritt's Tortuga Club. There are still restaurants within a short distance (on site, next door and within a 10 mile drive). We're staying on the beach there for $750.00 for the week plus electricity and tax. We eat breakfast and dinner in and will grab lunch out. Try renting from owners here: Morritts Tortuga and Grand Resorts Forum :: View Forum - Rentals and Resales

 

[billinwilliamston]

Eat in and enjoy the tranquil side of the island, along with the best diving - Ocean Frontiers and stay at Morritt's Tortuga Club. There are still restaurants within a short distance (on site, next door and within a 10 mile drive). We're staying on the beach there for $750.00 for the week plus electricity and tax. We eat breakfast and dinner in and will grab lunch out. Try renting from owners here: Morritts Tortuga and Grand Resorts Forum :: View Forum - Rentals and Resales

I was going to post something similar. As releck97 said, you can get a one bedroom with a full kitchen for about $750/wk or a two bedroom, two or three bath with a full kitchen for a little over $1,000/wk. It's a long way to town (45 minute drive), but being able to eat in can really stretch the budget. The beach, while small, is nice and the snorkeling is good, especially under the dock. There is a small grocery store within easy walking distance. The link that releck97 posted is for the owners' forum (which is the place to get a rental), the link for the resort itself is:http://www.morritts.com/

 

[Alucard]

I think a lot of this depends on the "night life" that the OP wants to be close to. Morritts is quite a drive away from what I would refer to as nightlife on the island - as you said, it's "tranquil", which wasn't on the list of requirements - quite the opposite...

 

[Damselfish]

You can often find decently priced flights to Grand Cayman (also to Turks and Caicos - another expensive destination.) But it's easy to spend way more than your savings on everything else.

Other than finding good flight deals, why is it you want to go there? It's not really a dive trip. You're on a budget. You prefer nice, on the beach, maybe AI, or restaurants and groceries within walking distance. And "near activities, kayak, water sports, and night life." This list together screams to me "not Grand Cayman." Sure there are ways to save lots on a trip to GC, and you should be able to do a trip within in your budget, but you will make compromises all over the place. Thing is, for what I'm not sure - IMO it's not all that interesting an island compared to other places, especially if you're not there to dive. (Or really want a 1st world travel experience that doesn't feel like you left the US.) You might be better off spending more on flights to someplace else, and wind up with a smaller bottom line or more of what you want, or very possibly both.