posted 08-09-2004 13:32               

I am hoping to get an exchange for a 2 bedroom for 2005/2006 at one of the resorts via SFX. I am more interested in a nice pool and great beach since we wont be in our room much but we would want a 2 bedroom since they are friends not family.

Which resort would be nicer the Morritts Tortuga, Morritts Grand, Ggrand Caymanian or the Plantation Village? I plan to put a request in and hope that one comes available, I was thinking between Nov.(2005)and Feb.(2006)with the exception of major holidays.

I noticed the Plantation Village includes some non-motorized watersports for anyone who stays there.. do other resorts also offer this?

Is there a lot to do in the Caymens?

TIA,

Susan

posted 08-09-2004 14:10               

quote:

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Originally posted by rsonc:
What is the best time of the year to go to the Grand Caymens? I would only want to go when the weather was nice around mid 80's and the water warm. Do they get hurricans??

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The air temperature doesn't change all that much but it is hotter in the summer months than in the winter. Hurrican season (although unlikely to really impact on you) peaks in Sept/Oct.

For mid 80's I'd suggest April/May/November.

quote:

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I am hoping to get an exchange for a 2 bedroom for 2005/2006 at one of the resorts via SFX. I am more interested in a nice pool and great beach since we wont be in our room much but we would want a 2 bedroom since they are friends not family.

Which resort would be nicer the Morritts Tortuga, Morritts Grand, Ggrand Caymanian or the Plantation Village? I plan to put a request in and hope that one comes available, I was thinking between Nov.(2005)and Feb.(2006)with the exception of major holidays.

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If you want to swim off the beach stay away from the Grand Caymanian as the shoreline has plenty of ironstone and it is on the North Sound.

Morritts Grand would be the nicest of the ones you've listed and it's probably a toss up between the other two as to which is next on the list. Plantation Village is on Seven Mile Beach and Morritts is on the East End. The East End is too remote for some but is wonderfully relaxing for others - it's a matter of what's more important to you. I always say that if you want tourism stay on Seven Mile Beach and if you want to relax stay on the East End.

quote:

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I noticed the Plantation Village includes some non-motorized watersports for anyone who stays there.. do other resorts also offer this?

Is there a lot to do in the Caymens?

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Non-motorized watersports - depends on the resort (I'm never completely sure what they mean by that - dea kayaks are available but there may be a fee)

Things to do - Again, it all depends on what you are looking for - if you want night life and casinos Grand Cayman is not for you. If you love watersports, particularly diving and snorkeling it's great!

Perhaps if you can provide a bit more detail on what exactly you want to do you will get more information.

posted 08-09-2004 14:37               

We normally stay at all inclusives in Mexico and like all the activities that the resort offers, the 2 times we didn't stay at an all inclusive the hotel was dead by 8pm and we got bored.

Also do you need to get certified before you can go diving?

Thanks
Susan

posted 08-09-2004 16:18               

You do not have to be certified to dive, but.....

Most resorts, like Morritts, have pool sessions where you get the basics and then they will take you out on a relatively shallow dive ~30 feet or less.

To do anything more you really need to be certified for your own safety.

Cheers,

posted 08-09-2004 18:13               

------------------
Wisdom doesn't always come with age....
sometimes age comes alone.

posted 08-10-2004 05:26               

You will have a tough time with the evenings though - The Reef has the Barefoot Man on Tues. and Thurs. and Morritts seems to have quite a bit of activities going on, there's Rum Point and Kaibo but it's generally very quiet on the East End.

Having said that it's not as if Seven Mile Beach is rockin' either - there are a couple of bars you can go to like the Lone Star and a few other places that locals go to but all in all it's quiet. It's not Cancun that's for sure.

I'd agree that The Reef is superb but I'm biased because I own there. It trades with II and the code is RYG.

Don't plan on diving unless you are either certified or taking a certification course - most dive operations on the island are very safety oriented. You can do your practice and pool dives at home and finish your Open Water course on the island if that's appealing to you. The best part of Cayman (IMHO) is below the water line and off the East End.

Be forewarned though - a trade into The Reef is very difficult.

posted 08-12-2004 12:40               

This was only a minor storm though (in its impact) and our reef (hence the name of the resort) protected us.

I have been very pleased to read the kind words about The Reef in this thread, so I thought those posters would like to read the following about what happened after the storm passed.....

Hurricane Charley passed close by The Reef this morning (Thursday August 12th), but apart from the frazzled nerves from waiting for the storm, there was no significant damage.

The beach, however, was quite a mess of flotsam, jetsam, and sand was everywhere, including in the pools.

With a shortage of staff this morning (as they had their own homes to tend to, and the island still being on Hurricane alert), an amazing thing happened….. our guests, ready to get out and release some energy, started to clean up the beach themselves….. within an hour or so almost every guest was out on the beach as a mass clean up squad !

Not used to such a huge volunteer staff, we quickly ran out of brooms, buckets etc, so guests from 2 to (at least!) 72 years old used anything they could find to clean up.

The atmosphere is…. festive, ebullient, celebratory, convivial, I run out of adjectives, but it is a moving experience, both literally and figuratively.

It is now about 2pm and the beach is immaculate…… now we are going to have quite the party tonight with Barefoot Man leading the party !

We can’t promise you an experience like this on your next visit to The Reef, but this is certainly the type of thing that makes The Reef (and our guests!) very special.

Oh, and yes, exchanges in here are very difficult... pretty much all owners or renters here

posted 08-12-2004 21:19               

I have Morritt's on hold for 2006, can anyone give me a best guess at how much you should budget for food and drinks for 2 for a week. We are not into fancy resturants and like to have a couple of drinks with dinner. I am just looking for guess or if anyone stayed there how much they spent for the week.

TIA,

posted 08-13-2004 04:41               

For a nice meal at say the Lighthouse it's going to run you 150+CI with one bottle of wine (1 CI = $1.25US);

The BBQ at the Driftwood on Sunday afternoon is 10CI per person plus drinks - $6US for a beer (I think);

The BBQ at Castro's on Monday is 20CI per person plus $30CI for a nice bottle of wine;

Portofino is going to run you 80-100CI

Average price of a cocktail is 6CI, beer 4CI and wine is all over the map depending which bottle you pick.

quote:

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Originally posted by rsonc:
How expensive is the food.. my husband just told me he doesn't want us to cook very much and wants to eat out for most meals.

We are not into fancy resturants and like to have a couple of drinks with dinner.

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posted 08-13-2004 05:08               

There is only one airport on the island, so that is no problem. From where you are I would imagine you could fly out of Miami,
Houston, DFW, or Atlanta.

Up here in MSP its NWA so these types of decisions are easy!

Cheers,

posted 08-13-2004 15:40               

Now, just waiting for May.

I would like to know if anyone has information on which car rental company to use and how far in advance I should book a rental.

posted 08-13-2004 18:18               

quote:

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Originally posted by Heron:
Tom,

Just wanted to say that as an owner I thought it was a very classy move on The Reef's part to email all of us about what happened - I had been trying to get updates about the impact on the island all day with little timely information so your message was a welcome relief.

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Grand Cayman Weather Reports:

The Morritt's (MTC and MGR) forums have hour by hour reports and pictures of the storms effect on the resort and various parts of the island. Includes before, during and after the storm reports. Go to:
' http://www.morrittproperties.com/forums/ ' and checkout the Cayman Corner Forum.
Includes info on the resort staff and guests.

posted 08-17-2004 11:34               

MZ - I would love to go out of GR!