May Trip Report
Jun 2nd, 2004, 04:51 PM
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May Trip Report
Since this board was so helpful to me in planning my trip, I figured I would share my trip information in hopes of helping others!
My husband and I traveled to Grand Cayman May 7-11.
We stayed at the Westin Causarina Resort and Spa on 7 mile beach. In my opinion the Westin has the best location by far of the major resorts. Hyatt and the new Ritz Carlton are both spread over the main highway with a skywalk connecting the rooms to the beach. Not ideal. The Westin is right on the beach. We are frequent guests of starwood properties so we used points for part of our stay and received 50% off the rack rate for the remainder of our stay. For a nominal fee we upgraded to an ocean front room on the very top floor. We had a breathtaking view. The Westin is very nice- the service was excellent. The pool and beach area are wonderful. The beach is the widest of all the resorts in my opinion. 7 mile beach is a very busy place! Resorts are practically on top of one another. (Our last caribbean trip was to Little Dix Bay on Virgin Gorda which was very secluded so it was quite a difference.)
We did not rent a car at the airport but I wished that we had. The roads are very easy to navigate and cab fares are outrageous!($20 from airport to our hotel). There were a few things within walking distance but not the restaurants we were interested in. We ended up renting a car at our hotel for two days.
We loved the food on Cayman! Pappagallos was outstanding. They have half and full portions of their pastas available. They all looked good so we asked if we could order a 'sampler' and we chose three half portions of different pastas! (Must try the Lobster Ravioli!!!)It was a great idea- I'd reccomend it! Reef Grill was another favorite- the Sea Bass as mentioned on this site- was superb! I'm still dreaming about it! The closet contender was Ragazzi! It was down the road at the shopping center near the Hyatt. We walked down the beach to get there. It is a charming italian restaurant with wood fired pizzas, risottos, pastas etc... The service was superb and the food was fantastic. No views to speak of but still a great experience. Lastly- for Mothers Day we drove out to the Lighthouse. It was such a neat experience. The area that you sit juts right out into the water. The menu was fine- our favorite though was their foccacia bread! All these restaurants usually require reservations and the dress was nice casual at most of these places. Slacks and collared shirts for men and skirts or pants for the women. We didn't think the food prices were too outrageous. But we have lived in Boston and New York so we may be a little warped. We did bring along some snacks and purchased bottled water and breakfast items at a supermarket near our hotel. It was nice to have those things on hand.
As far as excursions go we didn't do a ton. We spent alot of the time at our hotel but ventured out one afternoon to George town(not much to see there), and snorkeled Eden Rock near the harbor which was neat. Our favorite excursion however was with Captain Marvins to see Sting Ray City. We did a 3 hour cruise and snorkeled two large reefs and then stopped at Sting Ray City. It was an amazing experience. We had a great guide and a cameraman tagged along as well so we were able to have underwater shots of our adventure. The cost and times were much more reasonable then Red Sail Sports at the Westin. Captain Marvins was located across the street from the Westin in the shopping center there.
The one excursion we made that I wish we hadn't was to Rum Point!! Biggest waste of a drive. We decided after being at the Lighthouse restaurant we would keep going onto Rum Point. It was so crowded we couldn't even find a place to sit and it was so small that we decided our own hotel beach was much better than Rum Point! So we got back in the car and headed to the Westin where we had our own beach chair, towel service, and pina coladas. Ahhhh... much better.
Well I hope this was helpful. Sorry we didn't end up going to the spa b/c we were having way to much fun outdoors. It did rain every once in a while but always blew right on by. All in all we had a great time. Caymans was a very fun place. We would definitely go back.
My husband and I traveled to Grand Cayman May 7-11.
We stayed at the Westin Causarina Resort and Spa on 7 mile beach. In my opinion the Westin has the best location by far of the major resorts. Hyatt and the new Ritz Carlton are both spread over the main highway with a skywalk connecting the rooms to the beach. Not ideal. The Westin is right on the beach. We are frequent guests of starwood properties so we used points for part of our stay and received 50% off the rack rate for the remainder of our stay. For a nominal fee we upgraded to an ocean front room on the very top floor. We had a breathtaking view. The Westin is very nice- the service was excellent. The pool and beach area are wonderful. The beach is the widest of all the resorts in my opinion. 7 mile beach is a very busy place! Resorts are practically on top of one another. (Our last caribbean trip was to Little Dix Bay on Virgin Gorda which was very secluded so it was quite a difference.)
We did not rent a car at the airport but I wished that we had. The roads are very easy to navigate and cab fares are outrageous!($20 from airport to our hotel). There were a few things within walking distance but not the restaurants we were interested in. We ended up renting a car at our hotel for two days.
We loved the food on Cayman! Pappagallos was outstanding. They have half and full portions of their pastas available. They all looked good so we asked if we could order a 'sampler' and we chose three half portions of different pastas! (Must try the Lobster Ravioli!!!)It was a great idea- I'd reccomend it! Reef Grill was another favorite- the Sea Bass as mentioned on this site- was superb! I'm still dreaming about it! The closet contender was Ragazzi! It was down the road at the shopping center near the Hyatt. We walked down the beach to get there. It is a charming italian restaurant with wood fired pizzas, risottos, pastas etc... The service was superb and the food was fantastic. No views to speak of but still a great experience. Lastly- for Mothers Day we drove out to the Lighthouse. It was such a neat experience. The area that you sit juts right out into the water. The menu was fine- our favorite though was their foccacia bread! All these restaurants usually require reservations and the dress was nice casual at most of these places. Slacks and collared shirts for men and skirts or pants for the women. We didn't think the food prices were too outrageous. But we have lived in Boston and New York so we may be a little warped. We did bring along some snacks and purchased bottled water and breakfast items at a supermarket near our hotel. It was nice to have those things on hand.
As far as excursions go we didn't do a ton. We spent alot of the time at our hotel but ventured out one afternoon to George town(not much to see there), and snorkeled Eden Rock near the harbor which was neat. Our favorite excursion however was with Captain Marvins to see Sting Ray City. We did a 3 hour cruise and snorkeled two large reefs and then stopped at Sting Ray City. It was an amazing experience. We had a great guide and a cameraman tagged along as well so we were able to have underwater shots of our adventure. The cost and times were much more reasonable then Red Sail Sports at the Westin. Captain Marvins was located across the street from the Westin in the shopping center there.
The one excursion we made that I wish we hadn't was to Rum Point!! Biggest waste of a drive. We decided after being at the Lighthouse restaurant we would keep going onto Rum Point. It was so crowded we couldn't even find a place to sit and it was so small that we decided our own hotel beach was much better than Rum Point! So we got back in the car and headed to the Westin where we had our own beach chair, towel service, and pina coladas. Ahhhh... much better.
Well I hope this was helpful. Sorry we didn't end up going to the spa b/c we were having way to much fun outdoors. It did rain every once in a while but always blew right on by. All in all we had a great time. Caymans was a very fun place. We would definitely go back.
Jun 3rd, 2004, 08:08 AM
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I totally disagree with the original poster about Rum Point. I think it may have been crowded because it was Mother's Day, but I've been there during the peak high season and it was absolutely perfect with no crowd... not a big one anyway. And if anybody thinks that Rum Point is small, then they certainly didn't take the time to see all of it! It's HUGE! There are 2 restaurants, gift shop, a long pier, hammocks, picnic tables, a beach bar, watersports/dive shop, stage for the live band, etc. I'm not affiliated with Rum Point or anything, so don't jump on the messenger, but I think the original poster didn't give it a fair chance.
Jun 3rd, 2004, 03:40 PM
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Meta, I agree with you there. Rum Point snorkelling is not as fantastic as some of the other places like Stingray City or the resident green eel at Barrier Reef. Those are amazing! Nonetheless, Rum Point remains one of my favorite places in the world. It's what people imagine a perfect Caribbean beach should be like: Reggae music, cool breeze, deep blue water, cold cocktails and white/soft sand.
Jun 5th, 2004, 07:30 AM
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We are going to stay at the Westin in August and I have a few ?'s. Are there coffee makers in the rooms? What about small refrigerator to keep sodas or waters in?
On our previous trips we have stayed at Sunshine Suites and liked have the little kitchens. This year we are going to enjoy being right on the beach and the Westin has the best beach!!!
On our previous trips we have stayed at Sunshine Suites and liked have the little kitchens. This year we are going to enjoy being right on the beach and the Westin has the best beach!!!
Jun 5th, 2004, 10:58 AM
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Logline, you are making me wish I was there right now. Wasn't it great having everything (food, drink, music and activities) right there on the beach. And the fried chicken was sooo good. (especially with the nice cold frozen drink)
Jun 25th, 2004, 09:09 AM
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Rum Point is a favorite local spot on Weekends, so it can be crowded then. On weekdays it is much less crowded. It was a great experience for me too. Just a nice lazy afternoon at the beach. Snorkeling there was fun, but not as intense as some other areas-I recommend Cemetery Reef for that. It was great! Captain Marvin's All-Day trip is worth the price too. You get 5 snorkeling locations-including Stingray city-and a wonderful homemade lunch of Cayman-style Mahi-Mahi on the quiet beach at Kaibo Yacht club. We saw lots of starfish at that location too. I recommend Grand Cayman to just about anybody who loves water.
Jun 25th, 2004, 09:22 AM
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We stayed right next door at Villas of the Galleon and the beach there was the best. Reef Grill was our favorite meal (didn't make it to Pappagallo's unfortunately). Next time try Smuggler's Cove...that was excellent as well.
We enjoyed Rum Point a lot. but when we went there was hardly anyone there...
We enjoyed Rum Point a lot. but when we went there was hardly anyone there...
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