We stayed at the Marriott on points. It is a smaller hotel resort than some of their other caribbean properties. It was updated the year before we went in 2007 or 08. The beach was narrow, but the sand is very soft and the water is beautiful. I have heard good things about the Westin being a better location on the beach.
I hope some chime in on condos. It seems there are so many there to choose from. I am sure some are nice and reasonably priced.

If delay your trip by 2 weeks you'll get better rates as that is when High-Season ends for most properties.

Villas of the Galleon is a nice condo complex between the Ritz Carlton and Westin Hotels. It has the best stretch of beach along Seven Mile Beach IMO. Only downside is the lack of a pool, but the rates hit your target and Summer-Season rates start on April 17th.

http://www.villasofthegalleon.com/index.php/rates/villa-rates

Well, there are 2 Marriotts,Marriott Tortuga and Marriott Grand Resort, which one did you go to? From what I read they're not in the best location. It says it's really rocky when you go in the water, did you experience that?

I looked at the villas of the galleon, it's hard to tell from pictures. Has anyone stayed there and can tell me which 1 bedroom has the best ocean front view.

We have stayed at Plantana a few times and really like the property. It does have a pool and you are in a fairly quiet spot on 7MB. Their one bedroom garden views are $240 (lowseason, $365 highseason) plantanacayman.com You also need to consider resort fees varies, taxes @10%, etc.

You will save after May 1st.(Not sure about rainy season though) We've been in late May and mid-late June.

At least in a condo you can save a bit on food costs. Happy planning.

We stayed at the Christopher Columbus Condos:
http://www.christophercolumbuscondos.com/

We loved it--amazing beachfront location, excellent stretch of sand, great pool, nice condos, perfect views, plus the price is hard to beat. I think you'd save a bit if you waited a few more weeks (we went the first week of May to get the off-season rate).

Whatever you decide, enjoy your trip! Grand Cayman is fantastic

Only one Marriott on Grand Cayman. The Morritt's timeshare resort has the "Grand" and "Tortuga" buildings.

Well I was going to say, I only know of the one Marriott. It is in a decent location but the beach is narrow. Also, there some small rocks as you enter the water, but not like big rocks. The sand is so soft. The Marriott was nice, but not as large scale as some of their other properties. It was nicely decorated and there were condos on both sides. I was not impressed with their small pool (not very important to us), but also felt the beach area was narrow for sunning. Had all the amentities of water sports and beach bar/lunch service. We walked most nights to dinner up and down the beach side.

I guess it doesn't matter where you stay you're going to pay a high price for being in the Cayman islands. We don't mind going late April, May, or middle of November but one thing we do not want is a rainy vacation. A lot of places drop their prices on April 17, I know you can't predict weather but all of you that have been there would April, May or end of November, beginning of December be a safer bet.

Also, more recommendation on condos if anyone has any.

We went the end of June,maybe third week.. It was very hot, and humid and rained a little in the late afternoon a couple of times. We had mostly sunny weather, but it was very hot/humid in June.

Been twice in Mid June, warm but beautiful. Late May, couple of quick showers and 1 entire day of rain, which I would think/hope is unusual. wunderground.com is a great site for weather history.

I mentioned Plantana Condos before and one of the things we love about it is it is not near any of the hotels, so no crowd.

Is there other islands with the water as beautiful as the Cayman Islands where rentals are less expensive. I'm sure there is, I just don't know where.

We've been to St. Martin and we weren't too impressed with it.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn, which is now the Courtyard by Marriott. We enjoyed it and the HI was an all inclusive, so saved us tons of money on high priced food and drinks. The bigger Marriott on 7 Mile Beach still has an AI plan.

"Is there other islands with the water as beautiful as the Cayman Islands where rentals are less expensive."

Look at Turks and Caicaos. Actually I think Grace Bay Beach is better and the water is clearer than Grand Cayman, but the snorkeling was better in GC and we loved Sting Ray City. We stayed at the Sibonne on Grace Bay. A small boutique hotel with 26 rooms and included an extended Continential breakfast.

I agree, if you wait until the 1st or 2nd week of May you will be pleasantly surprised how different the rates are. You may be able to find exactly what you are looking for in your price range. Do an internet search and just see what the differences will be. Prices are also based on Holidays. Since Easter was April 24th this year, the high season rates are still in place.

We have been to GC in a November and April. We had better weather in November. April was very windy. Difficult to snorkel. Went to T & C 3rd week of May. Weather was perfect. I remember when we booked that trip that the lower prices went into effect for that resort after May 15th.

Villas of the Galleon but rent from an owner through VRBO. Much less expensive. We got a 2 bedroom with a great oceanview and only about 30 steps from the beach for $1400/week.

I don't own timeshare but I can rent from from RCI for Morritt's Tortuqua Club or Morritt's Grand Resort, can anyone tell me if they've been there and how the resorts and beaches are. I can get 1 week for a decent price but I don't want to go to the Cayman islands and have a bad experience.

Kristen, when did you go to the Villas of the Galleon, when I look on VRBO the units are way more than $1400 a week. Also, did you have an ocean front unit?

It was 2.5 years ago that we went. We weren't in the 2nd set of consod back from the beach..I guess that is consiedered oceanview? There wer a couple that we considered that were around that price range. And I think we got a night free. I always ask for discounts as weell..be it early booking or last minute. Can't hurt to ask and often times they agree!