Cayman Devastation
 

I just read that the Hyatt on 7 Mile Beach is GONE! Also, looting appears to be a major problem on SMB. Telephone pole & power lines from Kentucy Fried Chicken at the traffic light to the public beach are down. Cayman Club lost the tile on its roof. Beach Club is no more nor is the Cayman Islander. Beachcomber lost its roof.

wow! how devastating. we were scheduled to go to the beach club oct 1st....they depend on tourism for so much...

It's not gone! It had serious flooding on the first level, but that's it.

Does anyone know how the Island is doing as a whole? Also, has any one been able to contact friends or family? Is anyone going to visit the island anytime soon? Please post first hand knowledge.

Glad to here the Hyatt is still standing, I just love SMB....lots of postings about conditions etc. appearing on stormcarib.com I suppose all of it is not true though as I read in two locations the Hyatt was down. Read with caution!

Robin, one thing I'm not certain of is whether the section that was right on the beach is still standing...but I can find out for certain.

The remainder had flooding on the entire first level. As much of the infrastructure...kitchens, coolers etc would be located there as well, it's a safe bet that they won't be up and running shortly.

Airport is not doing commercial flights at this time.

Has anyone heard how much damage the Westin on SMB has sustained?

My heartfelt sympathies go out to all those in the Cayman's affected by Ivan, as well as those affected all over the Caribbean.

They are reporting that the Westin on SMB in Grand Cayman has extensive damage, one side of the hotel being ripped open or off.

http://cayman-damage.andy.net/gcm.php#7mile

thank you for those links. wow. how sad for all those islands.

Hello, OO, thanks for the update that the Beach Club Colony is not "gone". i have been reading many sites and the devastation is awful. everplace i check i read the same type of posting. everyone feels awkward asking about a particular resort as if our inconvenience can compare to the suffering that is going on. i guess we do have to know whether or not we should come down to vacation or is it unreasonable to believe that the normalcy that was shattered will allow such trivial pursuits. i would rather come there n spend my $$ to help the damaged economy but is it going to be feasable to vacation on SMB in 2 weeks and is the beach club colony capable of taking visitors. again, an awkard post given the suffering but i guess travelers have to know. thanks for any info and the island and residents are in my prayers. i can also be emailed at [email protected]

OO was talking about the Hyatt as "not gone", not the Beach Club.

My heart reaches out to those on Cayman as they rebuild and deal with this terrible devastation.

- Sharon

http://www.stormcarib.com/reports/2004/cayman.shtml


Has a lot of information, as well. You can read what others have written from reports from loved ones and friends still on the island.

It is very sad. I am now in a quandry as to what to do for our annual two week trip in April. Will they be ready for us by then? I mean, there are boats, still attached to pieces of dock in the streets...it's bad, and the photo's are horrible to see.

http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/...p=Grand+Cayman [photo site]

thank you Robin...does anyone know about the Beach Club Colony?

Is anyone else having a problem getting caymannetnews.com? I keep getting an Apache notice. Thanks.

To answer sleeplessknight's question,
Two weeks isn't even close for the amount of time that will be needed to get back to any kind of normal conditions down there. Just by the pictures that have been posted online, GC is most likely looking at several months to rebuild, if not a year or more. The place simply got hammered. Such a shame...

More info on the Hyatt. They had 60 guests there at the time of the hurricane, and have now evacuated the last of them. The hotel was in good enough condition that until the last got out today, those remaining could stay in rooms in the mid level. That's encouraging. They are operating (minimally) on a generator, but it was sufficient to get Hemingways up and running. Interestingly, the main hotel suffered more damage than the section by the beach. Wind direction I assume.

For those who don't know me, my husband is a Hyatt GM...our F&B director just came to us from the Cayman Hyatt. He was in touch with them via phone leading up to the storm...giving them storm coordinates via cell phone all the night before it hit, and is my only source of info now. We've narrowly missed two ourselves since he's been here, but Cayman is hit after he leaves. I'm about to dub him St Xxx!