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!

Robin:Why would you post that nonsense about the Hyatt being gone?One of societies problems is that people repeat nonsense as fact.Blaming it on "I read it" just doesn't cut it.

I read robins post about the Hyatt being GONE as more of a question than a statement of fact ... She herself states to be careful what to read , I think her post was to clarify certain points .

The Hyatt is still standing. This can slearly be seen from the pictures on Yahoo. Also http://www.stormcarib.com has more pictures. While they do show a lot of damage, they are also encouraging from the pooint of view that they show cars driving on roads and buildings still standing mostly intact. In fact the Marriott that was also listed as 'gone' by many, is clearly shown to be largely intact and standing and I also heard that it is being used as a shelter!!

It is I suppose natural for people to report panicky stories, but I agree is not helpful especially to those that have loved ones on the island.

Please view the pictures they do show an island getting to grips with what is clearly a terrible, terrible event. But I think the pictures do help dispell a lot of the rumours that are propogating various web sites at the moment.

As for me I have lived on Cayman for 5 years and have close friends on the island and visit annually. I haven't heard anything from the island. Keep praying and hoping!

P

Hyatt Grand Cayman is closed till December 1st, 2004 for repairs according to Priceline. Someone who had bid for a September stay there just got an e-mail from Priceline with the info (they're getting their money back of course).

We were all set to return to Grand Cayman for the 3rd time on October 9th but due to the reports of devastation we are cancelling. Plus lat night we were told that the Grand Caymanian Resort is closed now for 5 months. We have heard that they had water to the top of the first floor.

I feel so bad for the wonderful people on Grand Cayman. We fell in love with the island and it's people when we visited 2 years ago.

I found a website last night with some pictures of the damage www.davidolson.com.

Here is info from www.stormcarib.com re the state of condominiums on 7 Mile Beach. Apparently Ivan also dumped enough sand on the beach to repair the beach erosion problem


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- CONFIRMED INFO FOR CONDOS ON 7 MILE BEACH
From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2004 13:17:01 -0400 (EDT)

From the Pleas for Help Board:

CONFIRMED INFO FOR CONDOS ON 7 MILE BEACH
Author: phil baxter (80.41.149.---)
Date: 09-17-04 09:16
Info received today and the following confirmed
CASA CARIBE - Damage to carports and garden area and some windows in
the office. Structure appears to be in fairly good shape. Lost 1 of
the Casuarina Pines. Repairs are expected to commence promptly.
CAYMAN CLUB - Little to no roof left, but structure intact. Most of
damage was to the back units. Little to no damage on ground floor
units on the ocean side.
CAYMAN REEF RESORT - Part of roof has gone but buildings intact.
Several units have lost the windows. Beach has gone.
CAYMAN SANDS - Minor damage to units 5 and 6.
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS - Iitial reports indicate that some of the
windows and doors are missing on ground floor uits on the ocean side
no.s 7,8,9,10. Some of the penthouse units 29 and 30 suffered damage
to the roof but no further info. Interior conditions are unknown.
Ground floor units and office had water go through them. Willie and
Lise are OK.
COLONIAL CLUB - A few broken windows and some sand and water insome of
the units. Landscaping is badly damaged, but overall things appear OK.
COCO PLUM - Intact.
CORALSTONE CLUB - Looks mostly intact.
DISCOVERY POINT CLUB - Buildings are intact with no major damage.
Phase 1 building has some roof damage. The ground floor units have
some water and there are some broken windows. The beach is a mess and
lts of sand in the pool.
LACOVIA - First floor units had 2' of water at the height of the
storm. Water came from the Hyatt side. Some roof damage. Door on
office and unit 1 had blown off. All openings have had plyboard put on
and there is securty on site.
THE PALMS - Appears to be in good shape.
AQUA BAY CLUB - The beach side of the property looks good, and no
broken windows appart from on the side of unit 1. Roof looks good.
Minor water damage to ground floor units. All palm trees are down and
the beach has been battered and a lot of sand in the pool. The office
building is intact. Overall looks good.
PLANTANA - There is broken glass in units 19,20,21 and 44. and some
units have wet floors approx 1". Landscaping has gone and some minor
roof damage.
SILVER SANDS - Structure OK, windows are intact but sand everywhere.
SOVEREIGN - Damaged. No further info on this
VICTORIA HOUSE - The casuarina trees are standing as is the hut. Some
roof damage on 212, and roof of on penthouses. All air con units have
blown off the roof on the centre portion of building along with a lot
of roof shingles. Ceilings are down in the upstairs units and water in
them. Water in downstairs units. All trees at front are gone.
VILLAS OF THE GALLEON - Heavily damaged. No further info.
WHITE SANDS - Minimal damage, mainly cosmetic and slight water damage.
In general, Cable and Wireless is making good progress on restoring
cell services on the island.
Phil Baxter