Just returned from Grand Cayman
 

Hi. Just returned from GC on July 7th. I had received alot of useful<BR>advice from this forum so just wanted to share my experience.<BR><BR>Accomodations: My family of 6 stayed at Silver Sands condos . . mostly<BR>because of the location to Cemetery Reef AND the fact that it offered 3 bedrooms. Unfortunately, the night before we arrived, there was a burglary at Silver Sands. We had heard that the man had pulled a knife which put us a little on edge. The next night, there was another burglary a condo down. . . . No one was hurt in either cases -- thanks goodness -- but it was a little disheartening as we came to the island hearing it was pretty safe . . . sort of put a damper on things. We definitely didn't sleep as well!! We didn't hear one word from the staff at Silver Sands until we called them and told them our safety concerns. Only then did they tell us that they were "increasing security". . and of course, that this was not a regular occurrence. Not regular? On<BR>our 2nd day there, it had already happened twice. It had now become "regular" for us.<BR>We spent about $2700 for a week and just felt that we didn't get our moneys worth. To name a few problems: ants ALL over the<BR>place, no clocks in the bedrooms, no hairdryer, broken TV, broken A/C unit, broken handle on sliding glass door (safe, huh?)etc., etc., etc. Also -- one of the amenities listed on their website<BR>are barbeque grills. However, we had to buy the charcoal for it. On the up side, the grounds were very beautiful. Very well kept, beautiful flowers, huge pool, nice beach. There was hardly anybody there so we had alot of it to ourselves which was nice. I do have to say that every<BR>vacationer we ran into was VERY friendly and nice!<BR><BR>Shopping: Went into Georgetown a few times. Impressed by some of the shops. VERY busy on cruise days - but it added to the excitement. . . Some shops are very touristy, others are very nice. We really liked Tropical L'Attitude and bought most of our souvenirs there.<BR><BR>Swimming/snorkeling: Only swam in Silver Sands area . . . Entrance into ocean is VERY rocky. Bring water shoes. We were told the entry into the water was sandy, so were disappointed when we got there because we did not bring our water shoes. The water was unusually rough so it was difficult to walk in the water with bare feet because of the waves. Snorkeling at<BR>Cemetery Reef wasn't as good as I thought it would be. Saw some sea turtles, rays, lots of fish but coral was not very colorful. One of us saw a nurse shark.<BR><BR>Restaurants: Only ate out a few times . . once at Calypso Grill for lunch<BR>which was great! Had the calypso shrimp. For dinner, had a nice night at Smuggler's Cove. Beautiful setting (sit outside!), great service and wonderful food. Jerk duck was really good -- as was the lobster ravioli.<BR><BR>Sighseeing: Went to Hell -- not much there . . . Also went to the Turtle Farm which has pretty much been devastated by a hurricane last year. However, it's worth the money . . $6 per person. Supports a good cause! They're currently rebuilding. Spent a day driving to Rum Point/Cayman Kai<BR>area. Unfortunately, it was raining that day so didn't get to see much but the area looks really nice. Nice sandy beach at Rum Point . . very shallow. . . . nice beach bar/restaurant . . . .<BR><BR>All in all, an o.k. trip but would've been better if we hadn't had as many small problems adding up. . . Went over to Aqua Bay to tour a condo and it looked very nice . . . better decor, more upscale than Silver Sands.<BR><BR>Again, this is only my experience . . . if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>

I agree that there's nothing in Hell, but it's kinda cool to say that you've been there.

There's a Hell, Michigan 10 miles from Ann Arbor.<BR>Billboards entice travellers with slogans like "Go to Hell, Right Now", and the city has websites damu.com and hell2u.com

Caribbean Girl, what condo number was that which had all the maintenance problems? Please let us know so that others can avoid that room.

Sound as disappointing as my vacation <BR>this year. I will do more research <BR>that a borad on the internet next time.

Sorry to hear about your trip. <BR>But people on this board are always told to stay on the "quieter end of seven mile beach" --the north end.<BR>We always stay in the middle of SMB where you can walk to restaurants, grocery stores, and shopping. Getting a cab to snorkel at cemetary reef is simple. Or you can walk if you want the excersise. Plus, Governors reef is definately walking distance.<BR>The beach is the best in the middle of SMB and there is always tons of open space and seclusion. On ly at the hotels does the beach get crowded. The crowd stps at the property line. <BR>There are lots of 3 bedroom condos in this area.<BR>We stayed at Colonial Club and found it to be excellent. The units are direct oceanfront with very large, private screened porches.<BR>No bugs or ants.

Caribbean Girl.....<BR><BR><BR>so what condo number did you stay in with all the problems??????<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>

$2700/week for what you described? A rocky entrance to the ocean? Incredible. For a bit more than than that, we stayed in Lacovia condos (next to the Hyatt). The ocean was at our back door with a soft sand entrance to the ocean. The three bedrooms we had were HUGE (2nd and 3rd bedrooms have 2 queens each or one queen and a twin), nice pool, wonderful kitchens...all with no bugs! I would highly recommend this complex...we have done this the last two years with several other families and will never stay anywhere else. So sorry to hear about your experience!

Tina -- sorry it took me so long to reply. I kinda feel bad posting the number -- but it was 6.<BR><BR>Side note: We DID spend most of our vacation (5 nights) in condo 5 which was nicer. I believe it's the only one with central air and the decor/bathrooms/bedrooms were all nice. Still a problem with ants though, and I feel that it was still a little pricey for what was offered . . .