OceanBreeze1

We are thinking of staying @ Morritts Grand for a week in February, 2010.
Can anybody tell me about this resort? We are looking for a "beach holiday'" where there is a great beach for walking & swimming. Not too crowded. Also, it would be nice if there are restaurants w/in walking distance.
Any comments?

virginia

i have not stayed at morritts, but is on the quiet side of the island. you would be in walking distance to the restaurants at the reef resort and no others.
the reef & morritts are right next to each other on a nice but not long for walking beach. the beach is fairly wide and i do not think you would be "crowded" staying at either of these resorts. good for swimming and some snorkeling.
the web site says it is mins from mastic trail & botanical gardens - more like 30-35 mins. and rum point is about 25 min drive. you would be about an hour from seven mile beach where all the hotels and most of the restaurants are.
there are several tiny local spots to eat: on the edge, viviene's and arlaine's. also closer to morritts than seven mile are portofino, the lighthouse, kaibo yacht club and the rum point restaurant which i highly recommend.
we enjoyed grand cayman trememdously, however i'm going to suggest you consider provo in turks & caicos. grace bay beach is 11 miles long, far less crowded than seven mile. outstanding for long beach walks. the resorts are spaced further apart making everyone less crowded. depending on which resort (many are condo style) you would have a variety of walking distance dining. provo has next to night life or shoppping compared to grand cayman. also no cruise ships!
hope this helps and that someone who's stayed at morrits will jump in with report on the actual resort.

virginia

forgot to add, if you have google earth you can zoom right in and take a look at the beach at either morritts/the reef or grace bay beach.

OceanBreeze1

virginia, thank you very much for your comments & for suggesting Provo & Grace Bay. Any recs for places to stay?

luvtotravl

The Grand Resort is a beautiful, newer all ocean front resort with two restaurants onsite, as well as two restaurants/beach bars right next door at the Reef Resort. (The Grand Resort is much nicer and newer than Tortuga, it's more like the Reef Resort.) Both resorts have nightly entertainment as well. (Ex. Fire eater at Morritts and Barefoot Man at the Reef.) Portofino's restaurant is no more than 5 minutes away, it's just down the road, but I would drive, not walk to it. The beaches are large and beautiful by Morritt's and the Reef Resort, and are never crowded, sometimes it feels like you have them to yourself. There is also a fun infinity pool with a swim-up bar at the Grand Resort.

The Mastic Trail is on the way from Morritt's to Rum Point, so it is less than 25 minutes away. If Tom Cayman sees this post he would know the exact distances to the Botanical Gardens, etc.

virginia

actually the mastic trail entrance is on the north sound road, and not in between morritts and rum point (queens hwy). either way it's a nice drive with beautiful ocean views most of the drive and a nice look at the interior when you're on north sound road -- and you'll be on island time so you won't care anyway. the botanical garden entrance is more or less across the street from mastic - 1/2 to 1 mile between??
luv am i correct that grand & tortoga are right next to each other and that you can easily walk the beach between all 3 resorts?

as for t&c there is almost no place i would not recommend. depends on your price range and whether you prefer hotel or condo style resort - well and price.
the sands & royal west indies are mid-range condo style. the somerset currently is getting excellent reviews. there are lots more
(note - i'm saying seven mile beach [far from morritts/reef] is crowded, Not morritts/reef beach. my point was that if you want to walk for miles grace bay beach is a good choice. if short beach walks will do then morritts/reef would be great)
also if you will be dining out every night you will find more variety in closer proximity on provo.

OceanBreeze1

ok, thx. Long beach walks & restaurants w/in a 10 minute walk are 2 main priorities for us. Also, an uncrowded beach(I don't mean deserted but not people on top of each other) where you do not have to get up @ 6:00AM to "mark your chair" w/ towels, etc! Aruba (Marriott Ocean Club in February) was crazy....everybody fighting over "their" chairs & palapas. It's the reason we do not want to go back to Aruba.

luvtotravl

Virginia - Yes, the Reef Resort, Morritt's Tortuga and Morritt's Grand Resort are all next to each other and you can easily walk along a great beach between all 3. The beach is wide, sugar white sand with excellent snorkeling. Both resorts have restaurants and beach bars that also serve food. The Reef Resort and Grand Resort are about a mile apart at most. If I recall correctly, one entrance to the Mastic Trail is across from the Botanic Park/Gardens, and the other entrance is along the road between the Reef Resort and Rum Point. (perhaps this entrance has closed since we were there)

virginia

the back way into the mastic is still there. we did go in that way once, however the road is just terrible - pot holes galore. also there are only 2 parking spots and someone who lives there is having constuction done and there were pieces of large equipment & worker trucks partially blocking the road (looked like a big project that might take several months to complete) and of course the visitor center is at the other end. the trail is numbered from the visitor center end. the mangrove section is nearer the visitor center with the last section very dry woods.
I did walk in from the back, maybe 1/3 mile. The dirt is red, the trail narrow, you could hear birds everywhere but no numbered stuff.