Trip Report 4/11-4/16
 

Just returned from our Cayman Trip! First, I would like to thank everyone on the forum for all the great tips!<BR><BR>We stayed at the Marriott (used frequent stay points). I think I would be quite disappointed if I had to pay, unless I got a really great deal. The interior of the hotel is like a Marriott in Anywhere, USA. The courtyard was quite nice, very tropical. The pool is small, the beach was a little more than the depth of two lounge chairs (with room to walk between). We had to be down at the beach around 7:15 to "reserve" a good location and chair on the beach. Umbrellas were VERY scarce, heard you had to get them by 6:30 a.m. The ocean area is nice, my 10 year old enjoyed snorkeling there. We rented a jeep for our entire visit through Andy's ($30/day). They were great-even coming to jump start our battery after my husband left the lights on. Had a little problem at check out, they wanted to charge us $40/day, but we had all our info handy and it was quickly straightened out. Have a car handy certainly saved the trip!!!<BR>We went to Rum Point Friday (not very crowded) and Sunday (much more crowded). We enjoyed it very much. Our daughter had other kids to play with, and it had fun snorkeling. I would recommend getting there early if you have a car, we were there at 9:00am both days and had our pick of spots, if you are looking at the ocean, go all the way to the right (closest to The Retreat). It was much more peaceful in that area as most of the folks tend to gravitate to the middle. The food was fine for lunch and we had a great time. Saturday we spent the day at Cemetary Beach (my favorite)! I bought a beach chair at the hardware store and packed a small cooler we brought. Snorkeling there was great- go straight out about 100 yds and then start heading left - lots to see. Very nice beach area with shade trees, and it was not very crowded. Monday we did Stingray City/snorkel with Capt. Dexter. He was great! Only 14 people on our boat.$24 per adult $12 for child.<BR> Restaurants: Mercy!The food was expensive and I didn't think it was particularly all that great!<BR>Reef Grill-Enjoyed eating outside, great atmosphere. Wine by the glass was stale, food was fair.<BR>Smuggler's Cove-Pretty good<BR>Chicken!Chicken!-Lunch. Tons of food. Good.<BR>Treehouse-Again, enjoyed eating outside, but the food was fair.<BR>Cimboco-Not on the water, but the best meal we had (and the cheapest). It is relatively new, owned by the same people as Chicken!Chicken!, but more upscale. Food was very good and much more reasonable.<BR>Pappagallo-Neat location. Food pretty good.<BR><BR>In a nutshell that was it!To sum it up, We all had a great time! Beware booking at the Marriott unless you are planning as only using it as a "home base" as we did. There was certainly plenty to do outside of the hotel. If you have a car it will be fine.<BR><BR>E-mail me if you have any questions. So many people were so helpful to me I would be happy to return the favor!<BR><BR>Glo

Would you return to the Cayman islands? I have thought about a holiday there but not so sure now!! Thank you for your report.

Glo,<BR>Glad you had a nice trip! I always stay at The Retreat at Rum Point, and I'm happy you enjoyed that part of the island. I'm leaving for GC Thursday and was curious if you encountered any thimble jellyfish at Rum Point and how was the weather when you were there? Thanks, <BR>Sandy

Glo:<BR>I am not sure if you had posted previously about being scared about the Marriott but if that was you I am glad you seemed to have a great trip.<BR><BR>Linda:<BR>I suggest reading alot more about Cayman before you make an opinion. The only negative thing I read in this post was about the food. I ate in the same places and I had some great meals. It all depends. Cayman is a great place and you should check out some more posts before you decide. The Marriott is not the best hotel on the island and there are so many other choices there is something for everyone.<BR><BR>Sandy:<BR>Have a great trip...I am so jealous!

Sounds like you had a great trip, but I am certainly in shock over you comments about the food, and the places you ate. The Reef Grill, and Smugglers Cove are two of the best restaurants on the island, and for you to rate them as "fair" & "pretty good" is bizzare. You are the first in two years of reading many reviews of these two places to have anything negative to say about them. I'm curious as to what you ordered at each if you can remember....<BR>Claiming Cimboco as "the best meal you had" is amazing. Yes, Cimboco is decent, but it's not even close to being in the same league as Reef & Smugglers. You mentioned price several times talking about the restaurants, I'm not trying to be a wise guy, but could of that played a role in your experiences? I'm still shaking my head in total amazement over your post....

Ted, Just because everyone else doesn't agree with your culinary opinions doesn't mean their opinions are wrong! Maybe you had good meals at those places, but they may have changed. Personally this report has clinched our decision not to go to GC - we have heard from MANY others that the food is way overpriced and mediocre, and pretty much Americanized. We really love good food, so will stick to the French islands for both French and good local creole food. (And I think your accusation about the rating of the food as a reflection of the cheaper price is out of line - there often are excellent local places that are better than those touted by as the "best" by some experts.)