honeymooner14

OK -- how long is the walk from the rooms at the Hyatt to 7 Mile Beach?? I have heard/read conflicting reports. Some people say it is not that bad at all, others say it is 10 minutes away and trying to cross the highway is impossible. If you have stayed there, could you please give me your opinion, and also your overall impression of the rest of the hotel? (Food, pool, rooms, etc...) Also, is their strip of the beach nice? Most people seem to think the Westin's is better...

Dee2

Walking to the beach is not a problem if you;re a walker of any kind. The hotel part is maybe 5 minutes from the beach - there is a bridge over the road you can use. I just crossed the road - drivers in Cayman are a class unto themselves - they will stop to enable you to cross the road. What a pleasant experience. I've stayed both in a hotel room and in the villas farther back. Did not feel it was a problem to walk to the beach. The grounds are gorgous. The beach - well, depending on the season, it can be bad. By bad, I mean crowded, as in chair next to chair next to chair. I personally enjoy a bit of space between me and my neighbor. But the beach itself is nice. Westin beach is nicer but you might consider going with a condo. Westin closes their pool area for meetings and conventions held there. As to overall impression - the room in the Hyatt hotel part was just a room - basically a fancier Holiday Inn room. Now the villas - they were something else - really fantastic.

scs

The first time we stayed at the Hyatt, we actually had to cross the street to get to the beach. The second time we stayed there, they had constructed an overpass to get to the beach. It was never a big issue to us, even with our two boys (ages 7 and 5 - the first time we were there). There are rooms right on the beach, though. We found the hotel to be very nice and relaxing. The food was good, especially at Hemingways. However, we usually did not eat at the hotel for dinner. Both pools were nice with swim-up bars. We had a great time at the Hyatt, but if we were to go back to Cayman, I bet we would try the Westin seeing as everything is right on the beach. Some day the Ritz might actually open!

Irene1

We have been to Grand Cayman several times (we love it there!) and stayed at the Hyatt our first time there. (It was our honeymon.) I would not stay at the Hyatt again; I felt it was very inconvenient to get to the beach from the rooms across the street. (And I am a big walker; I walk 4 miles every day. I just didn't like having to walk to get to the beach. It made going to the beach/running back to the room to get something a big excursion instead of something to easily do.) The rest of the Hyatt is nice. It has a very good fitness center if you want to work out and the pools are nice. The grounds are simply lovely. The food at Hemingway's is good although (like many hotel restaurants) a bit overpriced. We have also stayed at the Marriott 2x and Treasure Island once (Marriott is far better but the beach was damaged 2 years ago so you probably shouldn't stay there. Treasure Island's beach has always been small and the hotel isn't that great although it seems to have a more active singles scene.) The nicest of the big hotels is the Westin, which I do recomend. It's right on the beach, service is pretty good, the pool is very nice and I happen to love their beds. (Do I sound like a commercial for " Westin heavenly beds" or what?) That being said, we are going back on Saturday for a week but this time we are staying at a condo along the beach called the Beachcomber. It is basically the same price as the Westin and less expensive than the few Hyatt rooms in the new building which are actually on the beach. It will be our first time in a condo so I hope it goes well. As far as the Ritz goes, it has been in some stage of construction for years. I don't know if it will ever be done. Good luck with your planning. Grandy Cayman is great.

melodyt13

The walk to the beach is nothing. I would have loved to stay in the new beachfront suites though, they are gorgeous and right on the beach!!

Don't go to the Westin though! It may be on the beach, but it's a glorified HOJO for Four Seasons prices. It was horrible..

honeymooner14

thanks for all your help! I have heard that the Hyatt's beach can get very crowded -- we are going next August, would this be a problem in the off season, too? As for the Westin, it seems to have a better beach, but we are also pool people! I'm not crazy about having the pool closed due to conventions while we are there. Especially since my fiance's father is much older, and would most likely spend a lot of time at the pool. Is this a common problem with the Westin?

Dee2

Yes it is.

honeymooner14

OK, knowing that most of you say that the Westin's beach is better, but that the pool can often be closed, here's another question for you. Outside of the beach, which is a better resort? Better rooms, bigger/better pools, food, service, etc...? And is the Hyatt's beach still nice, even though it is not as nice as the Westin's? Also, if you are staying at a resort on 7 Mile Beach, can you visit another part of 7 Mile to lay out and sun yourself and swim, or are you confinned to the area outside your resort?

my99999

My experience overall is that if you are definitely going with a hotel over a condo, the Westin is your best bet. If you are open to a condo, there are so many beautiful ones on the same stretch of beach as the Hyatt and the Westin - Avalon, Casa Caribe, Coralstone Club are up in the nicer category if that's what you're looking for. Plantana right next to the Westin is very nice also. You get much nicer accommodations than the hotels often at comparable prices. If you chose one near the Hyatt or Westin, you can always go over to the hotel to get a drink or use the restaurants. If the issue of the pool possibly being closed makes a big difference to you, why don't you try calling the hotel to find out if there are any groups or conventions booked at that time that would cause that to happen? To answer your last question, the beaches in GC are all public so you can park yourself wherever you want.

Kristen

My9999~

Right now I am booked at VOG but am also considering Casa Caribe. I would love to do Coralstone or Avalon but I can't justify booking an expensive 3 BR condo for just the 2 of us. And we do want a condo over a resort...

Do you think we will be happy in VOG or is Casa Caribe or Aqua Bay a better bet?

jkurtiak

Honeymooner

I went to Cayman in August (hyatt) and it was not a problem to get a chair at the beach. It was so hot that you had to be in the shade or in the water or you would melt. So you need to make sure that you will have full access at all times to the pools. There is a pool on both sides of the street at the Hyatt. The walk was not a problem for us. It took 5 minutes tops. We had a beach bag with us that all our things where in and we just carried that with us. No need to go back and forth a million times a day.
It was not crowded at all when we went there and I would stay at the Hyatt again. The ground where beautiful, the staff was so helpful. We stayed in a club room and had free breakfast and snacks but we had lunch a few times at the hotel and they sandwhiches where very good for the price.
I thought it was a great hotel and I have never stayed at the Westin but I have heard some not so great things about that hotel as well.
Sorry I couldnt make it clearer for you
good luck

Irene1

While I would recommend a condo over a hotel in Grand Cayman, I have stayed at the Westin twice in August and have never had a problem with the pool being closed. With respect to the beach, you are allowed to be anywhere on the beach whether you are staying there or not (as long as you don't use a different resort's chairs).

Dee2

Have to disagree, Irene. On a trip to Cayman, we did not stay at Westin and one day sat to the side on their beach (on towels) and we were rather rudely told that we were offending people who had paid to stay there. May I add - we were quietly reading our books and not making any bother. The staff came up to many people that day and chased them off - and they were not using Westin chairs. We were also told that they didn't want us - or any non guest - to buy drinks or take up space on their property. With that attitude, I'll never stay there. And we were visiting their beach to check it out for a future visit. So glad we didn't give them any of our money.

karenfg

Took our first family trip to GC in July. Stayed at the Westin. We all LOVED it. The beach was fantastic--huge, tons of space between beach chairs, amazing water and completely relaxing in every way. We walked down to the Hyatt on several occasions (ferry to Rum Point, walking the beach instead of the street to get to restaurants, etc.) and in my humble opinion, I would never stay there. It was jam packed every day, and it was the OFF season! If crowds are your thing, then i'm sure it's fine. The beach, however, seemed tiny compared to the Westin. So much traffic from swimmers, boaters, etc. that I couldn't even tell where leisurly swimming was allowed! We walked the bridge over to the Hyatt's other side which was fine. Personally, if I'm spending that much $ on a vacation, I don't want to walk 5 minutes over a busy street to get to my beach, but that's just me. I usually like Hyatt hotels, and it's not that the Hyatt on GC isn't nice. The grounds look lovely. But we wanted beach front accomodations and relaxing surroundings. The Westin was that and more. The rooms at the Westin are nice, but not Four Seasons nice. It's the water and sun you're paying for in GC, so if you're not going the condo route, there is no comparison in my estimation between Hyatt and Westin. Westin wins, hands down. Condos do seem to be the best option, but I didn't see many with pools, which is a must for our kids. Also, I loved the water activities you could book right on the Westin beach (parasailing, tubing, etc.). For a family, it worked out great. We usually prefer villas or condos, but the Westin worked wonderfully for us this time around. Expensive, yes, but a great vacation. Just my two cents worth!

Irene1

Dee, I am sorry that happened to you because it is supposed to be illegal to make any beach "private" below the high water mark. We have used many other properties' beaches and haven't ever been told to move (and I'd be mad too if someone told me that I couldn't be there!). It is always disappointing to hear when someone has a bad experience like that.