We arrived at the Moritz at 5 pm. It took 45 minutes to check-in after driving 1 hour from the other side of the island. The reservation form indicated 2 persons for the 1BR but I had reserved the room for 4. I asked another clerk…Read More

We arrived at the Moritz at 5 pm. It took 45 minutes to check-in after driving 1 hour from the other side of the island. The reservation form indicated 2 persons for the 1BR but I had reserved the room for 4. I asked another clerk if this room would be large enough for 4 and was told they would send up a cot but it would be fine.

When I got to the room it was on the third level-no elevator and two flights of stairs up. The room was located in the back of the resort facing the highway with the balcony facing the pool. Two large trash cans were situated 6 feet from the door; the bathroom consisted of a single vanity and two doors on each side of the tub-one opening into the bedroom and the other into the living room. We had to move the coffee table onto the balcony in order to open the sleep sofa and fit the cot in the efficiency area. The cot was another matter-it was v-shaped in the middle, rusted and dirty. As far as the linens were concerned-they were not clean and smelled as if they had been used.

We never saw the housekeeper and had to wash our own dishes which was not a problem since we only cooked one meal in the room. The main swimming pool was cleaned once during our stay; the other pools are for kiddies, and there are only three or so hammocks on the beach.

Sunday morning- I asked the front desk clerk if I could change rooms for 4 adults and was told that I had to wait until Monday. I asked to upgrade to a 2BR and offered to pay the difference but the clerk refused.

Monday morning-I spoke with the front desk manager and was told that there were no 2BR’s, no first floor rooms, or ocean view rooms available. She went on to say that I should have made arrangements when I first arrived and they should have given me another room and I should have spoken to the manager. She also told me that RCI had no offices and she did not know of any other resorts but the Grand Caymanian which is not btw part of the RCI network.

Monday night I returned to the room and found an army of tiny ants on the kitchen counter, as well as, a 3 inch cockroach perched on the trash can. We were freaked out and called the front desk to ask them to come and remove the bug. A maintenance person arrived and I asked him to take the trash can out and leave it there. He then reached into the cabinet above the refrigerator and pulled out a can of bug spray whereupon I immediately stopped him from spraying since we were going to retire for the night.

The next day I made reservations with another resort in the West Bay area for Friday. I had made arrangements for other activities until then and did not plan to stay in the room any longer than necessary. We checked out at 6 am Friday and moved into a very comfortable, clean, and modern Courtyard.

The Moritz is a low class resort because it is old, run-down, dirty, and the people who work there know it. I believe that the front desk did not want to move me and lied to keep space for those people willing to do battle and otherwise demand they get a larger room. When I was at the airport I talked with another couple who was with a family that was using two 2BR’s and they were equally unhappy with their stay. There is a limited number of ocean front ground floor rooms available-hence some of the "highly recommended reviews". In comparison to the several other gold crown resorts I have visited, this is definitely not of the same caliber.

With the exception of large fish inhabiting the small pier (which you cannot fish from), there is nothing of island interest at the resort. It is located one hour from the swimming beaches, shopping, and the variety of places to eat. There is one small grocery store close by but no other restaurant except the one at the Moritz. For the budget minded-I paid $24 for two mixed drinks, a decaf, and a chocolate sundae. There is a shopping plaza being built across from the hotel with the same name. I imagine that this company is trying to squeeze all its revenue from the old portion into the new at the expense of the uninitiated. I would never go back there and I warn anyone contemplating a visit to this hotel to beware.

Email me for pics of the hotel and of Grand Cayman: dragonflyfarms@hotmail.com

(Put moritz in the subject box please. You will have to register at ofoto.com; but, if you are serious about staying there and want to see for yourself-it's worth the inconvenience.)

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Let''s talk straight here. Vacationing on Grand Cayman is expensive, no ifs, ands, or buts. However, knowing a few facts before you travel can prevent your vacation from becoming the equivalent of a house down payment. Renting a house, condo, or timeshare is a good strategy…Read More

Let''s talk straight here. Vacationing on Grand Cayman is expensive, no ifs, ands, or buts. However, knowing a few facts before you travel can prevent your vacation from becoming the equivalent of a house down payment.

Renting a house, condo, or timeshare is a good strategy for saving in the long run. Those types of units will have a kitchen, and that means savings. Restaurant meals are prohibitively expensive. A dinner for two without wine, appetizer, or tip will be $100-$125. We spent $35 for breakfast for two!

In our case, I cooked several meals in advance and froze them. Also shopped for sale cuts of steaks and chops, and brought them frozen, as well.

It''s necessary to know only one thing, however, to avoid having uncooked meats confiscated at immigration. They need to be in their original wrappers, quite simply. If you buy in bulk then break up the packages into workable packets, they will be confiscated. So buy what you''d consider a proper size serving of steak or chops for your family in one package, freeze it, and pack it in a cooler along with cooked meals.

There are grocery stores on the island, as well stocked as any in the US. The best stocked one is Foster''s, by the airport. However, prices are in Cayman Island dollars and one dollar CI = $1.25 US. So add another 25% onto that sticker price and you will see that most everything is a lot more than you could buy it for in the US. Bringing items in the cooler is clear-cut savings. Plus, you have a cooler for picnics and for bringing frozen items you purchase to your condo from the grocery store.

If you will be doing any grilling, be advised gas grills are rare. You can save by buying a big bag of Match-Lite at the home center (ask when buying groceries where it is downtown). We packed cardboard egg containers among our clothes and put briquets into each egg compartment. The paper enables the fire to catch evenly and quickly, and using this trick conserves briquets. A dozen makes a more than adequate fire.

If you like beer, be sure to bring it in. Each traveler may bring one case of beer. The beer we observed cost in the neighborhood of $10 a six-pack. Wine isn''t cheap, either, and may also be brought in. You could opt, instead of either of these, to bring in one litre of hard liquor per person. A liter of Bombay Sapphire will set you back $40US, so bringing it in is highly advisable.

Pack insulated drink mugs with lids for each traveler (you can pack socks and undies in them so they don''t waste a lot of space in your luggage.) Bringing your own drinks to the pool or beach saves lots of money. A mixed drink runs around $8.50US. Also, pack a thermos for your explorations. We kept one packed with ice water in the car and there were many times that it came in very handy.

If eating at a restaurant is your pleasure, then try to have your big meal in the middle of the day. Lunch prices are far lower than dinner. So have a simple breakfast out on the veranda or terrace, go to lunch (smaller crowds then, too!) and have something simple like grilled burgers for dinner. It''s best to stay away from resort restaurants, by the way. It''s deceptively easy to rack up huge tabs, since meals will just be added to your tab. Nothing like the shock you get upon check-out ("I didn''t know it would cost that much!!")

All these measures might take a little more advance work, but we have done them twice now, and our food expenses have been kept to a minimum--around three or four times lower than those who go out for every dinner and breakfast. We have never dined out on Caymans, but know plenty of friends who have. And they ALL complain about the prices.

Grand Cayman is undeniably expensive. However, with just a modicum of advance planning, you''ll be able to enjoy more trips more often. It''s worth the work.

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Spent two weeks at Morritt's Tortuga, one week in an ocean front penthouse apartment and one week in an ocean front two-bedroom apartment. Both apartments were okay, but not really up to Gold Crown standards and they are starting to look "well worn". The beach…Read More

Spent two weeks at Morritt's Tortuga, one week in an ocean front penthouse apartment and one week in an ocean front two-bedroom apartment. Both apartments were okay, but not really up to Gold Crown standards and they are starting to look "well worn".

The beach area was beautiful, spotlessly clean, a couple of local guys keep the place spotless and chew the fat with you when it gets too hot. The barbecue facilities on the beach were great and sunset barbecues drinking beer and talking to the neighbours were a highlight.

Rum Point was well worth a trip out to, and by far the best restaurant we found (although we didn't find a bad one) was at the Yacht Club.

Scuba diving at the east end is world class. I dove with Ocean Frontiers, who are amongst the best dive operators anywhere although I believe that the on-site dive operation was also first class. Snorkeling just off the beach was also worthwhile and there was a surprising amount to see.

For supermarkets and shopping in general you needed to go to Georgetown (40 minutes by car) although there are a couple of local supermarkets for essentials. Be warned there is nothing open on a Sunday, so be prepared to chill out and lie on the beach.

Couple of downsides: Cayman is expensive, and most meals out come to $50 a head including tips, and there are no fast food restaurants or pizzerias for cheap and cheerful meals out. Also Morritt's do charge for electricity ($120 per week), so go easy on the air-conditioning.

Shopping is limited. The locals will tell you if you want clothes to go to Florida. If you like jewelry go to Georgetown. There must be 50 jewelry shops. If you go on a day when there are no cruise ships in town, you will have the place to yourself.

There are a couple of Internet cafes if you really want to keep up with events at home. Spending half an hour drinking beer and getting up to date with the football scores is a welcome break for us guys who don't like jewelry stores.

All in all two weeks well spent.

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Cayman Islands are one of the most beautiful places you can hope to see in all your lifetime or at least it was for me. People are friendly, not this massive crowd of tourists and, for now, less italians than americans.The island is really seeable…Read More

Cayman Islands are one of the most beautiful places you can hope to see in all your lifetime or at least it was for me. People are friendly, not this massive crowd of tourists and, for now, less italians than americans.The island is really seeable with a rented car, better with a SUZUKI and no roof on your head.Calm, nice places, green, beaches and villas that make you dream. The day started early, around 6 am you can really start to go on the beach for a walk, and to set your sun bed under a palm.The Seven Mile Beach is the longest, and the whitest beach.We went to a mall 2 blocks away for breakfast and was attended by the local white collars from banks.(Can I say that you can recognize bank empl. all over the world?). Taking the car and turn left from the Treasure Island Resort you could reach in 2- 3 miles the wonderful Governor Beach not too crowded by tourists but with one of the best spots in the Islands.There are cabins where you can leave your stuff and it's also pretty safe.
The guide suggested to visit the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Garden Park and we choose a afternoon to reach it and visit it. The weather was terribly hot and the path was under the sun.It's a mile long trail. There are 200 species of plants, a Blue Iguana. Probably the best season is in may and june for the blossom season. We had the day of our life when we decided to go with a boat of a local fisherman to see STINGRAYS and to swim with turtles. it was amazing, because the reef was really fullfilled by stingrays and we swom and snorkelled. It was my first time snorkelling and I enjoyed it a lot.I was exausted when we finished the cruise.But it was worth, I almost spent all the day in the water.We had lunch on a beach and the fisherman cooked for us a marinated conch (the local shell creature that is delicious) and he did it under our eyes.Honestly, the Paradise Island tour we did in the Bahamas was absolutely nothing compared to the one in Cayman Islands.
Georgetown is a place where the cruises stops and during the day is full of tourists, in the evening is really a desert. But it's safe.Shops...(expensive) and jewels, it's really worth if it's a rainy day...otherwise...enjoy the beaches.
For the joy of Brusa we went visiting the Turtle Farm where are kept over 12000 turtles.It's the only commercial turtle farm in the world.It's fun because you can cuddle them.It's in the West Bay area, full of old houses.There is the PINK House, built in 1912, has the traditional sand yard,raked every morning.Hell is a bizarre rock formation.We stopped by because there was a minimarket and the heat obliged us to stop for a drink. A cold one. We drove past the city of Savannah and we found the Pedro St. James Castle that was a old governor, or rich family typical home. It's the only stone structure left in Cayman Islands.The view is amazing and the whole building looks like the Robinson Crusoe home.
Our eating place was BIG DADDY in Seven Mile Shop West In Bay because was convenient and cheap and because food was very good. If we were lucky we found a table on the dehor, and the girls were very nice. Food was fresh, and their Conch soup was so great that I had soup almost every night and who knows me knows that I am not a soup person. Twice we changed, maybe 3 times but the best were:
Crow's Nest about 4 miles south of George Town, with a wonderful spot on the beach, eating on a patio with a view and the music of waves.I remember a good sweet corn bread served as appetizer.
Almond Tree where we ate in the garden. Good seafood, I remember king shrimps in coconut powder...happy atmosphere...fancy place.It's in North hurch street, walking distance from the Treasure Island. Lobster specials. As in all the "american's loved" caribbeans nighlife is not that massive as in Cuba or Santo Domingo but you are so exausted of all the sea and swimming that honestly we were in bed by 10 pm. Close

Our trip to Grand Cayman leaves us with mixed reviews. We stayed on East End, 45 minutes away from the famed Seven Mile Beach in Georgetown. The beach on our side of town was okay, but nothing to write home about. So…Read More

Our trip to Grand Cayman leaves us with mixed reviews. We stayed on East End, 45 minutes away from the famed Seven Mile Beach in Georgetown. The beach on our side of town was okay, but nothing to write home about. So we gamely drove to the other side of the island every day. The best food on the island – if you could find anything – was near Seven Mile Beach as well. So we almost had to trek across Grand Cayman for sun and fun. Where the good beach and food were on the Georgetown side of the island, the scenery on our side of the island was breathtaking. Some of the best shots of the trip were taken on East End.

We found Seven Mile Beach to be worth the trip. The sand was white and soft, the water was clear with just enough aqua to satisfy me. The snorkeling on this side of the island was sparse. We even went to a beach called Cemetery Beach – it really had a cemetery on it – in search of decent snorkeling. We saw the same ole fish – Blue Tang, Sergeant Majors, etc. and few of them. But the beach experience itself was not bad. In fact, Mike and I burned pretty badly on Seven Mile Beach – to the point that Mike peeled when we got home! A first!

The weather threw us for a nice loop. It rained almost every day for longer than the typical Caribbean 10 minute rain shower. This ruined a couple of days on the beach and sent us in search of something else to do, of which there really wasn’t much.

It was laying egg season for crabs on the island and we witnessed an onslaught of crabs running for the beach to lay their eggs and then returning to the mangrove. Unfortunately, a lot of the crabs don’t make it to the beach – they are running over the public road. Either they were killed by oncoming cars or people were puling over and going "crabbing" at night.

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We stayed a week at the Morritt’s Tortuga Club and attended a timeshare presentation that covered sales for both properties (Morritt’s Tortuga Club and Morritt’s Grand Resort). We were used to high-pressure sales pitches from past trips to Cabo San Lucas, Ixtapa and Orlando, but…Read More

We stayed a week at the Morritt’s Tortuga Club and attended a timeshare presentation that covered sales for both properties (Morritt’s Tortuga Club and Morritt’s Grand Resort).

We were used to high-pressure sales pitches from past trips to Cabo San Lucas, Ixtapa and Orlando, but found none of the pressure here at Morritt’s. Our sales representative (Mary Dale) was very informed and a pleasure to work with.

Morritt’s Tortuga Club: Although this resort has been sold out for some time, owners here were given the option to upgrade to the newer Grand Resort next door and this opened up units for sale. There were some one bedroom units pool side, a few ocean front and I think some two-bedrooms. The ownership is actually a 99 year lease, which most likely started 15 years ago when the resort was completed – this still leaves 84 years left on the lease. This property is older (still nice and on an awesome beach), and offers buyers one of the best values of any ocean front property we’ve seen!!

Morritt’s Grand: Two of the three buildings are complete and are nearly sold out… or is that just a sales tactic to "act now before they are all gone". The two-bedroom units were truly spectacular, and the one-bedrooms were very nice as well. I think they had some larger penthouse units available as well.

We always go into a timeshare presentation with skepticism, knowing that the same units can likely be purchased on the resale market through realtors or on-line at a fraction of the cost (since the hefty sales commission has already been paid). But we were surprised at the rates here – far less than units we’ve seen in Cabo (which are only on a 25 or 30 year lease) or even in Scottsdale. Without divulging pricing, I can say that units here were far LESS than most beach front properties we’ve seen – and for the money, I would much rather invest here in Grand Cayman than in Mexico (its always easy to trade into Cabo).

And, as an incentive to entice people to buy direct through the developer instead of through the resale market, Morritt’s has introduced a new program (the Golden Turtle Club) which offers owners discounted travel (air & car packages), but more importantly, the opportunity to purchase bonus weeks at the resort for the cost of annual maintenance (about $500 for a one bedroom). This, in effect, gives you two weeks for the price of one. The first "regular" week can be used at the resort, rented, traded/banked with RCI or gifted to friends/family. The second "bonus" week can only be used here at either the Grand or Tortuga (whichever you buy), but can be rented or gifted – the bonus week cannot be traded through RCI. So, as the sales pitch goes, you can purchase a week – trade the regular week into RCI or rent it out, and use the second bonus week to stay there. They also have some gimmick where they give you a "third wholesale week" which is similar to the resort rental or bonus week through RCI.

If you ask me, the price/quality/location here is a great value (I have yet to convince my husband, but am working on him…). If you want to buy, the hardest part will be deciding if you want to get into the newer Grand or the better priced Tortuga.

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After our incredible adventure feeding the stingrays, we walked a short distance to 7 Mile Beach, a long, narrow stretch of white sand that separates hotels, condos and restaurants from the bright aqua sea. Inexplicably, the beach is 5-1/2 miles long, but maybe its name…Read More

After our incredible adventure feeding the stingrays, we walked a short distance to 7 Mile Beach, a long, narrow stretch of white sand that separates hotels, condos and restaurants from the bright aqua sea. Inexplicably, the beach is 5-1/2 miles long, but maybe its name comes from its appearance of stretching on farther. The beach is public and there are numerous public access points, not always clearly marked. There are a number of places along the beach to indulge in your water sport play: parasailing, SCUBA, snorkeling, jet skis, windsurfing, etc.

Our traveling companions elected to spend the rest of their day lounging on lovely 7 Mile Beach. My husband was on a mission to go SCUBA diving here on world-renowned Grand Cayman, however, so we caught a cab to Turtle Reef Divers, near the Turtle Farm.

My husband was able to join with a twosome who had been diving here before and they headed off to the ladder that drops divers and snorkelers into a small inlet. This inlet is at the beginning of a trench, or small underwater canyon. You descend into the trench, to get out of the surge, and follow it out until you reach "The Wall." He later told me that the water clarity was incredible. The sea life looked like a brilliant, underwater garden on the reef wall. Everything here almost looked manufactured by Disney; perfectly manicured with every color imaginable. A small reef mounded with sea life, a stretch of white sand, a picturesque arch decorated with more brilliant-colored plant and animal life. While he was enjoying the dive of his life, I tried to make the best of it by snorkeling around close by the dive shop. It was a little rough and I had to keep track of where I was so I didn’t get knocked into the cliffs. I did enjoy my encounter with some beautiful angelfish, butterfly fish and others.

Now, you’d think that since I was just up the street from the famous Turtle Farm, I would have gone for a visit. Somehow, I didn’t think of it. I spent the next hour reading a book at the end of the dock and just enjoying the Caymanian sun. Someday we’ll go back, but only after I’ve been able to finish my dive certification and can see for myself this underwater Disney-like wonder!

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Overall, Grand Cayman is a very reasonable, family-friendly environment. I traveled alone, but met several other North Americans who were doing the same thing. I also saw plenty of families and friends traveling in small groups (think Spring Break). The people are great!…Read More

Overall, Grand Cayman is a very reasonable, family-friendly environment. I traveled alone, but met several other North Americans who were doing the same thing. I also saw plenty of families and friends traveling in small groups (think Spring Break).

The people are great! In all of my 80,000 miles of traveling in 2000, I wasn't treated more like royalty than in Grand Cayman.

At The Beach Club Bay Colony Resort, there are several activities to keep you entertained including scuba diving, snorkeling, cooking lessons and just plain lounging on the beach. There are also equipment rentals (fee included if you are staying at the resort) for jet-skis, etc.

The nights are fun, but quiet (in the rooms). The staff is hospitable. The prices - quite reasonable considering all 50 pina coladas you will consume in the 4 days you are there are entirely included in your package.

There are only two all-inclusives on Grand Cayman - Of the two, stay at The Beach Club Bay Colony Resort! You won't be disappointed!

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Caymanian cuisine has diverse origins. Some menu items may be "foreign" to you. Jerk from Jamaica... Yorkshire pudding from England... Spices from Africa. Here is some information that should help you navigate local menus, however when in doubt: ask! The natives are…Read More

Caymanian cuisine has diverse origins. Some menu items may be "foreign" to you. Jerk from Jamaica... Yorkshire pudding from England... Spices from Africa.

Here is some information that should help you navigate local menus, however when in doubt: ask! The natives are oh-so-friendly.

Ackee & Codfish: Ackee is a fruit that when cooked, often looks like scrambled eggs; Jamaican origin

Cassava: Root vegetable often prepared like potatoes and served as a side dish or stew.

Conch: Marine snail popular throughout the Caribbean; usually served as a stew, fried as fritters or chopped with onions as a salad; pronounced 'konk.'

Jerk: Meats and fish are rubbed with spices and left to marinate beofre being smoked over a low fire; level of spiciness is often a huge surprise to American palates.

Patties: Similar to English pasties, patties are usually pastry shell stuffed with beef; West Indian influence.

Scotch Bonnet: Small, very hot pepper.

Local publications including Key to Cayman magazine (2001-02 issue) were used as a resource for this entry.

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Two forms of currency are accepted everywhere in the Caymans: American dollars and Cayman Island dollars. The exchange rate is fixed and unvarying: $1.25 US equals $1 CI. Any time US dollars are used change is given in Cayman dollars. Prices…Read More

Two forms of currency are accepted everywhere in the Caymans: American dollars and Cayman Island dollars. The exchange rate is fixed and unvarying: $1.25 US equals $1 CI. Any time US dollars are used change is given in Cayman dollars. Prices may be quoted in $ US or $ CI or both.

This provides a very convenient system, at least to Americans, as it avoids all transaction fees for converting currency. But it has a second effect that shows up, particularly at restaurants, where prices are always given in $ CI. As you peruse the menu, prices don't seem out of line with what you're used to seeing. It's only when the bill comes and you recall the 25% premium for Cayman dollars that you realize, yep, that was expensive.

One other thing: Most restaurants automatically add a 15% gratuity to the bill. If the service was great, you may want to add on another couple of dollars - but don't make the mistake of adding an 18% tip when the establishment has already taken 15%.

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