Uncrowded Cayman

When we first booked our week through RCI at the Morritt’s Tortuga Club in Grand Cayman, we knew NOTHING about this island. Reading the reviews, we learned that this resort is located on the quieter east end of the island, away from the more popular and crowded Seven Mile Beach. It sounded like heaven. We were both looking for a relaxing, peaceful get-away and our vacation exceeded our wildest dreams. A week on the beach at the Tortuga was just what the doctor ordered. There were no crowds to speak of, in fact, most of the photos we took on the beaches showed NO ONE ELSE around – it was like our own private deserted beach. And the ocean was more beautiful than we could have imagined – a mix of crystal clear azure, turquoise, aquamarine and dozens of other shades of blue/green. The water was also pretty warm this time of year (Aug-Sept), probably 85F.

The weather was warm and a bit humid compared to what we are used to in Phoenix, but on the beach there was always a nice breeze to keep you cool and comfortable. We were lucky that our vacation feel the week after Hurricane Charlie and before Ivan passed through. Hurricane Francis, although damaging to the southern US, did not impact the Cayman Islands.

Another reason we enjoyed our vacation so much, is that it is very clean and safe in the Cayman Islands. We were told that because of very successful off-shore banking industry here, there is little to no unemployment and this has a positive effect on the tourism industry – there is no crime to speak of, no beggars, and no one hawking cheap souvenirs on the beach (which is a major annoyance on the beaches in Mexico and other Caribbean islands). We always felt safe and toured around the island without fear of crime (we’ve heard stories about Jamaica and have no intention of ever visiting there).

Our vacation rates a 10 out of 10.

Quick Tips:

The currency exchange rate makes it a little expensive in the Caymans, but there was no sales tax on anything and it was worth it in our opinion to be able to enjoy ourselves in such a tropical paradise.

Best Way To Get Around:

Rent a car, especially if you are staying on the East End at Morritt's.

Best Things Nearby:
The resort is located on the east end of the island, far from the hustle & bustle and crowds on the west side where the famous seven mile beach is located. There are two other resorts nearby – next door is the Reef Resort (I think they trade through Interval International?) and the new Morritt’s Grand (more on that in a separate review). The beach at Morritt’s was nice, clean and practically empty the entire week we were there. In some ways, we felt we were on a deserted beach like on Gilligan’s Island – it was heaven for us (we would not have liked the crowds at Seven Mile Beach). Most often, there was no one else on the beach near us and we had no problems finding empty beach chairs or hammocks. In fact, each night we took a nice walk on the beach and stopped for a relaxing swing on the hammocks to admire the full moon. The shore/beach is full of rocks so it is imperative you wear beach shoes/sandals. Before our trip, we had never snorkeled before but read that some of the best snorkeling on island was right there at the beach/dock in front of the Morritt’s resorts – and after trying it, we have to agree! The island is surrounded by a barrier reef and we found you could swim out pretty far and still stand up in chest high water – as you got closer to the reef, the water was 8 to 10 feet deep. Just off the beach in front of the resort, we were able to see lots of beautifully colored fish – I wish I knew the names of them all! There were even more and larger fish near the dock, but the dock suffered some damage from a recent hurricane and we were warned not to get too close. We snorkeled three days in front of the resort and each day brought new sightings. We took two other snorkel trips – one to Sting Ray Sand Bar and the Coral Gardens through Red Sail out of Rum Point, and another trip on the north side near the Queen’s Monument (details in separate reviews) which were equally wonderful. Those staying at either the Morritt’s Tortuga Club or the Grand have access to all the shared pools & facilities. The Tortuga has two older pools but they are located away from the beach between several buildings and they were empty most of the time. One of these older pools has a swim up bar and a separate hot tub. The Grand has three new pools right on the beach: a large zero edge pool with swim up bar right on the beach with an amazing view, flanked by two smaller pools on either side (both with the same fantastic view). The larger pool also has an integrated Jacuzzi. We rented a car for the week and used it a few times to go grocery shopping, to go out to dinner (Lighthouse, Vivian’s, and our favorite, Over the Edge), to Rum Point for a Sting Ray snorkeling trip and for lunch, and into the West side of the island to check out 7 Mile Beach, Georgetown, some shopping and lunch and to mail postcards from the post office in Hell. The car rental was $225 US for the week through McCurley’s Tours and included airport pick-up and return service with the car waiting for us at the resort. For first time visitors to Morritt’s, we would definitely recommend this service as the rental company provides a nice map and brief overview of the island (including great restaurant tips, snorkeling spots and speed traps to watch out for), plus a quick stop at the grocery and liquor store between the airport and the resort.

Best Things About the Resort:
The best t hing about this resort is the beautiful beach! On-site at Morritt’s you will find a restaurant/bar, gift shop, activities desk, dive operation (which arranges for snorkel & scuba trips out to other parts of the island including some sunken ships, sunset cruises, windsurfing etc), a kids-club, workout room and a spa. Upon check-in at the resort, we were given a list of daily planned activities (for both adults and children). There were more than enough things to do to keep any group occupied and entertained. We participated in the Monday Night Welcome Reception - you can get a few free drink coupons for the welcome party by spending a few minutes on Monday with an activities coordinator (who also serves as your timeshare sales representative). We had dinner at David’s Restaurant Monday night for the buffet dinner (about $20 US each). Other nightly entertainment included a comedy show, a name that tune contest, newlywed (or not so newly wed) game and live music by Lammie, a well known and popular local musician. Aside from the Monday night buffet and welcome party, we didn’t attend any other events, but heard they were fun.

Resort Experience:
We loved our vacation and would recommend the Morritt’s Tortuga Club to others.

The rooms are spread over a dozen 3-story buildings, about half of which are oceanfront with views. The remaining buildings are situated around two older/smaller swimming pools. We were a bit disappointed to be assigned a pool view room, especially after emailing the resort and calling their management company ahead of time to request an ocean view.

We traded for a one-bedroom unit, which was relatively small but had a full kitchen and was fully stocked with dishes, glasses, utensils and pots/pans. There is no dishwasher, but a dishpan and dish soap are provided. There was also a living room, a dining area, and a small TV (with plenty of US cable channels). The room décor in our unit must have been original (15 years old), but we were told the resort is updating the furnishing building by building – it’s not the Ritz, but it was good enough.

The resort charges for electricity based on how much you use (they say they meter each unit’s electricity consumption). At check out, our electricity surcharge was only $30 CI ($37.50 US) far below the average charges published so I feel there may be some truth in the metering. Typical charges for a 1BR: High = $84CI, Low = $40CI, Average = $53CI. And the government has imposed an $8 CI ($10 US) per night timeshare tax.

Be sure to meet with your Activities Coordinator for tips on onsite activities, off-site activities, sightseeing, local restaurants and drink coupons for that night’s welcome reception and discount coupons for just about everything else you will want to do across the island. The maid service was almost non-existent - each day someone came in to empty the trash and provide clean towels. There is no dishwasher in the unit so we always washed our own each day. Once or twice during the week, it seemed that our bathroom and kitchen may have been wiped down and the unit swept. Luckily, we did not experience any of the bug problems reported by others (ants, cockroaches).

The only other thing to comment on has to do with the high cost of food we encountered on the island. This coupled with a fixed currency exchange rate made some things quite expensive (mostly food & alcohol). The US dollar is worth only 80 cents Cayman (another way to put it is that it takes $1.25 US to equal $1 Cayman). You can find everything you want/need at the local grocery stores so you don’t have to bring an extra suitcase full of food if you don’t want to. We brought some things with us and pick up the rest of the supplies at the grocery store. All things considered, it was worth the premium to enjoy it all on our vacation on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
• Activities: Very Good
• Amenities: Very Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Good
• Family Friendliness: Very Good
• Service: Fair

Best Things Nearby:
There are three beach front swimming pools at the Grand – two smaller pools at either end of the property and a very large zero edge pool with Jacuzzi and swim up bar right in the middle. Sitting in this pool, it also seems like the water merges right into the ocean – what a view! In front of the pools, you will find an abundance of beach chairs, palm trees and hammocks. The entire week we were there, the beach seemed fairly deserted. On a mid-week drive over to the other side of the island we passed through the crowded and more popular Seven Mile Beach. If you are looking for lots of people, late night partying and action, you should find a place there. The Morritt’s offers peace and quite, an escape from the crowds and noise, a place to completely relax and be away from it all.

Best Things About the Resort:
The Morritt’s Grand offers plenty of on-site activities and night time entertainment if you are interested, coordinated through the Tortuga Club next door (be sure to read those reviews). If I had to choose to stay at either the Grand or the Tortuga, I would pick the Morritt’s Grand hands down. Since we got our trade through RCI, we were at the older Tortuga and it was still a wonderful vacation.

Resort Experience:
We didn’t stay at the Grand, but took a tour of the property on a timeshare sales presentation. We actually stayed next door at the Morritt’s Tortuga Club. Morritt’s Grand is a brand new resort located on the same property as the older Morritt’s Tortuga Club and it is SO much nicer (or perhaps just so much newer) than the Tortuga. The first two three-story ocean front buildings are completed, a third four or five story building is scheduled to built between (and slightly behind) the two existing structures. Most rooms in the newer building will have ocean views, but rooms on the two ends will have "courtyard" views. I don’t expect they will begin construction on the third building until they complete the new mini-mall across the street and sell out units in the first two buildings. The new mini-mall should have a small grocery-convenience store, a pizza hut and perhaps some office space.

Each unit we viewed was decorated in a more contemporary island décor. The kitchen and bath had solid surface countertops, which should hold up much nicer than the laminate counters at the Tortuga. The units also boasted ceiling fans – and we are guessing that with a nice ocean breeze, you could get by without running the AC all the time. The one-bedroom units had an integrated shower and standard sized, jetted tub. The two-bedroom had an additional bathroom, and the master bath had a separate, extra large Jacuzzi tub. The two-bedroom also had an in-unit washer & dryer. The units were well appointed with upscale kitchen appliances, and stocked with quality dishes, cooking supplies and utensils. The quality you would expect in a Gold Crown.

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
• Activities: Very Good
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Very Good
• Service: Fair

This was probably the most highly recommended restaurant on the review/message boards, by the resort staff and even the car rental company and it was the first restaurant we ate at on the island.

The atmosphere was wonderful – in addition to indoor or patio seating, you can also be seated on a pier/dock over the water in front of the restaurant. We arrived without reservations a bit earlier than the crowds and were able to sit at water’s edge on the dock that is lit with Christmas tree lights around the edge and gas lanterns on each table. A full moon complimented this dim lighting making for a very romantic setting. The waitstaff and servers all dressed in ship attire (captain’s outfits?) and were very attentive and prompt. We shared the seafood combo for two and had a few glasses of a very nice Pinot Grigio wine. The food was excellent – and the combo dinner included two each of: grilled lobster tail, blackened (or seasoned) salmon, shrimp skewers, and another white fish (mahi). Accompanying the seafood were mashed potatoes, sweat potatoes, and vegetables (maybe asparagus). It was more food than two hungry people could eat! We topped off the meal by sharing a dessert.

With a 10% discount (from the Morritt’s front desk), the total bill came in right at $100 US for dinner, wine and dessert and indicated that a 15% gratuity was already included (as was common in all restaurants we were told). The waiter, upon picking up our paid credit card charge, quickly snuck a peak and made a facial expression that he was not happy we did not supplement the tip. Had they not automatically added the 15% tip, we would have likely paid more. I would have rated this a 10, but will drop the rating to a 9 considering the rude expression we received from the waiter over the lack of an additional tip.

The Lighthouse is located on the south east end of Grand Cayman, about a 30-40 minute drive from Seven Mile Beach or Georgetown, or a 15-20 minute drive from the Morritt’s resorts on the east end.

A few nights later we ate at another place called Over the Edge – although not as fancy, the food and service was even better there!

We ended up here at the Edge purely by accident. We had intended to try out the local cuisine at Vivian’s but when we got there, the daily menu showed they were serving a seafood buffet (conch stew, lobster Cayman-style and a few exotic things I never heard of). Not being in an experimental seafood mood, we opted to return to Vivian’s another day and ventured north to a place called Over the Edge on a recommendation from Mary Dale at Morritt’s.

What a coup this ended up being! While the place doesn’t have the elegant atmosphere of the Lighthouse, the meal, the service and the price could not be matched. When you arrive, you would never guess how good its going to be – the place looks a little run down on the outside, and when you walk in, you will find a mostly empty restaurant and bar – get past that and ask to be seated outside over the water. From our seats, we could see several large fish swim by, and even watched a stingray hanging out not 10 feet from our table. I ordered the Lobster Thermador (it was highly recommended by Beth Ann from McCurley’s Tours) and it was divine.

There was more lobster than I could eat and it was cooked to perfection. I know there were other things on my plate (rice and beans, maybe some plantains and something else, but for the life of me can’t remember what it was – but it didn’t matter). My husband ordered the red snapper and he is still talking about how good it was - I think it’s his new "favorite fish". Food, drinks and tip came to about US $75. I would recommend this place over the Lighthouse. Over the Edge is located on the North Side of the island on road leading to Rum Point – not far west after the north/south road that dissects the island – probably a 45-60 minute drive from the west side (Georgetown or Seven Mile Beach), and only 15-20 minutes from the Morritt’s on the east side. (You can get a 10% discount from the Morritt’s).

Chicken Chicken is a small, local, almost-fast-food type joint in the heart of Seven Mile Beach just north of the light at the Esso gas station in a mini-mall near the butterfly museum. The food was really good and the price was even better – the two of us ate for about $15 CI (under $20 US). This restaurant is very casual and is perfect for a quick satisfying lunch.

We had lunch at Rum Point on the picnic tables among palm trees along the beach with a great view of the aquamarine water and dock. We had just returned from a snorkeling trip out to Sting Ray sandbar and the coral gardens and wanted a light snack. We split the spiced chicken sandwich and fries and each had a drink for about CI$10 (about US$12.50). The food was great and enough for a light lunch – the service was good/fast.

This is a hole-in-the-wall local restaurant that you won’t find unless you know where to look. Miss Vivian cooks local food in the kitchen of her own house and serves it up on a small outdoor ocean front patio in the back. Daily menus are posted on a chalkboard out front on the street and a seafood buffet is available for dinner on Wednesdays. The first time we drove by, the menu listed "cow foot soup" and a few other crazy local specialties so we came back later in the week and were treated to a more recognizable fare (Chicken and Rice and Fried Chicken and other things). Lunch is available for $6 or $7 (Cayman) and includes side dishes (red beans and rice, plantains etc). We would recommend this place to anyone wanting to try out a different type of lunch – it’s a great value at that price.

Vivian’s is located on the far east side of the island on the Queen’s Highway about half way between the Lighthouse (south of Vivian’s) and Portofino’s (north of Vivian’s).

Just west of the Queen’s Monument on the north side of the island (a mile or so east of that North/South road that dissects the Island in half) you will find a small parking lot with a gazebo and beach access. In this part of the island, the reef is VERY close to the shore and it’s an easy swim (the water is so shallow here, you can practically walk out there). We swam around for a while before realizing the reef was so close and we saw lots of neat fish and some lobster. By the time we drifted west towards the dock, we realized the reef was just 10 or 15 more yards out so we took a look and boy – it was amazing how many interesting fish we saw. Aside from snorkeling at the beach in front of Morritt’s Tortuga Club, this was only our second snorkeling adventure and I can’t imagine it getting any better than this. Be sure to wear beach/reef shoes as the beach is all rocks (no where to lay out in the sand).

We booked the 2.5 hour afternoon snorkeling trip to Sting Ray Sand Bar and Coral Gardens through Red Sail on the beach at Rum Point. The price for the two was $55 US (with a $5 discount coupon from the activities coordinator at Morritt’s Tortuga Club) and rental of one set of snorkeling gear. This was money well spent. We went out on a small glass bottom boat that held about 20 or so people – a smaller group than the Catamaran trips. It took 15 or 20 minutes to get from Rum Point out to Sting Ray Sand Bar and the boat’s captain explained what we were to expect, how to handle the sting rays, how to feed them, and how to avoid getting hurt. It was really cool to step out of the boat onto the sand bar (maybe 3.5 feet deep) and have 50 sting rays swim right up to you, brush against you and eat out of your hands (actually, out of my husband’s hand). The stingrays are quite gentle and friendly and it wasn’t as scary as I expected – but what a thrill.

After about 20 to 25 minutes there, we headed over to a nearby spot called Coral Gardens. The water was deeper here – too deep to stand up. Half of the people in the boat grabbed floatation vests as did we. I didn’t really wear it, but wrapped my arm through one of the straps and used it only when I needed a break to clear out my mask or catch a breath of air (after my eel experience). One of the guys from Red Sail had something in his hand and was diving down below the water, then he motioned for the group to get close to him. I was pretty close already and when I moved in a bit, I realized he had coaxed a rather large and scary looking moray eel out of its cave into the open. By the time I realized what was going on, the eel was coming straight at me and instead of screaming and running (can’t really run in 10 foot deep water), I closed my eyes, rolled onto my back and tried to gently swim away without causing a commotion. The eel swam right up and over my body, brushing against me. WHAT AN EXPERIENCE. I don’t think my husband was able to get a photo of this – he was either in fear of my life, or laughing to hard to grab his camera. I moved away to another spot about 30 feet over from the eel and swam around the neat coral formations and to check out LOTS of colorful fish – This was a really good area to see a lot of different types of fish, large and small. Be warned about the eel if you go!

We recommend you take the afternoon trips – the morning trips are full of folks from the cruise ships.

Mail a Postcard from Hell!

We did the typical tourist thing and drove up north of Seven Mile Beach to make a quick stop in Hell to mail some post cards and take a few photos. There really isn’t much to do here and its hot (ha ha) so we would recommend you pick up some postcards in town and fill them out before you get there. In the shop you will find some souvenir items and some cold soda, but not much else. The proprietor will likely walk up to you and ask "How the hell are you doing" or similar. Behind the post office and gift shop is a rather large field of black rock (see photo) and I am sure there is some sort of explanation for this. Remember to bring along some addresses, when we got there, we realized we had left our address book back in the hotel.

Be warned the cruise ships dock in town on Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday and the shops are packed with tourists looking for deals. We were given the tip to avoid the town these days and it paid off as there was little traffic and the stores were not congested. We weren’t much up for shopping – we figured we could get just about everything we wanted/needed back home.

We did find a nice shop in the south part of Georgetown called Pure Art. This little house has been converted to a shop selling local art from Cayman Island residents and other nearby Caribbean islands. It’s a very quaint shop with LOTS of little treasures.

Also, just south of Georgetown on our way back to the East Side, we found a small deserted beach with dock near the Queen's Monument in the South Sound (just south of the airport).

To really see and enjoy all the island has to offer, it is highly recommended that you rent a car. For our first trip to Grand Cayman, we opted to rent a car through McCurley’s Tours who provided transportation from the airport to our resort (Morritt’s on the east end). The rental car was ready for us at the resort and we left it there when they came to pick us up for the return to the airport. This worked out really well for us since we were not familiar with driving in Grand Cayman (remember to drive on the left). The service includes a quick stop at the grocery and liquor store on the way from the airport to the resort - we were able to stock up on food and drinks for the week. Beth Ann (Mrs. McCurley) provided a map and pointed out places to go, things to see, and tips on places to go for beach snorkeling (one of the best spots is near the Queen’s Monument on the north side). The cost for the rental car and airport transportation was $225 (US) for a 4-door Nissan Sentra with AC, plus $8 US for a Cayman driver’s license. This may have been a little higher than some through the major car rental companies, but for the extra $10 to $20, we got a great value and would recommend McCurley’s to any other first-timers or returning vacationers.

It was easy enough (for my husband that is) to get used to driving on the wrong (left) side – the hard part was remembering to look the wrong way when turning a corner into cross traffic, or remembering to stay on the left in parking lots but we managed well.

When driving at night, keep an eye out for sand crabs that cross the road (the night crawling crabs may only be seasonal). You may also come across chickens trying to cross the road (why DO the chickens cross the road anyhow?).

Also, be aware of posted speed limits when driving through the small towns – we were told a speeding ticket would run over $200. The speed limit signs are posted in MPH, and the speedometer was posted in kilometers per hour. Luckily, the folks at McCurley’s taped a small sign showing the conversion from MPH to KPH next to the speedometer.

One of the funniest things we saw driving around was a pedestrian crossing sign – it showed what looked like an older person hunched over with a cane. Just as I was saying "it looks like a crossing for old people", we spotted a small building that provided housing and care for the elderly.

We drove around quite a bit (from Morritt’s to Rum Point, into Georgetown, into 7 Mile Beach, up to Hell and back, out for dinner a few times and to the small local grocery store) and used only seven imperial gallons of gas during the week, which ran $3.30/gallon CI (or $4 US).

P.S. If you use a platinum card that offers rental car coverage, you won't be asked to buy the optional loss damage coverage.

McCurley's Tours:

345-947-9626 Home

345-916-0925 Cell

345-916-0640 Cell

PO Box 150 North Side Post Office

Grand Cayman

British West Indies

UPDATE August 2007
Just returned from another trip to Grand Cayman, and of course rented through McCurley's... BA was the best host/guide, but informed me that they only do rentals on the north and east sides, not to George Town or 7 Mile Beach. FYI

I will post new reviews on a private home we rented this trip - stay tuned.

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.