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