best timeshare in Grand Cayman?

[ajmace]

We are hoping to visit Grand Cayman in 2007.

Can those who know give their ideas on which are the best timeshares to go for.

Also tips on rental cars, groceries, restaurants etc. Is it true that the cost of living is high?


Thanks alot

Alan

 

[Judy]

The timeshare with the best location on Grand Cayman is the Plantation Village Beach Resort that trades through II. It isn't the fanciest, but it's on the beach (I'm not sure how wide its beach is after the storms) at the end of 7 Mile Beach nearest town.
If you're only interested in SCUBA diving, then Morritts would be a good choice because it's located near the best diving and has its own dive operation.

 

[Conan]

The two nicest time shares, Morritt's and The Reef, are next door to each other, oceanfront on the quiet east side of Grand Cayman island, about a 45-minute drive from Georgetown, the cruiseship harbour and busy 7-mile beach on the other side. So you'll need a rental car if you want to see the sights (and without a car, unless you pay for taxis, you'll be limited to eating at the properties and at the one other restaurant, Portofino, that's near Morritt's/The Reef).

The Cayman dollar is worth about the same as a euro. The big Foster's supermarket near the airport has fair prices. The better restaurants price entrees at say C$12 for lunch and C$25 for dinner, plus 15% service. A bottle of beer at a restaurant or beachside bar is about C$3.50. You'll pay a daily tax on use of the timeshare, and (at least at Morritt's) about C$60 for the week's utilities.

 

[somerville]

I would say that it is debatable what the best timeshare on Grand Cayman is post-Ivan. Most units on Grand Cayman have been or are in the process of being rebuilt. I can tell you that the units at my resort, Seven Mile Beach Resort (SMB), are very nice since the remodeling. SMB is next door to Plantation Village. While Plantation Village extends from West Bay Road to the beach, many of the units would have no view of the water, and therefore would not have any advantage over SMB. As for the beach at that end of the beach, I can say that it is fluid. When I was there at Christmas, it was better than it had been before Ivan, but not as good as it was last summer before Wilma. I don't know how it is now.

One thing you need to decide is which part of the island you want to be on. Morritt's and the Reef are in the East End, which is remote. There is much more activity and amenities along the 7 Mile Beach strip. I prefer that area, but we always rent a car and drive around the island. If you are RCI only, you will be limited to Morritt's and the East End.

Grand Cayman is not inexpensive. Rental cars are expensive on Grand Cayman. On a dollar for dollar basis, restaurant prices compare to a major US city. However, you have to remember that the US Dollar is only worth 80 Cents CI. Most food has to be imported, but then the food on most Caribbean islands has to be imported. There are plenty of grocery stores and restaurants.

As for Scuba diving, the best side of the island for that is also debatable. I prefer diving the North wall. Most North Wall dive sites are closer to 7 Mile Beach. In addition, there are many West end dives sites that are just a few minute boat ride.

 

[caribbeansun]

As a member of TUG you can read the reviews of the resorts on the island.

My personal preference, and I'm biased because I own there, is The Reef. We toured all the others, stayed at the Grand Caymanian and bought at The Reef. We've now purchased at Castaway Cove which is the condo development at The Reef so I don't think you can get a better endorsement of that resort.

Everybody looks for something different, perhaps if you gave us an idea of your top 5 requirements for a great vacation we could provide a more well rounded suggestion(s) rather than each of us that owns at a different resort touting our own location.

 

[KHolleger]

The Reef Resort

My pastor and his wife stayed at The Reef Resort in January. They said it was the best place they'd ever been!

 

[TomCayman]

I'm guessing the OP is looking to exchange in, so before they were to get their hopes up about The Reef (should they prefer us ), I should note that in the first 10 weeks of the year we have had under 30 II members manage to get an exchange in to The Reef (most of our owners use us to rent out their weeks if they can't make it "home")... so needles and haystacks come to mind

Morritts (for RCI members) is a lot easier to get into, but they do have an RCI 1 in 4 rule, so that limits future visits.

 

[Rod in Louisiana]

We are hoping to visit Grand Cayman in 2007.

Can those who know give their ideas on which are the best timeshares to go for.

Also tips on rental cars, groceries, restaurants etc. Is it true that the cost of living is high?


Thanks alot

Alan

Whether you consider the cost of living to be high in the Cayman Islands depends on what you're using for comparisons.

The cost of liquor is incredibly high because the Cayman government places a very heavy duty on imported liquors. You can see this quite easily when you compare the price of the same item between an on-island liquor store and a duty-free shop. For example: a one-liter bottle of Tortuga Rum, purchased at an on-island liquor store will cost around $35 USD. That same bottle of rum, purchased at a duty-free shop at the airport when you're leaving the island, will cost around $10 USD. That huge difference is duty, and you're paying duty on every alcoholic drink you consume in the Caymans, unless you take your liquor with you.

Much is made about the United States Dollar (USD) being worth less than the Cayman Dollar (CI). Strictly speaking, that's correct. The USD is worth about 80 cents when compared to the CI. Howver, the exchange rate, having been fixed for many years, has no effect on the cost of living. The thing that determines the cost of living, relative to anyplace else, is the final cost of the item in USD.

For example: Let's assume that the exchange rate is .8 CI to the USD (which it is), and that the exchange rate in Mexico is 10 Pesos to the USD (I'm rounding here for illustrative purposes). Let's further assume that a snorkeling trip on Grand Cayman costs $35 CI and that the same trip in Mexico costs 400 Pesos. The Grand Cayman trip is actually $4 cheaper in USD, even though the exchange rate in Mexico is more than 12 times higher. So, when determining the cost of living in comparison to other places, forget the exchange rate. For an accurate comparison, you must convert the rate in all places to a common denominator.

After converting to a common denominator, you'll find that the prices in the Cayman Islands, with the exception of liquor, are pretty much in line with the other Caribbean islands and they're even in line with Hawaii.

I've always considered the Cayman Islands to be a bargain when compared to some other destinations, such as Europe. Remember, the USD/CI exchange rate has been fixed for many years. The USD is worth the same, compared to the CI as it was four years ago. Four years ago, you could buy one Euro for 87 cents USD. Today, the cost of one Euro is $1.22 USD. That's a price increase of 40% in currency devaluation alone, for a trip to Europe.

 

[ajmace]

G Caymen suggestions for Must see etc

Thanks to all TUGGERS who have replied.

I guess its Morritts for RCI exchanges and the Reef for II.

What about further suggestions for groceries, car hirte, restaurants, excursions etc.

 

[mecllap]

The Grand Caymanian Resort is really pleasant

I haven't been to the others, so can't say it's the "best" -- but we loved it. You pretty much need a car, unless their shuttle bus will work for you -- but we like to tour around. The room was spacious, well-equipped, with nice balcony. One side just has a view of the golf course; I liked sitting out in the warm breeze with the ocean view. One of its best features was their Stingray Sandbar trip -- the first boat out there in the morning, on Friday less than 10 people on board. If you arrive before 6 or so on Saturday, you can make it to the grocery store on the bus -- helpful since it's closed on Sunday (and we weren't used to driving on the left yet). The bus also goes to seven-mile beach. They are located on the "other" side of the island (1.5-2 miles from 7 mile) and there's not very good swimming or snorkeling there. When the water is calm, you can watch fish from the dock. It's very quiet; they have a couple of activities most days; the rooms are very nice (we had 1-bedroom with well-equpped full kitchen -- the studio has a kitchenette). There's a recent resort review, if you're a TUG member, that tells a lot more, and pretty well. It's been very well rebuilt/refurbished since Ivan.