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Two questions about Grand Cayman and Aruba

jjking42

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Grand Cayman Question
Wyndham Reef or one of the Morritts resorts ?

Aruba Question
Have they been hit with the Sargassum like everywhere else in the Caribbean. Looking for clean beaches. I know it nature and it moves.But is Aruba better of than most places?
 

shorts

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Wyndham Points
Morritts Tortuga Club (9 wks) Grand Cayman
We have stayed at both the Reef and own at Morritts. You can’t go wrong with either. I believe all units are oceanfront at the Reef still although they have added some new buildings since I have stayed there. If you can get into the Grand or Londoner at Morritts you are guaranteed oceanfront but otherwise may get poolside.

Both have great restaurants and entertainment. Reef has a set electric charge and is quite a bit higher. At Morritts it is metered based on your usage.

Have a great trip.
 

SHG

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Riviera Beach and Spa, Dana Point
HGVC Flamingo
HGVC on Blvd
Hyatt Beach House
We have stayed at both the Reef and own at Morritts. You can’t go wrong with either. I believe all units are oceanfront at the Reef still although they have added some new buildings since I have stayed there. If you can get into the Grand or Londoner at Morritts you are guaranteed oceanfront but otherwise may get poolside.

Both have great restaurants and entertainment. Reef has a set electric charge and is quite a bit higher. At Morritts it is metered based on your usage.

Have a great trip.
Interesting, I was just looking at Caymen also. shorts, can you tell me more about the Morrits? Specifically, they have 5 codes (MTU, MT2, MT3, MLO and MTD). IF you happen to get one of the rooms that is say a 'MTU' unit (unrated), what is the condition of the rooms. I have looked at some of the reviews and they seem to be mixed, some good (if you get a good room), and some bad (if you get a bad room). Can you get a good room from the 'MTU' rated reservation?? I was thinking just trying for the Wyndham Reef to be safe....?

Also, can you say how it is to say on the east side of the island vs staying on 7 mile beach?? It seems far and isolated??
 

SHG

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Riviera Beach and Spa, Dana Point
HGVC Flamingo
HGVC on Blvd
Hyatt Beach House
We have stayed at both the Reef and own at Morritts. You can’t go wrong with either. I believe all units are oceanfront at the Reef still although they have added some new buildings since I have stayed there. If you can get into the Grand or Londoner at Morritts you are guaranteed oceanfront but otherwise may get poolside.

Both have great restaurants and entertainment. Reef has a set electric charge and is quite a bit higher. At Morritts it is metered based on your usage.

Have a great trip.
Note. I just checked the fees for each resort. Morritt's is ~300-$350/wk for a 2 bdrm. Wyndham is $400/wk for a 2 bdrm. Both are the highest fees I have seen.....
 

joyzilli

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Note. I just checked the fees for each resort. Morritt's is ~300-$350/wk for a 2 bdrm. Wyndham is $400/wk for a 2 bdrm. Both are the highest fees I have seen.....
We never paid that much for a 2 bedroom and we've gone numerous times. I think it was always under $200 for the 2 bedroom for the week.
 

shorts

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Morritts Tortuga Club (9 wks) Grand Cayman
Interesting, I was just looking at Caymen also. shorts, can you tell me more about the Morrits? Specifically, they have 5 codes (MTU, MT2, MT3, MLO and MTD). IF you happen to get one of the rooms that is say a 'MTU' unit (unrated), what is the condition of the rooms. I have looked at some of the reviews and they seem to be mixed, some good (if you get a good room), and some bad (if you get a bad room). Can you get a good room from the 'MTU' rated reservation?? I was thinking just trying for the Wyndham Reef to be safe....?

Also, can you say how it is to say on the east side of the island vs staying on 7 mile beach?? It seems far and isolated??

The units at Tortuga (specifically poolside and the wooden oceanfront building) are undergoing renovations. Most of them have been completed and are very nice! However there are still a few units with outdated furnishings that get the bad reviews. It won’t be long before they are all updated.

We really like staying on the east end vs 7 mile beach due to all the crowds from the cruise ships each day. There are several restaurants in the area, some of which will pick you up at the resort if you don’t want to rent a car, although if only there a week I’d recommend a car. There is also Rum Point, the Botanical Garden, the Crystal Cave, Stingray City, Starfish Point, Kiabo Tuesday night BBQ beach party and other things on this side of the island to do. Not counting all of the activities at the resort along with 3 pools.

If you do venture into Georgetown or to 7 mile beach, check with your assigned host for discount tickets and the best day to go when the fewest ships are in port. Your host can also make reservations for you so be sure to make use of he/she. And yes, the hosts are also sales reps but they are not hard push like at many resorts. They really will help you with discounts and information on the island and the resort activities. Good luck whichever way you decide to go. You will love Cayman!
 

shorts

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Morritts Tortuga Club (9 wks) Grand Cayman
Note. I just checked the fees for each resort. Morritt's is ~300-$350/wk for a 2 bdrm. Wyndham is $400/wk for a 2 bdrm. Both are the highest fees I have seen.....

At Morritts a lot of it will depend on the time of year you are there, how many people, and how you watch your usage. We go in the February to April time frame and usually pay $80 to $120 a week for a 2BR. The $120 is when there are 6 of us. When just 2 of us it’s usually $80-100. We keep AC set to 74 daytime and 68 overnight. We cook in a lot and run the dishwasher and do laundry once a week. We are very diligent about turning off lights.

In the past when we have visited during summer time, I don’t think we ever had an electric bill over $200. It’s under your control. You may not know ahead of time how much it will be at Morritts but at least you can control it to some extent and it should be quite a bit less than the Reef charges.
 

SHG

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At Morritts a lot of it will depend on the time of year you are there, how many people, and how you watch your usage. We go in the February to April time frame and usually pay $80 to $120 a week for a 2BR. The $120 is when there are 6 of us. When just 2 of us it’s usually $80-100. We keep AC set to 74 daytime and 68 overnight. We cook in a lot and run the dishwasher and do laundry once a week. We are very diligent about turning off lights.

In the past when we have visited during summer time, I don’t think we ever had an electric bill over $200. It’s under your control. You may not know ahead of time how much it will be at Morritts but at least you can control it to some extent and it should be quite a bit less than the Reef charges.
THANK YOU for the detailed and insightful information. I will give Morritts another round of consideration.
 

easyrider

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The diving is great in this area. I like Morritts better because of the restaurant near the dive shop at the end of the dock. The Reef had a better restaurant than Ivan's at Morritts. The entertainment was good at either resort. The Barefoot Man was at the Reef. A Jamaican rock band was at Morritts. Who knows who is playing these days.

Morritts Grand would be better than the Tortuga. We were in the Tortuga with a smallish side view of the ocean. Most of the Tortuga units are pool view.

Everything costs about 30% to 50% more than what a person from the USA would think. A case of beer was almost $60.

Bill
 

RNCollins

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This is a link to a great snorkeling blog for the Cayman Islands. The owner has even made maps of the snorkel sites around Grand Cayman:

https://snorkelblog.tumblr.com/
 

mark201235

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Just returned home from a week in Aruba. No sargassum anywhere that I saw. We stayed at the Divi Aruba Phoenix (Palm Beach) with no issues. Eagle Beach looked great. Drove to Baby Beach and spent a few hours and it was beautiful. We were in Cancun twice in the past 6 months. Catalonia Playa Maroma in March and Royal Sands in June, both full of sargassum. This was a nice change and we had a fantastic time in Aruba.

Grand Cayman Question
Wyndham Reef or one of the Morritts resorts ?

Aruba Question
Have they been hit with the Sargassum like everywhere else in the Caribbean. Looking for clean beaches. I know it nature and it moves.But is Aruba better of than most places?
 
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