“Quality but Pricey”
Review of Marriott Grand Cayman Beach Resort 4.0 of 5 stars
By Michael P, New York USA From Trip Advisor
Went on this vacation with a group of 6 friends, all of us in our early 20’s. We ate the majority of our breakfast and lunch meals at the resort, and the majority of our dinners out of the resort.
Pros: beach is nice and clean, their are many sturdy floaty bed things in the water, their is a bar and place to eat right up against the beach, the pool and jacuzzi is right next to the beach so one can easily cool off or heat up, and the ocean is filled with aquatic life (will explain more below)
Negatives: did not bother me (they actually added to the energy of the resort) but could possibly annoy some people that while i was there they were hosting a number of youth soccer teams (what had to be at least 50-70 teenage soccer kids using the entire resort), and the beach is truly the main attraction of the hotel (not much other things to do without leaving the hotel).
*Aquatic Life is AMAZING: BUY!!! a water proof camera and bring goggles because you will be taking pictures of fishes you have never even seen before (not scary ones though, they swim away from you) including large schools of fishes, blue fishes, yellow and blacked stripped fishes, rainbow fishes, live conch in its shell, and even sea urchin.
Warning though sea urchin HURTS! when you step on it, unfortunately i can attest to this!
*Within walking distance of the hotel is a smoothie place, a burger joint, an ATM (although this should be at the hotel), a liquor store, and even a plethora of full fledged restaurants (although we took cab vans to dinner).
*I STRESS the liquor store, which although is expensive in its own right is cheap compared to everything else especially at the hotel. The hotels food and drinks, especially when coupled with the exchange rate difference between the $US and $CID is a bit of a culture shock. I have gone to bars in NYC and ate at top restaurants yet paying a bill here was a bit uncomfortable. A light lunch and a drink turned into 20-30 bucks real quick! Will save you some money if you make yourself a nice tall drink before heading down to the beach.
*Will not be able to live off anything less than $80-100 a day. That being said swimming in the water there was amazing, and the STING RAY CITY excursion which you can sign up for and pay for in the hotel lobby was one of the top 10 experiences of my life; holding, swimming, feeding, and even kissing 6 foot 200 pound female sting rays was an experience of a lifetime. Take advantage of that!
Stayed August 2013, traveled with friends
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