Archives for February 2011

Dive into Romance at the Marriott Grand Cayman

While many visit Grand Cayman for their diving, it is also a very romantic and beautiful island.  Take a drive around the island along the coast and you’ll have the opportunity to dine at many waterfront restaurants, many along seven mile beach, where the Marriott is located.  Whether it’s a romantic getaway or a destination wedding, the Marriott Grand Cayman is the perfect choice.  Grand Cayman is a great island on which to marry because all of the marriage paperwork only takes a few hours, so couples have been known to come in by cruise ship for the day and be married by the time they get back on board!  The wedding planners at the Marriott know exactly what to do to make your day a special one.  They prepare weddings for many different budgets and specialize in ethnic and military weddings.  When I met with Lucila Leiva, the wedding coordinator, she had just gotten off the phone with an Indian couple planning their three day traditional wedding.   Not only can you choose the budget and type of wedding you would like, but also the location within the Marriott because they have a tropical courtyard garden, a lush lagoon with turtles who take up residency, a large pool area, or of course you can use the ocean as your backdrop.

The rooms at the Marriott are spacious, clean and comfortable with a terrace overlooking the courtyard or ocean.  While there is plenty to do around the island, one could stay at the hotel for their entire stay and have plenty to do.  Red Sail Sports has a shop at the Marriott and they offer scuba diving and snorkeling trips, and kayak, sailboat, and water bike rentals.  There is a bar and restaurant on the beach so you can set up shop for the day and never have to go back inside.   Their buffet breakfast is phenomenal and includes many varieties of breads, muffins, lox, meats, oatmeal, yogurt, fresh and dried fruit, bacon, sausage, pancakes,  potatoes and an omelet station.  They also have themed dinners and entertainment most nights of the week.

While the food is excellent at the Marriott, you may also want to try a restaurant in West Bay or the East End.  I did not have one bad meal in Grand Cayman.  The food was always bursting with flavor and the seafood so fresh wherever we ate.  Some places I would recommend include Ristorante Luca in the Caribbean Club for its fine dining and ambiance, Over the Edge for it’s great food at a reasonable price, the Lighthouse for the an incredible romantic experience or a jerk chicken shack on the side of the road for some local and delicious cooking!  If you are flexible with your travel dates, I would say to wrap it around the annual “Taste of Cayman” weekend in which a huge selection of restaurants from the island set up shop in one location and for a small cost, you can sample food and drinks from many of the most popular restaurants.  This event is very popular with the locals and is filled with terrific food samples, wine, rum and martini bars,  and live entertainment from the area’s top bands.

So if you’re looking for an island getaway with great food, diving, people and ambiance, I would highly recommend heading to the Cayman Islands! However,  if you rent a car, you will be driving on the opposite side of the street!  I was really nervous since it was new to me and it took me awhile to stop hitting the windshield wipers instead of the blinkers, but the actual driving turned out to be fairly simple since it’s an easy island to navigate.  I guarantee you’ll love the island!

Dive from Dawn ’til Dusk at the Sunset House

The Cayman Islands have been on my list for awhile, and even more so since I became a certified diver.  Last year, I was on a cruise with NJ 101.5 and one of the ports was Grand Cayman but unfortunately the weather was not cooperating and they would not allow us to get off of the ship.  I was so disappointed so I made it a point to visit another time and for more than just the few hours the cruise ship would have allowed.

I flew in on Wednesday and stayed until Tuesday, which was a great length for the trip. However, I could’ve definitely stayed longer and seen more, but I’m not complaining. Originally I was supposed to leave Thursday, but we were expecting another one of our huge snow storms so I decided to leave the morning before and it was a good call because the original flight was cancelled. This trip was such a welcome respite from the freezing weather and snow we have been having all winter.

I decided to stay a few days at “The Sunset House” which is known as a diver’s hotel, run and owned by divers for divers and a couple of days at the Marriott, which is along the seven mile beach stretch and is more of your traditional, romantic hotel. Sunset House is your no frills, but comfortable, friendly and clean hotel, perfect if you’re looking for a trip focused on diving. It is also a great economical choice since many of the hotels along seven mile beach are a bit pricey. They have great shore diving right outside your back porch where you can see a famous mermaid as well as the many fish, eels and other creatures found in Grand Cayman. The shore diving allows you to go whenever you’d like as long as you have a buddy and even if you’re traveling solo, it’s always easy to find one since everyone there is interested in diving as much as possible. They also have five top of the line dive boats which go out each morning and some afternoons to Sting Ray City and to see the new U S S Kittiwake that was sunk just a few weeks ago. You’ll get a locker as soon as you arrive so you can leave your dive gear there for the length of your stay. Everyone at the dive shop of Sunset Divers is very helpful but will also give you your space to do your own thing if that’s what you prefer. When you go out on the boat dives, you have the option to follow a guided tour of the reef or explore on your own with your buddy. You are in charge of setting up your own equipment on the boat, but if you need a hand, they will assist and make sure everything is set up properly. If you are looking for a more VIP diving experience, you’ll want to dive with their sister company, Red Sail Sports. They run a real nice dive operation and they will set up your equipment on the boat, so all you have to do is show up. If you are looking to dive Sting Ray City or the U S S Kitiwake, and your schedule does not mesh with Sunset’s schedule for diving these sites, it’s nice to have other options. I ended up diving Sting Ray City and the U S S  Kittiwake and the Angelfish reef with them. Red Sail Sports has a few locations throughout the island, including Seven Mile Beach and Rum Point, where you can rent sailboats, kayaks, the huge water bikes, and jet skis so no matter what part of the island you are on, you have options.

When you stay at Sunset House, ask for an ocean view room. It is spectacular sitting out on your terrace and watching the sunset or you can watch the sunset at the bar and restaurant and enjoy some good food and drinks while comparing dive pictures. I met a great group of people from Montana, some from Oklahoma, Texas, and Montreal. Meeting people from different regions is one of the best parts of the traveling and the Sunset House’s environment makes this easy. It’s nice to know too that the owner of the property is on site during the day and takes pride in the hotel and making sure everything is running efficiently.  

So the next time you’re looking for a dive getaway relatively close to home (only 3.5 hrs direct), with the opportunity to see sting rays, huge moray eels, lobsters, beautiful french angel fish and so much more, think Grand Cayman and the Sunset House.