Where To Stay In The Cayman Islands
Some condos and hotels on Seven Mile Beach
So...you are planning a trip to the Cayman Islands and you need to find that place that will make your holiday perfect. Trust me, when I say that I know a bad place can certainly ruin a holiday experience. The great news is the Caymans is a pretty expensive place, but it has a little something for everyone.
We have been going to the Caymans for years and years and we have stayed in a lot of places - trust me when I say I know what I am talking about when it comes to the Caymans.
The first tip - whatever you do...make sure you stay on Seven Mile Beach! It is worth the extra $$$ and it will make or break your vacation depending on what you choose. There is nothing like Seven Mile beach and you will not regret staying there.
The Beachcomber on the left and the Meridian on the right.
This is our favorite place to stay and I cannot count the amount of times we have stayed at the Meridian. To start with, it is in the nicest section of beach from the Beachcomber down to the Caribbean Club, but it is also on the nicest section of that section. You can walk out into the crystal clear, warm water and play some monkey in the middle or what a lot of people seem to like to do is take a giant floaty and drink and talk around it. Which to me sounds like a nightmare come true and like one of the most boring things you could do…But to each their own. I would rather be having stand up paddle wars or snorkeling to the nearby mini reefs. That is also one of the nicest things about the Meridian is you can snorkel to the left or the right of the hotel and there are always loads of little fishies. Just look for the darker spots of the water and swim out to them. We also like to take our paddle board out with us and tie to to a booey. It makes it so that we can snorkel longer because we can take breaks when we get tired.
The Meridian also has a nice little gym, great rooms with nice kitchens and living areas. The deck is also very nice with a mosquito (not that there are many in the caymans)/Lizard net. When we eat in the condo we like to eat on the deck. They also have a pool and hot tub that is always fun, especially for kids. There seems to always be lawn chairs available even during the high season and you can pull them down the beach to be closer to the water if you want. They also have two covered cabana areas with lawn chairs, but you have to get up pretty early to get those.
Villas of the Galleon with the dark blue roofs and the Westin with the light blue roof.
We stayed here once because…well we booked our accommodation too late and despite the fact that it has no pool and at the time had no hot tub it was a nice place to stay. It got a little warm in the evenings and it has certainly been around a long time! As far as condominiums on seven mile beach go it is more of a budget option as it is not as fancy and does not have the amenities that the newer and more expensive condominiums have. At the same time it gets the job done and has a nice part of beach because it is set back from the ocean, giving you more tanning real estate. I would recommend you try to book one that has a beach front or sea view because it will make your vacation that much more enjoyable.
The Westin
They have nice accommodation as far as the larger hotels go on Seven Mile Beach. It is an older hotel and certainly not as fancy as the Ritz…but that is also reflected in the price - as it is a bit more affordable and has a nice pool and hot tub. They also have a beach bar/restaurant and the rooms are also nice enough. One of the main downsides to staying at a hotel on Seven Mile instead of a condominium is first the fight for lawn chairs and umbrellas and secondly you are crowded together with tons of people like sardines. But if you are a social person, unlike myself than it is a good way to meet people I guess…. I am sure in the off season it probably is not quite as busy….
The Westin also had Red Sail Sports which is outrageously over priced with some of the least friendly staff on the island, but still a convenient place to rent kayaks, Stand Up Paddle Boards, jet skis and what not. The other thing about them is you get a pretty small boundary that you can take their stuff in. If you do stay at the west in, you might want to consider renting your SUP board from someplace like White Stand Water Sports. But at the same time it is convenient so it has that going for it.
The Ritz...The Drone was a little sideways... the building doesn't actually lean like that...
Speaking of ginormous hotels! Lets talk about the Ritz. We stayed here once for a night before our condominium was ready for us. It was of course a fantastic and comfortable room with fancy towel designs. I mean who are we kidding? It is the Ritz after all! They have a great spa, some gigantic pools, a game room for the kids, great artwork, a gym, restaurants, a bar and so much more! But because it is such a gigantic hotel with so many amenities you are going to have to share them with a lot of people! The beach is always crowded during the high season, and I am sure it is a war for a lawn chair. Although I am not gonna lie, their lawn chairs are pretty fancy and do look comfortable. But the lawn chairs in the front, right by the ocean are prime real estate and I am sure only the earliest of early birds can get their hands on one of those.
The swimming area is also sectioned off with some ropes in the ocean. Which I think is unnecessary, but maybe a nice touch if you have kids. That part of the ocean gets deep pretty fast compare to other parts of the beach. They also have some fun toys such as hobies, SUP boards, kayaks and more for rent exclusively for guest of the hotel. They have some fun floating things in the ocean for your use as well. We used to play king of the hill on them and cause all sorts of mayhem when we were teenagers. I also know from first hand experience that the game room is great because even though we were not staying there we would make ourselves at home when we were teenagers.
One of the things that would annoy me is they require you to have shoes on walking through the building. Probably to stop hooligans like my teenage self and friends from entering at our own leisure. But who wants to bring their shoes to the beach? In fairness they have cubbies for you to put them, but it is just one of those little things that would annoy me.
They also don’t take kindly to you doing flips in their pool….so you are a lot more monitored there than you would be at a condominium (depending on the one, of course).
But, as I said before it depends what you are looking for. The Ritz has it all, you literally would never have to leave the property and you would have a great vacation depending on what you are into. It is like a giant cruise ship forever on land.
This was one of the first places that we stayed in the Caymans and for many, many years. It is an older condominium that will probably not be getting a facelift any time soon as their are a lot of politics. One of the nice things is that it is only two or three stories high and has a great beach front as it is set farther back than many of the newer condos. The patios all have mosquito (not that there are many in the caymans)/lizard nets and it has a little pool, hot tub and tennis court. There always seems to be enough lawn chairs for everyone and if you stay over new years you will get your own private fireworks show from one of the long time owners of a few condos there. When we stayed the staff was always friendly and it is on a nice part of the beach. There is no restaurant at this property, but it is very close to the local grocery store called Fosters and many other food options nearby.
We haven’t stayed at the Avalon in ages, but I always loved the light purple color of the building. It is set back off the beach and the Beach is a little steeper in this areas with great swimming but only decent by Cayman standards as it gets deeper faster here and tends to have more washed up dead coral. That being said, it is still amazing but if we compare it to other parts of the beach it is just fine. The rooms are nice and it is a smaller unit. It is also a close walk to the public beach, which can be a good or bad thing depending on what you are into. If you like to party and want to head down to the local bar every night for some good music and drinks than it is great! If you do not want to hear the sound of bass all night during the weekends or new years (lets be honest during new years you will not be able to escape the noise, no matter where you go! but it is a good type of noise full of energy and excitement) than you might want to bring ear plugs or stay somewhere else.
This is like a mix of a hotel and condo. The rooms are all condos, but there are a lot of them and some of them are set back off the beach without a sea view. It has a large pool and a restaurant and the Beach can get pretty crowded during the high season. It is set farther back from the water which is a nice touch and there are no condominiums to the left (if you are facing the building) as it is next to a private house. That is kind of nice because it is in its own little area. The rooms are very nice with well appointed kitchens, a large deck and large bedrooms. The only negative I have to say about it is it has a snobby vibe, which is totally fine if that is what you are into, but that is not personally what I enjoy.
The Beachcomber also has very nice units! Very nice rooms and kitchen, It is one of the “newer” condos on seven mile. It has a nice pool and there are grills that you can use if you so please outside by the pool. The stretch of beach from the Beachcomber to the Caribbean club is the nicest stretch of beach on all of seven mile. It is far enough from the hotels that the water and beach in this area is never too crowded! There is also a lot of beach front for sunbathing, flying kites, building sandcastles or whatever it is that you want to do on the beach. The Beachcomber also tends to attract a “snobbier” clientele, which is totally fine and it is whatever you are into.
This is next to the Avalon and is a nice enough place to stay. We stayed here a few times. The rooms are old but clean and nice enough. They have a tiny little pool that I remember being colder than the ocean and no hot tub. The beach is never too crowded in that area and it is close to the Westin if you want to head to their bar or get some food. Or maybe you want to rent something from the over priced and unfriendly red sail sports. I would try and get a place with a sea or oceanfront view if possible.
Don’t forget to book your accommodation well ahead of time, especially if you want to stay in one of the condominiums. I know sometimes it is hard to makes plans that far ahead of time…but we always book our Christmas break accommodation at least a year ahead of time! We have been too late before and had to stay someplace else that we did not enjoy as much. So don’t be like us and book ahead!
What should you do on your trip? Find out more in the blog post below: