The good news: The Cayman Islands have some of the finest and most elegant resorts in the Caribbean, opening onto one of the grandest strips of sand in the entire Caribbean Basin.
Now for the bad news: The cost of living here is about 20% higher than in the United States. Winter vacations in the Caymans can be pricey affairs. Because so much food has to be imported from the U.S. mainland, restaurant tabs are second only to the high-priced French islands such as St. Barts and Martinique.
But you can make a trip here affordable. The key is to plan in advance and to visit the islands between mid-April and mid-December, when room rates are 20% to 40% lower than in winter. In addition, you might consider staying in one of several low-cost or moderately priced lodgings that have opened in recent years. Many of these accommodations include facilities for cooking simple meals. Depending on where you come from, however, so-called moderate or inexpensive hotels in the Cayman Islands might be judged "super-expensive" in other parts of the world, including the United States.
Nearly all the hotels on Grand Cayman are lined up along Seven Mile Beach and all of its glitter. Hotels out on the island will be more isolated, but may not front a hospitable sand beach. Unlike many Caymanian restaurants, hotels generally quote prices in U.S. dollars. All prices in this section are quoted in U.S. dollars. When choosing a hotel, keep in mind that the quoted rates do not include the 10% government tax and the 10% hotel service tax.
Consider booking a package tour to make expensive resorts more affordable.
Cayman Diving Lodge -- One of the most famous dive lodges on Grand Cayman, Cayman Diving Lodge, P.O. Box 11, East End (tel. 345/916-7874; www.divelodge.com), should be up and running by the time you arrive on the island. Blown away by Hurricane Ivan in 2004, it is being rebuilt 32km (20 miles) east of George Town. Architectural plans call for a grander resort than before, with private balconies opening onto the beach and palm-studded grounds. Available for rent will be 15 one-bedroom condos, plus a dozen guest rooms and suites. On-site will be a major swimming pool plus a watersports and dive center, as well as a full-service restaurant and bar. The resort will be definitely "green" -- one of the first in the Cayman Islands to be built with ecotourism as its guiding principle. Consult their website or call for more information on rates once the resort opens.
