Just returned from 4 nights in GC. My husband and I stayed at the Westin.
We had an island view room with a balcony on the 3rd floor. We decided not to
spend the extra money for an ocean view/front room. If you decide to spend
the extra money make sure you can see the ocean. The palm trees are very
tall. We were on the 3rd floor and could not see anything due to the height
of the palm trees. Most of the ocean view rooms would have this same problem,
unless you were on the top floor (5th).
The hotel was very nice, not as large as other resort hotels I've stayed in,
but it was very easy to get from the parking lot to your room, room to the
pool, etc. All of the staff were very friendly, always saying hello when
passing in the halls, etc.
There was a small group staying there, if it weren't for them, the hotel
would have been very empty. They have had to lay off a bunch of staff due to
the shortage of tourists. We did not eat in the hotel, except for a sandwich
one day by the pool.
We did rent a car, from Budget, $22 a day. It was a great to have the car,
made getting around very easy. It was raining when we got off the plane so we
used the time to go to Foster's market to stock the room on the basics. The
market had everything you would find in a US grocery store, very clean and
well stocked. By the time we did this the rain had stopped and we were able
to go to the pool.
The beach area at the hotel was very nice, the water was warm and calm all
the time.
Dining Out - We ate at the following places:
Reef Grill: Excellent. Food, service and atmosphere were great. Highly
recommend this place.
Smugglers Cove: Also very good service, food and atmosphere. This and the
Reef Grill were our 2 favorite places.
For most of our meal we were the only people there. The waitress commented
that her husband just got layed off from the Westin, and her income was so
low they may have to leave the island.
The Wharf: the food was good, but the service was very poor and the atmosphere
not good either. Would not recommend this place, would rather go the the Reef
Grill a second time.
Lone Star Bar & Grill: our last night we were tired of overeating big
fancy meals, so we overate fajitas and margaritas. This is a mostly local
place, food was good and quick.
Chicken! Chicken!: had lunch there one day and the chicken was great great.
Highly recommend.
Eats Cafe: we had breakfast there our last day and it was great. Not much of a
bargain but very good food.
Daytime Activities:
We took the Atlantis submarine ride. While this was interesting it was not
really worth the $69 each. We didn't really see that many fish. If you have
any tendency to be nervous about tight spaces, don't do this. They had a trip
for $10 extra where a diver feeds the fish. This would probably be worth the
extra money so you could actually see some fish.
Snorkelling: We took the 3 hour, 3 stop trip from Captain Marvin's. We got a 20%
discount for paying cash. This was a great trip. We have snorkelled in many
places and have never really been impressed with what we saw.
The stop at the Coral Reef was great and the Cayman Wall was amazing. The last
stop at Stingray City was the best. Swimming, feeding and being in the water
with the Rays was very cool.
Bring an underwater camera for this trip, you would get some
great shots. Much better value for your money than the Atlantis.
We went one night to the Legendz bar for live music (Tues & Thurs). Also
one night at the Reef Grill (Royal Palms) beach bar for live music.
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