Holiday Inn Resort Grand Cayman By Ihg

“A great place to stay”

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Resort Grand Cayman for one night before a trip to Little Cayman and we very much would have liked to stay longer. The resort grounds are lovely and well-kept. The room was large and very comfortable. The air-conditioner was quiet and kept the room nice and cool. We … more

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Resort Grand Cayman for one night before a trip to Little Cayman and we very much would have liked to stay longer. The resort grounds are lovely and well-kept. The room was large and very comfortable. The air-conditioner was quiet and kept the room nice and cool. We enjoyed the large swimming pool and both dinner and breakfast at the restaurant. The meals were delicious and plentiful, especially the mango pancakes. The prices were reasonable, Above all, the entire staff was friendly and helpful.

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“A slice of Heaven”

Victoria and all of the staff were wonderful. The resort was beautiful. The restaurant was excellent. We would come back . The shuttle was a great help. Kris Cantrella

“Can’t wait to return.”

This place should be kept a secret. Best travel experience ever. If you are looking for tranquility, this is the place. If you want friendly and welcoming staff, this is the place. If you want good food, this is the place. Bring your children, friends and family.

“I liked the pool and the room, but that was about it”

I recently stayed at this small resort for my first visit to the Cayman Islands and to Grand Cayman in particular. Like many people visiting Grand Cayman for the first time, I soon discovered that resorts on or near Seven Mile Beach are extremely expensive and ended up staying here because it is c… more

I recently stayed at this small resort for my first visit to the Cayman Islands and to Grand Cayman in particular. Like many people visiting Grand Cayman for the first time, I soon discovered that resorts on or near Seven Mile Beach are extremely expensive and ended up staying here because it is cheaper. This place does have a few advantages which I liked. It directly faces a shoreline and is relatively affordable. The swimming pool is large, deep, clean, well-maintained, and in excellent shape. I greatly enjoyed swimming laps during my stay. The furniture around the pool looks new. The room had been well-renovated, well-maintained, smelled good, and was quiet. The AC was super-cold when I walked in but I was able to quickly adjust the temperature from a frigid 66 degrees to a more pleasant 72 degrees. The bed was comfortable and I slept well. No unusual sights, sounds, or smells noted. There was plenty of parking available and I never had trouble finding a space. The landscaping is lush and carefully maintained. There was a large refrigerator in my room that worked great. I was able to save a little bit of money by buying some food at the Foster's supermarket and then eating that rather than visiting the hotel restaurant. Now, here are the disadvantages. This is what we all read Tripadvisor for! As others have noted in their reviews, the Holiday Inn Resort is very isolated. It sits in a rather remote location about a mile east of SMB. You will need a rental car, or prepare to spend a fortune on taxi rides. The single most obnoxious thing about this resort is that to get in and out, you have to take a slow, tedious drive across a golf course, and that means you have to build in a time cushion when planning to go anywhere. You will have to keep slamming on the brakes for speed bumps as you traverse the golf course. Even if you are an expert at speeding up between speed bumps and slamming on the brakes right before you hit the next one, you will rarely get the chance to do that, because so many other resort guests and local drivers stubbornly prefer to plod along instead. You will have to hope your rental car doesn't take damage from flying golf balls. Getting in and out requires lots of backtracking on Esterly Tibbetts Highway. The Cayman government failed to build an interchange or roundabout to serve Safehaven Avenue when it was cut off by the new highway. Instead, users have to go around the roundabouts to the north or south. There is a large high-rise condo complex under construction to the north of the resort, so you will have to dodge construction traffic too. I suspect the traffic issues will only get worse once the new condo complex is complete. Then there is the fact that the Holiday Inn Resort does not face SMB, which explains why it is so affordable. It faces eastward, towards Grand Cayman's North Sound. The Holiday Inn Resort does not have a real beach, only a rocky shoreline with some sand along the top of it. There is a viewing dock to the east, complete with benches, for watching the sunrise. And the public lot for accessing SMB is located not too far from the resort, to the northeast. The Holiday Inn Resort appears to be an older complex from the 80s or early 90s which has been thoroughly renovated. Apart from the dated exterior architecture, tiny lobby, and deep swimming pool (most newer hotel pools are not this deep), the main clue that this is an older complex is the moldy "old hotel" smell in the corridors. The room itself smelled great, but it was still frustrating to encounter a moldy smell every time I went in and out. The resort gym was very small and poorly equipped. I had to go find a local gym and buy a day pass to keep up with my regular exercise on vacation. Overall, the Holiday Inn Resort is a great option if your priority for tropical island vacations is swimming laps in a pool, you plan to get a rental car, and you don't mind lengthy drives to the beach or to go anywhere else. However, if your vacation priorities include proximity to beaches, shopping, or restaurants, you may have to look elsewhere and pay a lot more to stay close to SMB. It is because of these issues that I am rating this resort as a four rather than a five.

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