Facilities

By far the most important facility for tourists in Grand Cayman is the range of accommodation available. Since the destination mainly serves an American market, and receives a significant number of business travellers, accommodation of good quality is vitally important to the destination. Many of the hotel complexes are also known as 'resorts'.

The Government is keen to promote the range and quality of the accommodation available at the destination.

The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism commits significant time and resources to ensure that hotels comply with all standards set out in the Tourism Accommodations Law. All accommodations are subject to ongoing inspections, and ongoing training and staff development programs are provided to staff and management of tourism businesses to ensure that they have the knowledge and training necessary to provide world-class products and service.'

Accommodation on all three islands are classified into the following categories:

• Hotels
• Condos/ Apartments
• Villas/ Guest Houses/Cottages
• Bed & Breakfast

Five Star Hotels

Amongst the most prestigious of the hotel resorts on Grand Cayman is The Ritz-Carlton. This five star resort has a wide range of facilities, which are outlined below:

General Features:

Bar, Beach Access, Beach Chairs, Conference Rooms, Garden View, Gift Shop, Non-Smoking Rooms, Ocean View, Oceanfront, Pool, Restaurant, Rollaway beds, Safes, Sand Beachfront, Seven Mile Beachfront, and Wheelchair Accessible. Total Bedrooms: 365

Services:

Babysitting, Catering, Housekeeping, Infant Gear, Laundry, Room Service, Spa Services, Voice Mail, Wedding Services

Sports:

Fishing, Golf, Gym, Ocean Kayak, Scuba, Snorkelling, Tennis

Amenities:

Air Conditioning, Blenders, Cable / Satellite TV, Ceiling Fans, Coffee Makers, Cribs, Dishwashers, Hair Dryers, Internet Access, Irons, Microwaves, Mini Bar, Phones, Porch/Patio/Veranda, Radio/Stereo, Range/Oven, Refrigerators, Toasters, TV, Washer/Dryer

Activity 5

Other Hotels

Hotels generally do not have the same range of facilities as the luxury resort hotels, especially sports and recreation facilities.

An example of a 3 star hotel on Grand Cayman is the Comfort suites.

'Comfort Suites Seven Mile 'Beachstyle' with its friendly staff and personalised service welcomes you and your family and friends to the heart of the Seven Mile Beach Area. Comfort Suites is an excellent choice for families, individual travellers and corporate travellers who are looking for an affordably priced, all-suite, beachside property with a great location.

Before heading to our freshwater pool Jacuzzi, guests can relax and enjoy free daily deluxe continental breakfast available each morning in the breakfast lounge.

One of the most important organisations involved in the development and conservation is the National Trust for the Cayman Islands. The National Trust for the Cayman Islands is a non-profit, statutory body whose mission is:

Stinger's Restaurant Pool Bar is open for lunch, dinner and room service and offers nightly Happy Hour specials. In addition to the wide variety of restaurants, pubs, entertainment and night life that are within walking distance of Comfort Suites, our guests enjoy exploring and experiencing the beautiful public beaches and attractions in Grand Cayman.'

 

Condominiums

'Condos' are what would be called apartments in Europe. They are self-contained for tourists who enjoy self-catering or eating out and have two or three bedrooms.

The London House Condominiums are a good example.

'Situated on world-famous Seven Mile Beach; London House offers 21 one and two bedroom luxury, comfortable apartments surrounded by lush tropical landscaping. The units are fully equipped with central air conditioning, heavenly beds, flat screen TV in all bedrooms and free wireless internet. Come, stay with us for a while and we promise you will be back.'

Villas and Cottages

A villa or a cottage is a self-contained property, which is available for a weekly rental, or for longer periods. The Cotton Tree complex is an example of what is available.

Cotton Tree is a collection of four modern, Cayman-inspired beach cottages. A place where you can completely relax, unwind and be soothed by the rhythmic sounds of the Caribbean Sea.

These ocean front cottages have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, living and dining area, kitchen and private patio. Caribbean-inspired interiors by an award winning designer features handcrafted furniture, high ceilings and large windows with panoramic views. The master bedroom features a king bed, walk-in closets and en-suite master bath with large Jacuzzi tub, while the guest bedroom features either a queen bed or two twin beds.

Bed & Breakfast

Only two B&B's are listed in Grand Cayman, which indicates the nature of tourism to the destination.

The two establishments listed can be found at:

 

Other facilities

Owen Roberts International Airport (ORIA) commenced commercial operations in 1952 and is the major gateway linking the Cayman Islands to destinations worldwide and provides the main point of entry and exit to Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. It is located in the capital, George Town, and is approximately five minutes from downtown, the banking and financial district and the cruise ship terminal and is also within close proximity of Seven Mile Beach, the heart of the islands' tourism industry.

The airport which has a runway of 7,008 feet long by 150 feet wide is poised for a major redevelopment in the near future. The largest aircraft that can currently be accommodated is a Boeing 767.

The airport plays a major role in the islands' tourism and financial sectors, annually catering to approximately 25,000 commercial and private aircraft movements and processes approximately 850,000 passengers which include tourists, business visitors and residents of the three islands.

Airlines providing weekly, daily and charter services into Grand Cayman include Cayman Airways, the national flag carrier of the Cayman Islands, Air Canada, American Airlines, British Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines and US Airways. The airport is located within walking distance to the majority of the rental car agencies.

What facilities are missing?

The island relies heavily on cruise ship passengers, but does not have adequate docking facilities. This means that cruise ships have to anchor off of the main harbour at George Town and passengers are ferried onshore by tender boats. This decreases the time that passengers have on the island and can discourage some passengers from coming ashore, especially in rough seas.