Holiday Inn Resort Grand Cayman by IHG♡

I do not recommend this hotel bad location.

1.0

When we checked into the hotel the rep. was not very nice. They put us on the first floor area which was not very nice. The hall way leading to the room stink of pet urine and the air quality was poor . The room had a bad smell to it. We asked to be moved but the clerk told us they had no more rooms available. Finally we could not take it anymore. We went into town to eat and checked in the Marriott . The hotel still charged a for a full night . Bottom line if you are looking for fun do not stay there. There is no beach and the place is just not clean. If you’re on a girls trip please stay into on the strip. It will cost you more money in taxes rides going back and forth. This is the first time I was very disappointed with my stay at a Holiday Inn Hotel . They did refund the last two days.

− Nothing at all, not even the Cats

Guest review

8.0

The staff was very friendly and quick to help. The beds are super comfortable and the rooms overall were nice.

− Coffee maker didn't work in our room and the room was a little small overall.

Best Value on the island, and a beautiful place to stay!

10.0

I just got back from a wonderful three night stay here, and I miss it already. Everyone I encountered, from Mateo and Renoir at the front desk to Aida at the pool bar/restaurant was very friendly and helpful. They recognized my IHG platinum status and gave me a complimentary upgrade to à suite on the first floor overlooking the pool and the north sound. The suite had a full kitchen, dining area, and tv area with pullout couch, with a separate king bedroom. All very spacious and impeccably clean (shout out to the maid staff!) The very large patio area offered sweeping views of the grounds and north sound, and I loved how the patio offered immediate access to the pool area/ grounds so you didn’t have to navigate the internal corridors to get between your room and the grounds. Bed was quite comfortable. The grounds: absolutely beautifully landscaped and maintained. À true tropical paradise with myriad palms, flowers, and exotic plants. The pool is pristine and refreshing, and there’s ample lawn chairs throughout the grounds. I particularly appreciated the numerous umbrellas and shaded cabanas, which are necessary if you don’t want to cook in the hot Cayman sun. There are several hammocks suspended betwixt coconut palms for your enjoyment. The long dock is a great place for a little stroll, and usually you can spot a red starfish or two in the water if you look hard enough. There’s a ladder at the end of the dock which allowed me to snorkel and I must say I was impressed with the number of fish to be found under the dock. I did see a lion fish among them, so be careful where you step if swimming out there. One thing that isn’t mentioned enough about this place is the wonderful breezes coming off the north sound, like mother nature’s air conditioning! Seems wind typically prevail out of the east. So it’s typically more still and hot on west facing 7 mile beach. It’s difficult to state how nice it felt returning from the hot 7 mile beach to enjoy the persistent breezes at this property! All while gently swinging in a hammock with a Caybrew or two haha. Free and ample parking and no resort fees! Another huge win for this place co! There are other resorts on the island charging $70/nt in resort fees alone! Yes, the resort does feel remote from seven mile beach and other tourist attractions. But personally I like the “away from it all” feeling it provides, and reality is it’s not far from SMB, only about a two mile drive. Also don’t forget they have a free shuttle to and from the seven mile beach if you prefer not to drive yourself, though I do recommend having a rental car. I think this hotel represents the best value on the island. All very clean, modern, spacious, and comfortable with the natural beauty of the north sound. I plan to return!

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

8.0

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.

A great place to stay

10.0

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.

A slice of Heaven

10.0

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