What a great getaway from the hustle and bustle of George Town and Seven Mile Beach. In a great location to enjoy everything the island has to offer (so long as you rent a car). A short drive to town and also a short drive to Rum Point and Cayman Kai. Plus, it is nice to relax and snorkle on a secluded and private beach area. Would definitely return to Reef Resort.

P.S. Be sure to drink the Rum Punch and Blue Margaritas at the beach bar. Quite tasty!!

Seriously, we can't say enough about how great the Reef Resort is to us. It was our second trip back to Grand Cayman and the Reef Resort. We couldn't stay anywhere else.

We stayed in a smaller room this time. First we booked the studio suite which was nice but not our thing. The door in between suites was paper thin and you could hear EVERYTHING the neighbor's were doing. We upgraded to a deluxe studio near the pool/dock and it was much better. The staff was very accommodating to our change. After that the whole trip was terrific.

The concierge was a huge help booking a fishing trip. They are super knowledgeable about the whole island. Go fishing with Phil Bodden at Chip Chip Charters. His stories enough were worth the price.

We ate at Over the Edge twice. A local bar/restaurant on the water. The turtle steak is not to be missed.

You have to rent a car which we did from McCurley's who were great as always. It's super easy to drive on the island and everytime you go out on the road you'll see a new site.

You have to go to the Reef. We met so many couples that stayed on seven mile beach and then the reef and said they'll never stay on seven mile beach again. It truly is a getaway and Grand Cayman and it's people are truly our favorite.

The online pictures don't do this place justice. You just have to be there to experience it.

This place is perfect especially if you are looking for a smaller, away from "hotel row", romantic resort. We had a 1-bedroom suite with a full kitchen on the first floor. We stayed in a newer section of the resort (Room 123A). The room was nicely furnished with DVD/CD player, two chairs, sofa, dining room table for six, etc., and very spacious. We could open our fully sliding glass door and walk onto the beach. There were only two things that they could have designed better in the rooms. They are: 1) bathroom sink countertop was too small. Not enough room for your belongings, and there was no clothesline to hang your wet beach towels, wet bathing suits; 2) patios were not very private.

Suggestions if you're staying here:

Rent a car - The resort is a long way from the airport and from any tourist attractions you may want to see.
Rent a room with a kitchen - food is quite expensive and not that great at the resort restaurants. There's a small convenience store directly in back of the resort that has everything you may need with the exception of a large meat selection. Cook yourself.
Restaurants - Guy Harvey's Island Grill in George Town
Attractions - Rum Pointe (gorgeous), swim with the Stingrays, Sea Turtle Farm

I think I figured out the key to a wonderful stay at the Reef. We booked this hotel after reading all the rave reviews on tripadvisor and expected the same. At check-in, my husband asked the desk clerk if they could do anything special since we were celebrating my 30th birthday while we were there. The clerk asked if we liked to party (???). My husband told her that actually we were also celebrating the fact that we just found out we are expecting our first child, so partying wasn't going to happen. He asked if maybe we could get a room upgrade or something special in the room on the day of my b-day (he offered to pay for anything they did, including the room upgrade request). The clerk said there was nothing else available and handed us the keys in an envelope which already had the room number written on them. We didn't put up a fight and just went to our room, which was a standard hotel room with a king bed and adjoining bathroom. It was room 125B, on the ground floor of the newest building at the far North end of the resort. There was a small fridge, microwave, sink, and toaster in the area where you enter into the room from the front door. There was a door next to the "kitchenette" which connected to the neighborhing room.

The view from the room was awesome. We could walk right onto the beach from our porch. But then we noticed the huge pile of dirt and backhoe just 30 feet down the beach from our porch. And the swimming in this area of the beach was not good due to the sea grass and rocks in the ocean. You had to walk down the beach with all your stuff to the older sections of the hotel to get good swimming/snorkeling.

My biggest complaint while we were at the Reef was the noise. After arriving our first day, we decided to take a nap. That was out of the question. They were doing renovations and construction on the hotel (which no one had told us about). If the beep-beep of the backhoe didn't keep us awake from the beach, the sound of someone drilling into concrete on the other side of the hotel did. We finally gave up and drove to Georgetown/7 mile beach for dinner. The next morning, we were awoke at 5:15am by our neighbors. They weren't especially noisy and it didn't even seem that they had kids with them, but after seeing other rooms I realized that their kitchen area was right next to the pass-through door connected to our room. We heard them running a blender, washing dishes (clank-clank in the sink), and coughing through the door/walls. We could also hear their television going. We finally gave up and got out of bed, even though it was still dark. The next morning was the same thing at 6:00am. We tried sleeping with ear plugs and stuffing towels around the connecting door but the sound still travelled. We also tried turning on the radio in the room to a channel with no music to act as "white noise". Nothing worked. They were also doing construction on the hotel each morning but Saturday and Sunday so that just added to it. We got to sleep in until 7am on our last day there before the neighbor finally woke us up. We were so tired by the time we checked out. I wish we had just changed hotels or demanded they find us another room.

I wish the resort had just taken a few extra steps and this review would have been so much better. If they had gone out of their way to do SOMETHING/ANYTHING to make us feel special it would have meant a lot to us. We know this will probably be our last vacation for awhile, and the Reef did not make it a good experience. Also, if they could do something about the noise that travels from one room to the other through those pass-through doors, they really should. The only other negative responses I've read on here mentioned the same problems.

So, if you are considering staying here this is my recommendation: Get at LEAST a one-bedroom unit (not the studio/smallest one, or a "B" unit) or get the studio suite with the whirlpool. Everyone that has posted a positive review on here looks like they got a full kitchen/living unit which is the one bedroom or bigger or the studio suite with the whirlpool. The few negative reviews I saw all involved noise in the smallest room like we were given. Also, be comfortable with the fact that this resort is best for people who like to hang out at the hotel and cook their own meals while on vacation. We like to be away from the masses, but we also enjoy going out to dinner at nice places and seeing the sights. This hotel is kind-of far away if that's your preference too. Also, don't let them put you in the new units unless you are sure about construction going on. And last, if you have a special request be sure you e-mail the hotel ahead of time or demand they do something. Just asking at check-in will not get you results (I don't mean to sound demanding but on vacation I like to sleep past 5:15am). And we have never had a hotel not do SOMETHING if we told them we were there to celebrate a special occasion. I think a 30th birthday and expecting your first child is something worth celbrating. I just wish the Reef would have gone a little above and beyond and we would have had a fabulous stay instead of a disappointing one.