We have vacationed at Plantana for the past 6 years, preceeded by 10 years at the old Caribbean Club.
The Pros: The units are well maintained and nicely furnished, each has a washer and dryer in the unit.Each unit has a screened, although not private, patio or balcony The beach is wide and beautiful with a soft sandy entrance into the water. The ground floor units offer the easiest access to the beach.You rarely see cruise passengers in this area. It is a short drive to stores and restaurants and you can walk to the Westin or Ritz Carlton if you wish and to the great snorkeling at the Governor's Reef.
The Cons: Management is aloof and not particularly helpful. On 4 of our 6 arrivals we were told that the unit we requested was unavailable and we were assigned to less desirable units. Note that all oceanfront units are not in the same proximity to the beach nor do they have the same oceanview. In years past the rate was lower for the buildings near the office or the parking lot, but no longer. It is a large complex and can be very crowded during high season. The pool area is small. Most of the units overlook the pool so noise can be a problem.
We finally realized that there are many other complexes with the Pros and not the Cons, so we have switched to a smaller and friendlier complex a bit North of Plantana.

Plantana is still the best place on Seven Mile Beach if you are looking for a unit that is nicely furnished, well-maintained, and on the absolute best part of Seven Mile Beach.
We returned for our 4th trip to GrandCayman, our 3rd to visit Plantana, from July 19-25, 2006, to find that Plantana, post-Ivan, is in better condition than ever after remodeling and redecorating after the storm. It has the prettiest landscaping of any property along the beach, and even though its buildings are an older, bungalow style and may not look as flashy as its newer counterparts along the beach, they are in immaculate condition and very nice and modern inside. We personally appreciate the "vintage" look that blends so nicely with the beautiful surroundings of the beach, and adore staying in a ground floor, ocean view unit where we are literally 20 steps from the beautiful sand of Seven Mile Beach.
The beach at Plantana is clean, wide, and has crystal clear water with great snorkeling nearby--within walking distance. If you desire more action, it is a five minute walk in either direction to the Westin or Courtyard Marriott where you can eat or drink at the beach bars/restaurants or rent water sport equipment. You are a short drive away from either the numerous, good restaurants along Seven Mile Beach and Georgetown or the restaurants on the west end of the island.
Plantana is beautiful, peaceful, and a little slice of heaven if you like a vacation to be restful and peaceful. We will definitely return again--hopefully soon!

OVERALL EXPERIENCE
My party of seven bachelorettes descended on Seven Mile Beach last week to mellow out and splash in the waters. We rented two condos at Plantana after a lot of research, a ground floor oceanfront two-bedroom and a second-floor garden view. I had my concerns about the place, because of the previous reviews and also because the staff there was not very helpful answering my questions before my arrival.

Once we got there all my worries evaporated. Our unit was spacious and very thoughtfully furnished. The kitchen had everything we needed. We had a toilet failure on Sunday, but were promptly given a plunger by the very nice manager (note – we were NOT given a plumber, but had to unplug it ourselves).

PROPERTY
In general, the property is well-kept. Landscapers are on the property almost every day, which could be a little bit distracting, with pool people and lawn mowers and tree trimmers and sand rakers on the grounds almost at all times. The pool is beautiful and clean, with plenty of lounge chairs and umbrellas. Ivan's taken out most of the large trees in the area. The hammock was a great napping spot which was surprisingly under-used.

Since the units are individually owned and furnished, I can’t speak to the quality of each unit. Our unit couldn’t be more perfect. The daily maid service was great – our maid was very considerate (no 6am cleaning visits!) and did a fantastic job cleaning up after seven messy girls.

This is a three-story property, with some penthouse units on the top floor. Oceanfront units don’t quite directly open on to the beach, but more to the pool just behind the beach. Plantana is laid out such that very few units are looking directly out to the sea. It’s more of a “V” shaped layout, so that units are a little diagonal to the ocean. (See photos) With a parking lot behind the buildings, the bottom of the “V” is farthest from the ocean and closest to the parking lot. The only units to be a little cautious of are 4, 21, and 38, since those are at the bottom of the V, are farthest from the ocean, and closest to the parking lot. Having said that, they’re not terrible locations. They're still large units with a decent view from the top unit if you’re facing the right way, and easy access to the beach from the bottom unit.

If a view is important, go for a second or third floor oceanfront unit. Even our garden view unit had a peek of the ocean. The first floor units don’t have much of a view, but are wonderfully convenient places to dump sandy fins and snorkels. The patio opens out to the pool, but there are no locks on the screen doors. (There are on the patio doors into the unit.) We didn’t find security to be an issue, but it can easily be on the first floor if you leave things on the patio.

LOCATION
Plantana is located about halfway up Seven Mile Beach. The Westin is the closest resort to the south, about a five minute walk away. At the Westin, you can find a casual and a fancy restaurant, as well as Red Sail Sports for expensive but fun water sports. The Ritz and Hyatt are arguably walking distance as well, both south of Plantana but farther away. To the north of Plantana is a stretch of beachfront condos – the quiet end of SMB. There you’ll find quieter beaches, but no restaurants or activities. If you are a resort person who likes beach bars and massages, stay in one of the hotels to the south; if you like a quiet stay with fewer jet skis screaming around, stay farther north. If you want both, the central stretch of SMB may be the compromise for you.

FOOD and COSTS
Yes, food is more expensive here. But you’re spending about $300 a night for the condo, so enjoy yourself. There is a grocery store about a mile away – walkable but not in the afternoon heat and definitely not if you’re stocking up for a week. A taxi or rental car would be in order. About $200 for a grocery run would feed a family of four for the week - healthy meals - if you plan well. Pick up some charcoal and ground beef to make burgers on the grills at Plantana.

There are a few restaurants within walking distance – Eats Café across from the Westin was the cheapest place, with burgers running about $10 and entrees about $20. Casa Havana at Westin and Hemmingway’s at Hyatt are walking distance fancy restaurants. There is *great* food on Grand Cayman Island if you’re traveling to eat – if you are, get a car or be prepared to call a lot of taxis.

GENERAL
The entire stretch of SMB is almost perfect. White coral sands, warm waters, easy waves. The only downside is that it gets deep pretty quickly, and there’s bits of broken off coral once you’re in the waters, so it doesn’t stay completely sandy once you’re in the water. There’s decent snorkeling out in front of the Westin but beware the jet skis and boat traffic. A lot of variety of marine life, but most of the coral was destroyed by Ivan, and we started calling the area in front of Plantana “Cemetery Reef” (the real Cemetery Reef is 2 miles north) because of the amount of damaged coral underwater. We saw plenty of fish, a few pairs of puffers, a turtle, barracudas, reef squid, and lobsters. Lots of lobsters. The whole area is a marine sanctuary, or I would have tried hauling one of those guys home to throw on the grill. Seriously though – it’s beautiful and the temptation to take pretty underwater souvenirs home was strong, but if I had, what would you have to see when you came? And please watch where your fins kick – I almost cried at the number of fan coral that had been broken off underwater by careless snorkelers. Okay - end of preaching. Sorry.

Bring mosquito repellant if you’re going to be out at night, especially in the rainy season. The sunsets were beautiful, but the first night I got eaten alive by mosquitoes.

Cruise ships come into George Town throughout the week. If you want to go into George Town for shopping or for snorkeling at Eden Rock, plan around the cruise ships.

Oh! On my sister's night dive, her dive master turned off her light (freaked her out no end) and there's bioluminescence in the water! Move your hands through the dark water and see it leave a glowy streak. I don't know if this is only occasional or only in certain places, but it sounded really cool.

We had a fantastic trip. I’m not bubbling with enthusiasm in this review because you probably care less about my enthusiasm than about getting some useful information. Hopefully this helps. Happy condo hunting and have a great trip!

My wife and I (in our mid-late 20’s and no kids) stayed at Plantana #40 the week of May 8th. We have traveled to a number of Caribbean/Mexican destinations (Aruba, St. Thomas, Cabo, Cozumel, Bahamas) but this was the first time we’ve stayed in a condo rather than a hotel. We had an enjoyable time and have some possibly helpful comments on Plantana – overall we were very satisfied, but there are some issues to consider – and Grand Cayman in general.

I would add a caveat to the most recent review that all units at Plantana are privately owned. Though the layouts may be the same or similar, the décor and upkeep could significantly differ. Our unit had a well appointed kitchen, satellite/cable TV, and nice furniture. Another unit could differ. If you consider #40, be warned that the bed is like a rock! We’ve stayed in Mexican hotels – known for hard beds – but this was something else. Again, other units could be completely different.

Plantana seems to have one of the very best stretches of SMB. There is a wide and deep expanse of soft beach with very clear, calm water. I never did figure out how the sand never got burning hot like the beaches in Florida, Aruba, etc. There are two other higher-end newer condo projects on either side of Plantana (which was built circa 1981) so you have a huge stretch of beach with almost no people on it other than passers-by. (Several days there were fewer than a dozen beach dwellers in the immediate area, though as a caveat the property was <50% occupied.)

There is no obvious hurricane damage to Plantana (though some big downed trees remaining across the road; the road is really close to parking lot-facing units) other than several formerly large trees on the beach which we thought used to provide major shade in front of Plantana. As a result, there is not a lot of shade available (no palapas or umbrellas unless you bring your own umbrella.) The tropical vegetation has grown back quickly and the only noticeable damage is to the more evergreen-type trees.

We rented a soft top jeep-type vehicle from Andy’s for the first half of our trip (you can pick up from the airport and drop off at their location across from the Marriott and get a ride back to your hotel/condo for no charge.) This was a must to get groceries, etc. – the Foster’s IGA was probably within a distant walking distance, but you wouldn’t be able to drag much back. (And whoa what people say about prices is definitely true, even more than we expected! – bring what small dry stuff you can in you luggage and trash what you don’t use (condiments, crackers, tuna, soup, etc. - maybe take an extra small bag and consolidate into a larger one on the return.) Hell was pretty lame unless you wanted to send a postcard from Hell. If you have rented a car, go ahead and see it but don’t make a special trip. Tourist trap!!! It was amusing to drive there and see the busloads of curise trippers parade through to buy their precious reminders of their day on Grand Cayman.

We drove all over the island to the east end and Rum Point (not too impressed; very commercialized and beach at Plantana is better.) It didn’t seem that the ferry to Rum Point was running from the Hyatt yet. It was interesting to drive around and peaceful once you passed Bodden Town. Traffic gets somewhat confusing/congested around the airport but drivers seem to give each other more breaks than in the US.

Unless you have a car, there are not too many restaurants within walking distance of Plantana. Eats Café (across from the Westin) is about a 5-10 minute walk along West Bay Road and we went there a couple of times when we didn’t feel like cooking. It was pretty good. West Bay Road is somewhat inconsistent w/r/t lighting and sidewalks so I’m not sure we would have ventured much further for restaurants while walking – if you want to eat out a lot and stay at Plantana or the other condos nearby you need to plan on renting a car or calling for a taxi. Oh, there is a Big Daddy’s (I think) liquor store in the same center as Eats so it is walkable. We were pretty surprised at the prices at all such liquor stores so if you plan to consume, be ready to pay more than U.S, even for local brands! Maybe there is a significant duty/tax on that stuff. Really cheap at the airport though - same bottle of Tortuga's rum is $9 there (US) vs. $20 on the island!

We took an afternoon snorkel trip with Capt. Marvin’s. It leaves from an inlet to the North Sound but you get included bus transportation. Definitely go in the afternoon to avoid cruise-shippers clogging the sites (most cruise ships depart at 4-5 so afternoon trips won’t work for them.) We had about 18-20 people on a boat (not catamaran) and it was pleasant with 2 snorkel stops and a stop at the Stingray City sandbar. It was somewhat annoying that they had an independent person on board shooting above & underwater video with the intent of selling you it for $60 (I think) at the end. It somewhat made the trip all about getting you in the video so you would buy it.

If you are staying on the island, definitely figure out when the cruise ships are NOT in port – check http://www.caymanport.com/schedule.htm. I think they are usually in Mon-Thurs. with the most on Wed. – Thurs. We went into George Town on Sat. and it was nearly completely deserted. It is your typical cruise ship port town of gift shops (wow! that same item made in China was $5 there and is $10 here!) and jewelry stores. Take the bus ($2 CI/pp and save some money – there is a bus stop near Plantana).

We would have to agree with one of the other posters that management/staff at Plantana is less than helpful. The housekeeping staff (they come each day but Sun. to gently clean, provide new towels, etc.) was great but management was unpleasant - or just incompetent? For example, before arriving we sent the manager several emails with basic questions (Are you walking distance to restaurants? Grocery? Etc.); however, these emails were responded to (if there was any response) with a few, unhelpful words at best. (With only 49 units, can’t you help your potential/actual customer?) Plantana requested a credit card to reserve our reservation but there was no secure web site to do so. We called Plantana and gave them the credit card information after asking whether there was a secure way to give a card # via the Internet. Of course, our reservation confirmation email (which we had to ask for 3 times) included what? Our entire credit card number – after indicating why we did not want it broadcast over the Internet!!! Oh well. The last item I will mention is an experience with the beach towels. We had 4 towels (they weren’t oversize) provided; after 4 days I went to exchange them for clean ones and was given 4 new ones – only to have 2 of them quite literally ripped out of my arms after the towel lady (with manager present) realized that we were in 1 bedroom unit – and thus quite rudely explained to me that we were entitled to only 2 precious towels. Apparently there was a mistake in our previous allotment. Come on!!! When paying decent $ for a nice vacation this type of action doesn’t ruin your trip (at least not for me) but really makes you wonder whether there is any appreciation for the customer.

Hope something in this is helpful to you. Oh and one more thing – we were on Delta which has one of the earlier return flights to the US (Atlanta – 12:45ish). Upon arriving in GCM Delta told us to come to the airport 3 hours early for the return flight. This was really unnecessary – although there is a hand search of your checked luggage so if you’d rather show up early and sit in the lounge than stand in line – that’s your call. Have fun!