We must have been one of the lucky ones because upon arrival on the 12th we had a room waiting (although I had called several days earlier to let them know I was aware of the reservation problems and wanted assurance my room was on-site). We arrived in the open air lobby and were presented with a glass of sparkling wine (NOT champagne) at 5 PM on the dot; A pretty good start to our 7 day stay.

The Room: Our hotel-style room was near the pool, which is rarely used, in a semi-private cottage (request Apartment 1). We shared the cottage footprint with another room, but we saw our neighbors only once. The room was furnished with a full bed, (reasonably comfortable), a 6 drawer dresser, a nightstand, 2 side chairs, and one small end table. The television had approximately 20 working channels with many being American in origin (Fox, ABC, CNN, Animal Planet, HGTV, etc). There was a large closet with plenty of hangers. The bathroom was clean but spare. We were provided with clean towels every day but the sheets were not changed until we requested it. We had a semi-private patio with one table and three chairs. It was a good place to leave wet bathing suits to dry. The room was near the street-side and was really quiet. The AC worked, a little too well as we usually turned it way down at night and used the ceiling fan instead. There was always hot water in the shower and we were provided with Crabtree & Evelyn bath products. There were several electrical outlets in the bedroom and one in the bathroom next to the mirror. Being a tropical environment, we never saw a bug or spider in our cottage. There were no mosquitos during our stay. The only wildlife we encountered on the premises was several small lizards, one small iguana, and a few blackbirds and morning doves around the restaurant.

The Premises: We took a taxi from the airport (US $21) and arrived on-site within 15 minutes. Curb appeal is not the best. The front of the hotel is shared with a Hertz site for cars and small watercraft. However, the front entrances is bricked and shaded with beautiful pink flowers. The dive shop is directly to the left of the hotel entrance. You will walk up several stairs to the small (cozy) lobby. Upon check-in you are presented with a small glass of bubbly; A nice gesture. Our room was not quite ready so we ventured pass the very small game room to the open-air bar. Several hours later, we finally made it to our room. The bar is connected with the eating area that faces the most beautiful, pristine blue ocean you will ever lay your eyes upon. I never had one complaint about the view. The lanai is a bit run-down with peeling paint, cracked concrete, etc, but is swept clean every morning and afternoon. Wrought iron table and chairs, painted white, are available all day for sitting and eating. The tables either seat 2, 4 or there was one table for 6. There is ample space for sun-lovers as well as those who need shade. There is a small gift shop where the prices are exorbitant ($19US for spray sunblock), an ice cream freezer, a small library (the honor system), one computer (fee), and a small sitting room (one couch and several chairs). There is a concierge on-site but during our week she was on vacation. The front-desk helped us with restaurant reservations and taxi service.

The Bar: The bar staff is quite friendly, with the exception of Calvin. For seven days we never saw that man smile, and he seemed to wait on paying customers before hotel guests. He was never rude, but just seemed indifferent. Donovan however, always had a smile and a “no problem” every time we saw him. If you enjoy well (and I might even venture to say below-well) alcohol then you will have the opportunity to get plastered. The drinks are poured with a heavy hand, but the alcohol is really terrible (okay, I admit to being a Grey Goose fan). There is top-shelf available, but it will cost you around $8-10US per drink. The rum punch is quite good, although it does get pretty sweet after a couple of them. You can also order frozen drinks, such as daquiris and pina colodas included. There is a TV mostly tuned to sports (soccer). Don’t expect late nights; the bar closes around 11pm every night. What you can expect is good company. Strike up conversations with your bar mates and you will find people from all over the world, or even next door!

The Service: The majority of the wait staff hails from Jamaica with a few from India. All were very pleasant and polite. We found that politeness goes both ways and hardly ever had to “ask” for service since it was just provided. Little things like your coffee carafe set down when you were seated, chairs pulled out for you, napkins in your lap; that sort of service. One thing that did disturb me was that although the hotel is all-inclusive, it does not include tips. I mean, no guest ever left a tip for their server. Ever. We left envelopes at the front desk on our last day for those that we felt were exceptional.

The Food: Breakfast was repetitive and after the 4th day one wanted something other than eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, corned beef hash, (limp) pancakes, and French toast. The fresh fruit was always good, the pastry sometimes a bit stale, and the bread dry. The coffee is made strong and milk is given instead of cream or half-and-half. Lunch was usually a hot and heavy meal that included a meat, starch, vegetable, and ginger spiced cookies. Several fresh salads were provided, but the “tossed” salad was usually shredded iceberg lettuce and a few tomatoes tucked in the edges as garnish. I would have welcomed a nice sandwich for variety. You can order from the grill, but we did not know that until five days into our stay. During happy hour there were fried chicken wings with hot sauce and usually chips and salsa. Self-service coffee, tea, and iced water are available all day long. Dinner involved linen tablecloths and napkins, candlelit tables, and tiki torches around the lanai. The buffet choices included several salads, a hot soup and rolls (usually dry), at least two proteins (fish and chicken mostly in sauces), starch (rice or potato), and a vegetable. There was also a carving station during our week serving beef, pig, lamb, turkey, and a seafood pie. A large cheese tray began the night, but I never saw it replenished once it was empty. Desserts would include at least three choices of pies and cakes. The only unappetizing practice was leaving the pie servers in a canister of water that was never changed. After about an hour, the utensils were soaking in a frothy, gooey mess. Gross. I would have liked to see more local fare then what was provided.

The Beach: We knew that the hotel shared the beach with cruise passengers. I suggest you take a peak at the Port Authority website before you arrive to see when and how many cruise ships are scheduled. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are the heaviest days when up to 800 or so guests could arrive. The chairs are set out touching each other in several rows (look at the pictures and believe them!). The cruise passengers enter around the side of the hotel away from the guest beach. The hotel guests are given a small roped off area and only once during the week did a cruise ship passenger “sneak” into our side of the beach. I cannot speak to their “rudeness” as others have done, because quite frankly, with the exception of one time we ate lunch at 12 (and quickly found out that was a big mistake) we did not associate with them in any way. What this means is plan your day accordingly: Get in the water and snorkel before most of them arrive (some days it is as early as 8 and other days it can be around 9 or 10). Laze around on the beach until around 1 and then go eat lunch (don’t go between 11-1230 because the lanai is mobbed). They leave around 2, so then is the time to get in the kayak. Once they are gone the beach is all yours again. So those that have written complaints, in my mind, just did not think ahead. Ah, the beach. Let’s get back to that; beach chairs with umbrellas, towels provided, small table, white sand, tropical breeze, palms swaying in the wind, a pretty hefty drop off and rocky (coral) walk out to about 3 feet of crystal blue waters, swim out about 25 yards to the 15 foot deep coral reef to experience fish in their native habitats. Who could ask for anything more? Take a walk either east or west and you see nothing but the same. Condos, hotels, and private homes line the beach in either direction. What does not mar the view is high-rise buildings (such as you see in Cancun). There are a few 15 or so story buildings being built, but the only massive building presently on the beach front is the Ritz Carlton.

What To Do: When you find you just cannot stand the beach one second longer (and for us that happened only three times in seven days, and it was more of the thought that, “geez, we are in a different country for goodness sake, we should at least get out to see the island”) then venture out. Walking 5-10 minutes east or west on the main road right outside the hotel entrance will find you in shopping centers that provide a bookshop, large grocery store, coffee shop, liquor store (there is one directly across the street from the hotel), KFC, salon/spa, Curves, jewelry shop, and restaurants. Stand on the road and flag down the local bus and ride for US$1.50 one way to the West End or Georgetown to the east. We took the bus to the Turtle Farm and paid for the turtle exhibits only. You get to touch and handle sea turtles. Beware though, that the Caymans harvest sea turtles for consumption and the turtle farm is just that, a farm to raise turtles. Many are released into the sea as an environmental project, but many, many more are kept in harvesting tanks away from the public view. There is a small gift shop on the premises. Walk about a quarter mile and have lunch at the Cracked Conch. Taking the bus to Georgetown will find you in a small downtown area mainly developed for cruise ship passengers. The shopping leaves much to be desired if you are looking for local crafts and such. Have the conch gazpacho and a vodka mojito at Breezes on the bay and watch the boats from the outside deck. When done, venture into the basement shop and get your picture taken next to a statue of Big Black Dick (umhm, that is what I wrote). Legend has it he was a pirate back in the day. We purchased Big Black Dick Rum Balls which were a hit at home! I also purchased a nice piece of Larimar at a jewelry shop away from the bustle, next to the bus stop. Snorkeling: decent from the hotel beach. There are plenty of sites directly off the beach that you can walk to or take the local bus. We took a boat out to StingRay City on a Friday. It was not too crowded. The experience is worth it if you are a good boat person. We both slapped on scopolamine patches for the 30 minute boat ride out and then back. The seas were fairly calm, 1-2 foot swell in the bay. Take your own underwater camera as the tourist pictures once they get shipped to the US will cost close to US$50. If you can get over your fear that four foot stingrays have 3-6 inch barbs then you will find the trip enjoyable. Snorkeling in 5-8 feet of water was beautiful too. Nice sea life including a large resident moray eel were seen. The hotel does have a Red Sail provider on site so there are many more trips you can experience. For us, we were just lazy and enjoying the beach too much to get out of our beach chairs!

Restaurants: Other than enjoying the all-inclusive at the hotel, venture out to Decker’s Grille and Lounge (walk left for 2 minutes). There is an open air bar next to the road. We did not stay because there was a permeating smell of garbage. A small cigar shop adjoins the restaurant. Continue walking about 5 minutes and you will find a Kentucky Fried Chicken, an Indian restaurant and a steak restaurant. On the way back to the hotel on the same side of the street (actually directly next door) is Bamboo. Great sushi, good drinks, and something they call the Bubble Bar, where you can create your own champagne cocktail from a list of ingredients. Finally, my kind of place. Drinks were around US$9-10. Walk right from the hotel (but hold your nose because the trash stink is a bit unbearable) and you will come to the LoneStar Bar and Grille. Again we did not stay because it is more sports bar than restaurant. Walk a bit further and you will come to a Cigar Bar. Here you can find and smoke premium cigars. A word of caution, cars drive on the left, so take care when crossing the street that you are looking the right way! Walk directly across the street to Ristorante Ragazzi. We took the local bus to Bed, about a 10 minute ride, directly past the Marriott, located in Pleasure Island. The servers are in pajamas and the booths have privacy curtains. The food was delicious and as expected, pricey (appetizer, dinner, dessert and drinks for two around US$160). Walk left from the hotel. About ten minutes on the beach to the Reef Grill at the Royal Palms for a nice after dinner drink in an open air bar directly on the beach.

Our Top Ten List:
1. laying on the beach all day (really, 11 hours goes by quick!)
2. purchase a bottle of your favorite liquor and juice and have sunset happy hour on the beach daily
3. smoke a smooth Cuban cigar while watching the sunset
4. flirt with the waitstaff (who are more than willing to flirt back, right Peter?)
5. ogle the most beautiful beach home you have ever seen and fantasize about being invited in (I mean really, walk left up the beach, you won’t miss the orange, tiled, Spanish home)
6. visit StingRay City to commune with mammoth sea creatures
7. get to the airport earlier for departure (it is a zoo and madhouse combined)
8. wish you had seen more (like Rum Point, Royal Gardens, real estate options), but don’t feel guilty about it
9. dig in the surf for shells
10. walk up to the Ritz and dream that you are rich too

We have just return from our trip to the Cayman Islands, we had stayed at this little resort, its a shame that they are going to knock it down. The Rumors are maybe this year or next, if I get a chance to come back again, it would we be this place. Everyone is friendly and we met alot of great friends, no one was stuck up. The one bartendar was very slow at first and wouldnt crack a smile, not even when you tipped him, but he finally got use to us. The food was excellent to me, not a big fancy plate, but was good. Rooms were very spacious and very clean, except for the mosquito's, no one mentioned that on this web site, so dont forget the repellent!!! Thank you cheap caribbean for a wonderful place!!!

My husband and I just returned from a horrible trip to The Beach Club Colony Hotel. This trip was so bad there was nothing left to do but laugh. Like everyone else, we did not have a room for the first night. The staff clearly could care less about us...asking for a towel seemed to be a chore for these folks. We were never informed about anything going on in the hotel. It was not that they were understaffed, just LAZY.
The room was not cleaned very well. The remotes for the air and TV did not work. The hotel apparently did not pay their cable bill, so a little sign would pop up on the screen asking us to pay. It was difficult to watch the 5 channels they did have! The shower water was COLD. Really it was never warm...Finally the last day we both had luke warm showers!
Cruise ship vacationers were brought in everyday. One day there were 1000 added guests. We didn't realize how much this would effect our vacation. It was hard to find seats on the beach and at lunch when the cruise ship was there. It was really great when the 1000 guest washed their feet in a small fountain outside our room. The only thing that was good about this hotel was it was somewhat all-inclusive...The Caymans are VERY EXPENSIVE!

Due to the overbooking problem, we also arrived to find out we had no room for the first 4 of 7 days and had been moved down the street to the courtyard by Marriot. But after that, our experience was wonderful. The staff and especially Glandeen were great and went out of their way to make our stay as pleasant as possible.

The food was wonderful and eating dinner outside while watching the amazing sunsets, made dining even that much more enjoyable.

Our ocean front, ground floor room was nothing special on the inside but the veiw from the patio of the beach was perfect. The room was very clean and the beds comfortable. Make sure to pack an extension cord as there were no outlets in our bathroom which made hair drying a bit challenging.

Don't miss a Sting Ray City trip! My favorite part of our vacation-we went twice! The turtle Farm is also worth the trip.

If you rent a car, don't make the mistake I did and try to park anywhere in George Town. If you get a ticket it will cost you $25US and the courts building to pay it is very hard to find.

I am very sad to hear that Beach Colony will be torn down. I have so many friends and family that would like to go there and we would love to return after our wonderful experience!