Do you like scuba diving? Do you like quaint little places to stay? Do you like good food buffets? This makes my fourth trip to Little Cayman Beach Resort. Why do I keep going back? Friendly staff. Good food. Great diving. This is my first trip back since Covid. Still, I see many of the same staff as before. It almost feels like a trip back to visit family…but family that I actually like. The dive operation is top notch. The diving is great and the dive masters haven’t let me drown yet. On the last night of this trip the dive masters convinced me and a buddy to go hang out with them after the resort bar closed. We got a ride down the road to play pool with people from Finland, Portugal, Canada, South Africa, and England. They were terrible at pool just like me. Thanks to Tiago and Tamara and Brad and Adam and everyone else who made the week great. Pro tips: Get your return resort shirt early. They may run out of your size. Buy items in the dive gift shop early as they may run out by the end of the week. Alcohol is not included and you can run up a pretty hefty bar tab. There are drink packages available to save you a few dollars.…
I have been going to Little Cayman since early 1980's when there were only 28 people on the island. It remains a superior dive experience. The meals above excellent and never short on variety and quantity for those who like a full meal deal. The dive operation is filled with friendly knowledge divers. The crescendo of the week can be found at the Beach Nuts Bar with a robust group of karaoke singers and staff members
The experience was superior in every way. I have been to many dive resorts over the past several decades and I rate this one as one of the best, if not the best. The rooms, food, bar, and swimming pool were all excellent. The airline (AA) misplaced our luggage on the way to the island, so the dive shop loaned us equipment at no charge. A couple with our group decided to stay at the resort to enjoy the pool and wait for their own equipment to arrive. They later told me that their stay was great. While everyone was out SCUBA diving, they had the place to themselves, and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I must say, the SCUBA diving was top-notch. The dive shop, the boat crew, and the spectacular location made for a wonderful diving experience. I also should say something about the food, which was also wonderful. It is truly an unexpected treat to find such excellent meals in such an out-of-the-way place. The food was served buffet style, and this allowed the sampling of all of the delicious treats, from salads to desserts. The main courses also were the kind you would expect to find at expensive restaurants, and the wait staff learned everyone's name by the second day.…
Our trip got off to a bad start as Cayman Air was hours late arriving to get us in Grand Cayman. Then we had a choice of going to Little Cayman without our luggage or overnighting in Grand. We also had to have a volunteer to stay behind so we could take our carry-ons. Two gentlemen volunteered and we were all very grateful to them. We went with carry-ons. The majority of our group arrived in Grand later than us and were given vouchers for a hotel on Grand. Our luggage arrived the next day. The other half of the group also arrived the next day but their luggage did not come with them. Eventually everyone got luggage. The dive shop offered free rental gear to anyone who didn’t have luggage and also provided extra afternoon dives to make up for the ones we lost. Our group had the same boat and crew for the week. Steve, David, Christine, and Jill were super nice and kept us happy and safe. The snacks on the boat were the best we ever had on a dive boat! We did a 2 tank morning dive and then another at 1. It was too windy for night dives. Dives were typically 50-60 minutes. They offered valet diving so all we did was sit down, put on fins and mask and a dive master brought tanks and made sure all was good. At the end of the dive we sat down at the back of the boat and they took off our tanks and put them in the rack. They also washed everything except wetsuit, mask and fins. It was nice not having to deal with tanks and BC’s. We analyzed our Nitrox tanks every night and left them for the crew to deal with. There was a nice variety of swim throughs, walls, and reefs. In general, there was a lack of color as everywhere in the Caribbean but still a nice mix of critters. The topography was pretty great, especially the sponges! So many and so big! The boat did not have a rinse tank for cameras but did have a fresh water hose/shower. No camera facilities at the dive shop except one dedicated rinse tank. All staff were friendly, helpful, and very responsive. The rooms, pool area, bar, dining room, office, and grounds were clean and well kept up. We had a little air conditioner issue and within 10 minutes the man came and changed it out for a new one. We borrowed bikes one afternoon and rode to a nearby shop. We decided it was too hot for any more exploring. The meals were all buffets. The food was varied and plentiful. I appreciated that there was always fresh fruit and salads. The desserts were to die for. The woman who makes them is very talented and creative. The servers were always efficient and friendly and called us by name. The bar staff- Sam, Ravi, and Veronica were friendly and helpful and good at recommending new drinks. Veronica is new to the English language and I give her extra credit. Regarding Covid…We had to be fully vaccinated, test negative the day before arriving and fill out Cayman paperwork. The resort required masks in all indoor spaces and monitored that carefully (we wondered why if we all tested negative and were fully vaccinated?). The resort provided the testing needed to come back to the states at no charge to us. One thing that really stood out to me was how well the staff-across all departments –got along with each other. That was nice to see.…
I had the most amazing experience on my most recent scuba diving trip to the Little Cayman beach resort. The resort is one of only two resort properties that are currently open (as of March 2022), on Little Cayman. When we arrived on February 19, there were probably less than 110 souls on the entire island. The diving was amazing with my seeing something that I had never seen previously on most every dive, many grouper in cleaning stations, turtles, and many tiny creatures along the wall, with sharks and money The boats and crew were first rate and with dive instructors and crew all new in town and living at the hotel for the first week, we would see everyone around. The owner of the resort Michael Tibbetts was staying in the hotel and we would routinely run into his family at breakfast in the small dining room, Mr. Tibbits hosted a personalized tour of the new little cayman history museum for a small group of resort guests which I also enjoyed after diving. I would highly recommend this resort to any scuba diver or anyone who just wants to get away from it all.…
We had a wonderful time, diving was excellent and a walk down the beach to the boat. Everyone from Reef Divers to the management at Little Cayman Beach Resort bent over backwards and made our stay perfect. We asked where to get fish and lobsters, we bought 4 lobsters from one of the locals, cooked them at the condo and had a wonderful evening. I left my hat on Cayman Brac (my most favorite beach hat), management had it delivered to my doorstep. I can't say enough about the service, accommodations were clean and spacious, diving terrific. Very memorable.
My husband and I had planned to spend his birthday week at the LCBR but things didn't quite go as planned. Due to COVID-19, we had to cut our vacation short and return back to the US when the Cayman government requested that all tourists leave immediately to protect the health and safety of the islands' residents. I can't begin to say how impressed I am with the way the resort management and staff handled this situation. To find out that you had a few days to evacuate all guests, shut down your resort, and basically lay off your entire staff (many of whom send their paychecks to family and have no extra emergency savings) has to be a resort management team's worst nightmare. To be a staff member on the receiving end of this news is something I can't begin to imagine. And yet, the managers and staff members remained calm, gracious, extremely helpful, and unbelievably professional over the days it took to get everybody off the island. Our return to the US required an overnight stay on Grand Cayman and the LCBR management team went above and beyond by securing a room for us on Grand Cayman after the major hotel brand that we have been loyal to for 25+ years bailed on us. The resort itself is lovely, but what makes LCBR stand out is the staff. Everywhere we went on the property, we were greeted with a smile and a "good morning" or "good evening" and most of the staff knew our names by the time we left. My goal when we return is to learn all of THEIR names so I can properly commend them in my next review. ;) Meals are served buffet style and is remarkably good. I have a number of odd food restrictions and yet was able to find plenty of delicious options at every meal. I really appreciated the "made to order" omelette station each morning. This is only the second "dive resort" we have been to and our first experience with "concierge diving." We were only able to do five dives before we had to leave but it was really nice to not have to schlep our equipment off the boat, rinse it, and hang it all to dry after every dive. Due to weather conditions, we weren't able to dive on the north side of the island which gives us something to look forward to since repeat guests kept telling us how awesome the diving is on the north end. We are very excited to return to LCBR (hopefully) in the very near future!…
We were so excited to visit Little Cayman and enjoy this resort. We are experienced dive travelers, and have been to many resorts in the Caribbean, Hawaii, and the South Pacific. While nice in many respects, this resort just didn’t measure up. The food was very good. Meals were buffet style, and the choices were varied and mostly prepared very well. There is an emphasis on “jerk” style preparations, but there were plenty of other options. We enjoyed every meal. The wait staff was outstanding...perhaps the best part of our overall experience. Service was quick, efficient, and very friendly. Your water glass won’t get empty, and your used dishes will not be at your table long! Our room was just average, but definitely on par with many of the other Caribbean dive resorts we have experienced. The bathroom was clearly updated, and the bed was comfortable, and the room was fairly large. There was plenty of room to spread out, but rinsing dive gear in the shower was a little tight! The housekeeping staff was very friendly, and very efficient. In general, the resort staff went out of their way to be friendly, and you will be greeted with pleasantries by almost everyone. With the odd exceptions of the general manager who routinely walked by guests without an acknowledgment or a word (?), and the dive shop staff. The front desk staff was also very friendly and generally efficient. They seemed to be very limited in the empowerment department, having to get permission before they could allow a late check out request for us. This could easily have been tied to the established housekeeping process. Because the resort only allows 7 day stays, I’m sure Saturday and Sunday are very busy days to turn over rooms. However, they did open up our room as a “day room” for the group of about 28 guests that we were traveling with, while we were still checked in to the room. So, what could be the problem with a quick shower in a room filled with your friends and traveling partners you ask? A little coordination would have avoided this. On a positive note, the Assistant General Manager resolved this quickly and adequately. Our biggest disappointment came with the dive operation, Reef Divers. High winds, and high seas derailed our diving for our first two days, but of course this is the fault of no one. When we did finally go out, we were initially limited to sites close to the resort.....the south side. Diving here is sub par. These sections of the reef were in pretty bad shape with fewer animals, distressed corals, and lower visibility. After a day or so, we were able to make it through the relatively rough seas to the north side....or as they say “around the corner”. This is where the good diving is....lots of groupers, nurse sharks, turtles, rays including spotted eagle rays, angel fish, and healthy corals, sponges, and sea fans. There is clearly two kinds of diving in Little Cayman. While there are members of the dive staff that were friendly and helpful, there were others that were decidedly unfriendly, and one who was outright rude. We were able to dive the north side for each dive starting on Wednesday until Friday, as were all of the other resort boats. On our last dive two boats went out. One went to the north side, our boat did not. One of the divers asked why we were not going and the boat captain responded with “Do you want to dive, or not?” In my opinion, an extremely rude response. There are a thousand better ways to respond in that situation. During our week, every morning dive boat had about 20 divers. We were on a boat which had a 8 divers from our traveling group, and 12 others. There were only two members of the dive staff on each boat. One acting as boat captain and a dive guide. Twenty to one is not the ratio of divers to guides that screams out safety. On each dive, both the boat captain and the dive guide would assist in gearing up each diver. After the first 14 or so divers were in the water, and had descended, the dive guide would stop assisting the remaining divers on the boat, and enter the water. By choice, my wife and I usually entered the water among the last few divers. As a result, and with the extended time it took to get everyone in the water...the large group ended up being very spread out. Thankfully, they gave very good dive briefings, because we rarely saw a dive guide, or even other divers, while in the water. I expect this would be a concern to many divers. One more dive shop employee on the boat would have alleviated this, and allowed the dive guide to enter the water at a time when he or she could actually guide a group of divers. Trying to somehow heard together a group of 20 divers with a single dive guide who was late to the party is bad for the less experienced divers, and bad for the reef. Because of weather, we spent our diving days trying to make up our pre-paid dives with added afternoon dives. Some in our group had pre-paid for three dives per day, and for nitrox. None of us were able to make up for our missed diving days as the shop only offered a single tank afternoon dive. Be aware that no one in our group was reimbursed for missed dives or for unused and prepaid nitrox tanks. We were all provided vouchers for credit to be used on our next trip. Many of us will not be spending the $3K or so to return, so in essence they are just keeping our money. There was not even a credit issued that could be used in the dive shop. If you pre pay...you could just be giving away that money. Overall, this could have been a very nice dive trip. It seems that the deficiencies of this resort can be easily rectified. Keep in mind, they are the only game in town....there are very few other options for Little Cayman diving. Perhaps this contributes to their short comings. Unfortunately, we will not return here. There are many other great options for Caribbean diving where your business is actually appreciated.…
The only thing bad is that our trip got cut short do to co-vid 19. But let me tell you the resort and the staff are top notch . Every member of the staff always had a smile. You don't have to be a diver to enjoy this slice of paradise. The beach was clean the rooms were spacious and comfortable. The buffet style meals were fantastic. We will definitely be back.
As I write this from the resort we are waiting for our flight out. The Cayman government has order tourists out and shutting down all international flights. The resort is shutting down tomorrow. We were informed on Monday afternoon. I can’t say enough about how well resort management and staff have handled this unprecedented situation and made clear that their first priority is their guests even though most will be unemployed next week. When the world normalizes I would recommend anyone seeking a dive vacation to consider ClearlyCayman properties for this reason alone. They truly care.
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