Brief report on a trade into II

[travelbug]

I used DVC points to trade into II, specifically at the Grand Caymanian Resort. We just returned from our week down there. The resort was wonderful! The villas (we had a 1BR) are beautifully appointed and very well maintained. Our villa overlooked the water as well as the 12th hole of a golf course. The resort is family oriented yet quiet and laidback. They had a nice collection of activities going on throughout the week. The only drawback is that the beach there is an "ironshore" beach, but the pool area was great and we were only 5 minutes from Seven Mile Beach any time we wanted to zip over there.

Just wanted to report back on a very pleasant experience with an II trade.

 

[SLM]

Thanks for the report-glad you had such a nice trip-! Until the grandchildren arrive we're thinking of trying more "offsite" locations-I'll write this one down as a good choice.

 

[SaratogaShan]

Could you tell me what an "ironshore" beach is?

Thanks!

 

[murcor]

Thanks for the report. How many points for you vacation?

Glad to hear you had a good time.

Angela

 

[travelbug]

Could you tell me what an "ironshore" beach is?

You know, I had never heard of an ironshore beach either until this trip. Here is a link that explains it and shows pictures as examples.
http://homepage.mac.com/zzzapper/.Public/cayman/ironshore.html

 

[travelbug]

How many points for you vacation?

It was 160 points for the week in a 1BR, and worth every point IMHO.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Did you zip over to Seven Mile Beach in your own car, or a shuttle, or walk?

Thank you for the trip report. Grand Cayman Island has been a frequent stop on our Caribbean cruises and it's one place that we would like to stay longer at.

Bobbi

 

[TenThousandVolts]

Good to know! I hope to do some trades after I have sampled all the dvc resorts. Good to know the system does work sometimes! How difficult would you say it was for you to get this reservation? Did you put out a broad search with flexibility on dates/resorts? Did you have to waitlist for a long time?

 

[alldiz]

Glad you had a good time....

So....If I understood...there was no sandy beach at the resort

Was there a shuttle to the seven mile beach...
thanks
Kerri

 

[wintergreen]

Thanks for the report!

 

[3DisneyKids]

Thanks so much for the info!

 

[travelbug]

Did you zip over to Seven Mile Beach in your own car, or a shuttle, or walk?

We had a rental car, so we could come and go as we chose. The hardest part was getting used to driving on the "wrong side" of the road.

 

[travelbug]

How difficult would you say it was for you to get this reservation? Did you put out a broad search with flexibility on dates/resorts? Did you have to waitlist for a long time?

The 3 of us that traveled together were limited to an exact week (Easter week) when we could take a trip. So we came up with about a dozen II resorts that we requested for the week we needed. We decided that the first one to come up would be the one we would take, no matter what. I called in the request options around the beginning of August, and they contacted me about 3 weeks later that the Grand Caymanian had come through.

Dean from these boards was really helpful to us as we were coming up with a list of possible places we'd be happy with. He is really knowledgable about a lot of different timeshare properties. (Dean, if you're reading this, thanks again!! )

All in all, it was a great first experience trading into II. And 160 points for a week in the Caribbean in a 1BR was a good deal, I think. It would have taken quite a few more points for us to be at WDW in a 1BR during the same week.

 

[travelbug]

So....If I understood...there was no sandy beach at the resort

Was there a shuttle to the seven mile beach...

There was a very nice sandy beach with beach chairs, a volleyball net for beach volleyball, hammocks between palm trees, etc. It was just that the water's edge was very rocky and the area was not suited for wading or swimming in the sea itself.

Yes, there was a free shuttle from the resort to Seven Mile Beach. But we had a rental car, so we never needed the shuttle. The shuttle also made runs to the nearby grocery store. And if you signed up a day in advance, it would also take you to Georgetown where all the shops and restaurants are.

 

[bobbiwoz]

There was a very nice sandy beach with beach chairs, a volleyball net for beach volleyball, hammocks between palm trees, etc. It was just that the water's edge was very rocky and the area was not suited for wading or swimming in the sea itself.

Yes, there was a free shuttle from the resort to Seven Mile Beach. But we had a rental car, so we never needed the shuttle. The shuttle also made runs to the nearby grocery store. And if you signed up a day in advance, it would also take you to Georgetown where all the shops and restaurants are.

That sounds very very nice, and I think you're right that you got a great deal for your 160 points!

When we have stayed at hotels, for instance in Puerto Rico, food is quite expensive in the restaurants at the resort. What was your experience?

Bobbi

 

[Dean]

Dean from these boards was really helpful to us as we were coming up with a list of possible places we'd be happy with. He is really knowledgable about a lot of different timeshare properties. (Dean, if you're reading this, thanks again!! )

My pleasure, I'm glad it worked well for you.

I think it is a good deal for a good resort during prime time (Xmas to Easter) but maybe not as good a deal for the rest of the year for most resorts. At least for 144-160 DVC points for a 1 BR, even worse for a 2 BR of which there is far fewer availability in the Caribbean. As a minimum I'

 

[tomandrobin]

Sounds like you had a great trip and got a great trade, at a peak time of year!

 

[travelbug]

When we have stayed at hotels, for instance in Puerto Rico, food is quite expensive in the restaurants at the resort. What was your experience?

Bobbi

Yes, that was the case at this one too. We actually "cooked" (the no-frills kind of vacation cooking ) most of our own meals. We ate out twice at a couple neat places, but not at the restaurant on-site. We only had drinks there.