Villas of the Galleon was one of the best places I have ever stayed in the Caribbean. Nestled betweem the Ritz and the Westin, it is by far on the best strip of 7 mile beach. The rooms are large, airy, completely renovated since the hurricane, well stocked with anything you will ever need in the kitchen and extremely well taken care of by the maid service.

We did a lot of research before making the decision to stay here and I would tell others not to bother with all the research and just book this place. Lisa who runs the office is very nice and if you have questions before you leave, call her and she will answer them.

We were five people in a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit. 2 couples and one 10-month old infant. We had a great crib in the room and a high chair and it was such a relaxed way to travel with a baby.

There are many restaurants within walking distance to this hotel and the supermarket is very close as well. This makes a huge difference as taxis are very very expensive on the island. Car Rental places are also available very close by so if you want to rent a car for the day to explore the island it is much cheaper than taking cabs everywhere. We had a lot of fun driving and had a great lunch at The Lighthouse.

We loved Decker's restaurant and you can walk there from Villas of the Galleon.

We dove with Wall to Wall Diving and they were so great and helpful, especially for the one nervous diver in the group.

Grand Cayman was an absolutely fantastic holiday and our setup at Villas of the Galleon was the reason why. Don't hesitate before booking this place.

Let me start by saying I will definiely be back. Though it was very expensive, I loved this island. We stayed at Villas of the Galleon and highly recommend it.

General comments first...the island is very pretty and well taken care of. I loved seeing all the beatiful flowers/trees everywhere. No trash and I felt very safe. Though 7MB is ver americanized you still felt like you were on a Caribbean island. As I mentioned above, the island is very expensive. The first time we went to Fosters, I was looking at the prices and thought they seemed very reasonable...until they rung up my bill an my $63 worth of groceries cost $79 US. Watch out for the conversion rate...it's a shock at first. And I have never received better service at restaurants than I have in Cayman.

As for the weather, it was partly cloudy almost everyday and in the low 80s. Almost every evening between 6:30 and 8 PM there would be a 5 - 20 minute long shower but then it was gone. We only had 1 full cloudy day. We had a cold front/Norwester go through the day of our wedding which made the surf at 7 MB very high for 2 days. Some people said that they had never seen it that rough. The cold front brought temps into the high 70s for a couple days but the humidity also disappeared. Then a couple days the temps climbed into the mid 80s. A piece of advice...don't bother watching the weather before you leave. I stressed out so badly and for no reason. Our forecast showed rain almost every day...all we saw were the brief evening showers. The weather changes so fast in the Caribbean that it can't be predicted well. Unless there is big storm, expect scattered clouds and lots of sun.

Seven mile beach is pretty, but signs of erosion are evident, even on Cental 7 MB. We saw the beach being slowly washed away and saw the dips being created during the Norwester. The Marriott has a very skinny beach, but thge beaches North of the Royal Palms are all decent. I will say the stretch between Casa Caribe and Plantana is the nicest. North Seven Mile beach is eroding badly. We almost stayed at Aqua Bay...I'm glad we didn't. The beach here (along with many others at that end) is had eroded greatly since the pictures I saw and it is very rocky. A lot of the beach on North 7 Mile is in 2 sections...the rocky beach at the waters edge and then a second level of beach above the "cliffs" that have been created in the sand by the strong waves/wind. It is not a flat smooth beach up there...you have to step up 1 - 2 feet from the water because of the blunt wall of sand. The one beach seemed least affected and looked very nice was at the Christoper Columbus. Plantana also had a great beach as did the Westin. VOG beach was wonderful too, but you could see dips along the beach where the waves had been carving into the sand.

The Ritz...this thing is massive but the noise is very minimal. the only way I knew it was there most times was to look at it. It wasn't a problem at all.

Here is how our week went..

Dec 4 ~ arrived to scattered clouds and warmth. Met with the people at Cayman Weddings to finalize our plans. Then we arrived at VOG. We were very pleased with these condos. We had requested a 1 BR oceanfront closer to the Westin side because we were concerned about the Ritz. We were upgraded to a 2 BR end unit very close to the beach (# 16). Great unit. Well decorated, nice bed, sunken tub , patio off the bedroom. The grouds of the Villas are beautiful...filled with hibiscus, bouganvilla, Yucca, palmss etc. No pool, but we never missed it! We checked out our place them my parents headed over (we had 10 family memebers/friends down for the wedding) from the Marriott and we relaxed on our porch for a bit and enjoyed the view. The water was like a swimming pool...so calm and flat. Late that evening we met up with our friends at Cocount Joes..very fun place with good casual food. The fish and chips and prawn rice bowl was really good. Coconut Joe's has swings at the bar instead of all stools! We also went to Bed lounge that evening. Very crowded and trendy. It was okay but I could find a place like that at home. I hear the food is excellent though.

Dec 5 ~ this was supposed to be our beach day, but with the rough weather coming in, we had to rearrange some of our activites. We went to Stingray City with Captain Marvin this afternoon. Great time. Went to The Cortal Gardens and Barrier Reef for snorkeling (Coral gardens were really good). Stingary City was awesome...the rays are soo friendly and the undersides feel like velvet. They will brush up against you...one even swam up and ladi on my back as I was looking underwater! You canm feed them squid from your hand. And you can even hold them. Some were huge and some were just babies. Very neat expereience. That night we went to Bamboo in the Hyatt for our pre-wedding dinner. Great sushi and bery nice atmosphere. Then we went to the Reef Grill to check out the area where we would be having our wedding dinner. Very happy with the set-up. We walked home on the beach...took about 1/2 hour. Nice walk on the beach.

Dec 6 ~ Woke at 5:00 AM for our deep sea fishing trip...hoping to misss the rough conditions headed our way. We fished at the North Wall for Wahoo since we could go out further due to the seas. Waves got worse as the day wore on and I got sick! 8 foot waves...uugh. We finally hooked a Wahoo but he got away :-( Very disappointing trip. But we did get to se soem cool flying fish. Then it was time to prepare for the wedding. My flowers were amazing. We got maried at sunset on the Villas beach. Everything went well and our photographer got soem great photos. Our small reception was held at the Reef Grill/Royal Plams. They had a table set up for us under a private tiki hut. The service was impeccable, food amazing and ambiance wonderful. There a bried 2 minute hshowe while we ate which was very cool because we could see the rain falling just outside out hut while we stayed dry. But it was gone almost as quick as it came. We had a small rum cake for out wedding cake...delicious. Then the band that was playing at the Royal Palms that night played a CD I had made for us. Then down the beach there was a fireworks display going on. Perfect end to the evening!

Dec 7 ~ Went to Eats for breakfast (right across form the Westin). This a 50s diner type of place. Our breakfasts were huge and very resaonbly priced. This is the place to go for cheap, good food. Then we took a walk on the beach and relaxed for a while. Since our friends had to see the football games, we met up with them at Legendz sports bar (right next to Eats) for an hour or so. This is a very nice place. Since it was my parents/brothers' last night, we decided to grill out at our condo. We got some tuna steaks at the food store (since we didn't catch our dinner the day before!). It was so relaxing to sit on the patio and watch the sunset and eat a great meal. Later we tried to go see the tapron feeding at The Wharf but the waves were crashing so hard we couldn't see them.

Dec 8 ~ We rented a car today to explore the island. We opted for a soft top jeep so we could put the top down. First we visited the Turtle Farm which was fun..got to hold a sea turtle. Then we went to Hell. Nothing great but if you're in the area stop by. Then we drove though Georgetown and stopped at Smith's Cove. Very pretty spot. There are lots of little hidden coves and spots along the drive if you look. Then we we did the Mastic Trail...if you want to go here, email me for specific directions...this place is very obscure. Or make sure to get a guide. We saw a snake and a white frog. We didn't do the whole trail as our time was limited and it took longer than expected because you really have to go slow and look if you want to see anything. Rum Point was our next stop. Very nice area with a beach. lots of Casuarina pines, hammocks, a pier, good snorkeling and a little casual restuarant. Good place to relax. On our way back, we found a spot a beach in Cayman kai with lots of starfish. Many nice homes in Cayman Kai (and on the south sound). It amazed me how many were for sale. That night we went to dinner at the Cracked Conch since we had a car at our disposal. It was the only average meal we had. I wouldm't make a special trip. We also went to see all the Chriatmas lights at the Hyatt...the grounds are decorated beautifully for the holidays. Another note, Cayman LOVES Christmas...I have never seen so many decorations! The funniest thing is to see the huge blow up snowman along 7MB.

Dec 9 ~ We took a SCUBA course this mornig with Off the Wall Divers. Great time...I highly recommend this operation. Danny was a wonderful teacher. If you have never been diving, I highly recommend it. It's an awesome experience. This was the one cloudy day so after our dive, we went to some shops to buy some souvenirs and then we just relaxed on the lounge chairs with our books. By 4:30 it had had completely cleared up though so we went snorkeling. There is very good snorkeling in front of VOG if you go out about 150 yards. We saw parrot fish, sargenat majors, barracuda and those cool looking light blue angelfish. Then we made up a batch of pina coladas and watched the sunset on the beach. Dinner that night was at Smuggler's Cove. Incredible food and view. Then we went back to see the tarpon. We missed the feeding but the tarpon were still swimming all around. Some must have been 100 pounds. Very neat to see. There was also a sea turtle swimming around with them.

Dec 10 ~ We spent all day sunning, swimming and snorkeling. We walked up to Cemetery Reef...a long walk (45 minutes, but do-able). We saw more parrot fish, barracuda, this neat bright yellow and black fish and I finally got to see a sea turtle face to face! We spent our last evening at the condo...we got a bottle of wine to watch our last sunset then cooked grouper on the grill for dinner.

Dec 11 ~ Our last day. We relaxed on the beach til about Noon then headed off to the airport :-(

All in all a wonderful trip. I ca't wait to go back.

Some restaurant recommendations ~

Do not miss: The Reef Grill and Smuggler's Cove. if you like sushi, Bamboo is a must as well. Cocount Joe's was great for casual food in a fun atmosphere. Restaurants we wanted to try (and good great things about) but didn't get to on this trip...Bed, The Tree House, Deckers and Calypso Grill.

One more important tip...if you want to bring liquor home (Tortuga rum or any other liquor) buy it duty free at the airport on your way out...DIRT CHEAP!! And things T-shirts and shot glasses were cheaper at the airport than in town.

Please feel free to email me with any questions...

2nd week of July we stayed at the villas, it was a nice change from the all-inclusive resorts. You will not be disappointed here. Everything is awesome, the grounds,the beach, the water, the rooms all 5 star. Rent a car for the week is a must. Driving on the opposite side of the road is not a problem, the problem is when you get home and staying on your side of the road can be challanging. The blow holes are cool & make for nice photos. The turtle farm is fun for everyone, you can hold a turtle. A must is stingray city. Iam a certified scuba diver and this snorkle trip ranks very highly. Our guide played with a moray eel, and a 12' nurse shark before we got to stingray city bring your camera on this one.
My son, 10, & I snorkled out front of the villas, 200yds out (there is a bouy, it only looks far) we saw 2 turtles, lobster,barracuda, hours of snorkling.
There is a beach south of town called smiths cove, make this no. 2 on your list it is paradise, bring your camera. This place is awesome, period!

We stayed at the Villas in July for my wifes birthday. After 9 all inclusive resorts in a row , the Villas was awesome. Awesome beach (with the best snorkeling out 2 hundred yards) my son (10) and I saw a three turtles, 2 lobsters, conch shells every where. Not supposed to take them, however if you do, boil them for 15 minutes, use a lrge fork and pull the animal out, best sovenier you can get. Awesome sunsets every night! Sting ray city is a must, the guide plays with a moray eel and a nurse shark for all to see up close just before stopping at stingray city, forget about how many people are on your boat 10 or 40, once you get out there, there are 100's of people, lots of boats, go cheap...same as expensive. Smith's Cove is a must, blow holes are picturesqe, turtle farm is cool. You must rent a car, to much to see by taxi. Villas property is beautiful, nice rooms, clean, true ocean front, not back 3 hundred yards. Our room was 13 steps from the beach!!! The tree House restaraunt is a cool place for a hamburg, try for the table way out in the gazebo literaly over water...awesome. Shopping was incredible, very, very expensive. I would highly recommend the Villas and will return someday, or perhaps move there, by far the most elegant island in the Carribean!!!