Shannon and Bryan won one of our honeymoon contests with their story of how they inspired each other and then cared for one another when she was recovering from an auto accident. She is a CPA and he is in corporate recruiting and sales. Here’s their honeymoon story…
The Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort, marriottgrandcayman
As soon as we arrived at the Marriott we were greeted by an extremely friendly attendant at the front desk. The weather was absolutely beautiful so we couldn’t wait to rush to our room to change into our bathing suits and hit the beach. We quickly changed and went downstairs to enjoy lunch at the outdoor beach bar and the food we ordered was absolutely delicious! After finishing lunch we found two lounge chairs on the beach where we relaxed and watched the sunset. It was the perfect night, not a cloud in the sky. Our room had a view of the garden and we would sit outside prior to going to dinner, listening to the sounds of the fountain which was very relaxing.
Dining Indoors & Out
Our favorite meal at the resort was their absolutely enormous breakfast buffet, which we did practically every day. Another one of our favorite meals was the all you-can-eat lobster night, which the resort hosts every Wednesday. The concierge recommended that we do the private beach dinner that same night and we were very lucky to get our own table in the sand, complete with an enormous menu of lobster dishes as well as a bottle of champagne!
We went to a number of fabulous restaurants and had the opportunity to meet some wonderful new people, particularly Lazio Boros, the maitre d’ at Grand Old House, a renowned plantation that is a popular wedding venue on the island. We had an absolutely delicious dinner there and Lazio let us explore the property. After we wandered around, Bryan enjoyed a cigar and scotch and we sat on a beautiful outdoor patio. It was extremely serene and unique and a perfect start to our week in Cayman.
Another favorite dining spot was Osetra Bay, which we visited on our last night on the island. This restaurant is absolutely breathtaking and the food was incredible. The staff was attentive and welcoming and greeted us with a champagne toast to celebrate our honeymoon. We enjoyed a long dinner followed by a delicious dessert and had some wonderful conversations with Vicky, our server, about her journey to Cayman and her upcoming visit to New York.
Places To See
Shopping for us included wandering around the small town and finding souvenirs for our nieces and nephew. We bought each of them a white t-shirt, each with a different ocean theme on the front and colors that changed in the sun. We also visited some jewelers, another thing Cayman is known for, and we both purchased items to remember our trip.
A popular tourist attraction is a famous spot called “Hell” which we visited. Hell is a large patch of pointy black rocks that are a bed of limestones and dolomite that has undergone extreme erosion due to activities of small tropical organisms. It was about a 30 minute bus ride from our hotel and when we got there, we took a few pictures and bought t-shirts claiming “We’ve been to Hell and Back.”
Cayman is also known for Stingray City, a sandbar that is accessible via boat or jet ski that is their claim to fame. You get to swim with enormous stingrays! Unfortunately we had reservations for two days on which the government ended up closing the attraction due to strong wind currents. We were sad that we weren’t able to visit it, but are looking forward to doing it when we return.
Water Sports
Water SportsOutdoor sports at the resort included snorkeling, jet skiing, banana boat rides and more. We spent an afternoon snorkeling off the beach of the hotel, near the man-made reef the hotel built a few years ago to help stop the erosion of their beach. While we were snorkeling, we saw some beautiful fish which seem to love interacting with people. The water was crystal clear and you could see them swimming between your legs.
Midweek we got a couple’s massage at the La Mer spa located on the resort. It was wonderful! Ironically enough, on one of our first nights there we ran into two other couples from New Jersey, and one of them lives about two miles from us! The sunset we watched the first night was definitely the most romantic thing we did on our honeymoon. We were completely relaxed, content, and excited about the week ahead in our lounge chairs and enjoyed a stunning sunset. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was perfect.
The thing we will remember most about our honeymoon is all the people we met from around the world. Everywhere we went, on and off of the resort, we were greeted with smiles, hospitality, and top notch service. Each person wanted to make our experience with them unique and memorable and each shared their stories about why they were in Cayman.