Upon booking 6 nights at the Holiday Inn Resort Grand Cayman, we elected to “save the best for last” with two nights at the Grand Cayman Comfort Suites & Resort.

We had used up some old points via a US Bank credit card promo, and secured our nights at roughly $250 per night. What is ludicrous is that you can get a room for closer to $150 per night when booking on your own, though there are other charges like resort and energy fees that get tacked onto the rate, bringing it back up in cost. Considering that the Holiday Inn was only around $110 per night (plus resort and energy fees), it was quite the splurge to stay at the Comfort Suites.

The Comfort Suites is located along Seven Mile Beach, but is not beach front, as there is another hotel directly in front of it.

We had ordered a two queen bedroom for our stay. Since we were checking out of the Holiday Inn and into the Comfort Suites, we arranged with them in advance to allow us an early check in around 11:00 am, which was incredibly generous of them, and helpful to us since we had milk and some other items we needed to get into a fridge.

The staff was incredibly nice and helpful at the Comfort Suites on many instances. However, as soon as we entered the room, we had regretted our ever leaving the Holiday Inn.

What the Comfort Suites has on location, they are lacking in every other regard.

Our room was located on the first floor adjacent to the gym, which was no big deal, as it made access to the pool incredibly easy. Plus the hotel really does not have any “views” worth upgrading to since the ocean view is blocked by another hotel.

However, the room was incredibly small, at least compared to what we were used to over at the Holiday Inn. There was old carpet in the room, the “suite” aspect was completely lost apparently as there was a small bar area with sink and mini fridge, but that was about it. The furniture was incredibly cheap and dated, with a horrible layout, making it next to impossible to get into the second bed without crawling up into it.

The bathroom was just as pitiful with the door practically hitting you in the knees when using the toilet, a very basic shower, and horrible water pressure.

I am not sure if the reason our room might have been so poor was because we got such an early check in and it was the only room available; however, in talking to a worker who was cleaning apparently the workers suite across the hall, lots of the room looked like ours.

Our family had never stayed in a Comfort Suites prior, and this experience was certainly good enough reason to never stay in one again. While we traditionally stick with more budget friendly hotels like Holiday Inns (IHG), Hampton Inns (Hilton), and even Club Carlson, the Comfort Suites was definitely a step down in room quality.

What was surprising though is that the rest of the hotel was rather nice. The hotel offered a free breakfast, which was good, and money saving. The outdoor pool area and landscaping were beautifully maintained and serene. There was easy beach access with lounge chairs and umbrellas. The food at the onsite Stingrays restaurant was good. It is just that the rooms were terrible!

Not to mention, after requesting a crib in the room on the reservation, stopping in the day before our visit, and twice the day of checking in, we still did not get a crib in the room. It was only after I went down and requested one a fourth time was I told there would be a $15 per night charge for a crib. What? No where did we ever see this supplemental charge when booking, or the number of times we previously discussed about needing a crib. Let alone this was the first hotel I was ever being told we were going to be charged for needing a crib. What is also surprising is their website states “children 14 under stay free when with a paying adult.”

Fortunately, about questioning it, they waived the charges. Otherwise, we might have just checked out then and headed back over to the Holiday Inn.

The other pro of actually staying at the Comfort Suites is it was booked with lots of other families, which made it really easy for our kids to enjoy the company of others.

They also offer an easy towel service, allowing you to get towels, use them, and swap them out as needed.

I am sorry to say, while there are pros of being so close to the beach, especially for those without a vehicle, the Comfort Suites sadly was not well received by our family. Maybe it was because we were granted such an amazing stay over at the Holiday Inn, but surely when guests are paying a premium to be located over on Seven Mile Beach, the room should be adequately appointed, even for a “budget” hotel.

Sadly, we do not recommend staying at the Comfort Suites Grand Cayman unless you are without a vehicle and/or need to have immediate access of Seven Mile Beach. For our family, who was out exploring the island for the majority of the trip, the Comfort Suites was a major disappointment when it was expected to be the surprise ending.