British West Indies
Take Me Higher

This one is for the family. A place to go that's not too foreign. A place to go with calm waters. A place to go that's safe. A place to go that's family oriented.

But get it while you can. The Pan Cayman House is about to go higher. In fact, it's about to be raised altogether. Replaced by a new condominium complex with loftier aspirations. One that will be much more expensive. And cast a much larger shadow over the beach.

On famous Seven-Mile Beach, along Grand Cayman's western side, the accommodations are lined up like dominoes. Will it be a hotel, like the Hyatt (a mini-city unto itself)? Or a condo for your family's vacation?

To get the most for you money, go the condo route. Some of the best, like the Great House (where scenes from the movie, "The Firm" with Tom Cruise were filmed) are generally not rented out by their owners. But there are plenty of condo complexes to consider.

The Pan Cayman House has an ideal spot on the beach. Though hardly glamorous, it's a friendly, down-home type of place. Across the street is Fosters grocery store where you can buy anything you can get at home. With some extra British goodies & tropical foods thrown into the mix.

In fact, everything is just across the street on Seven-Mile Beach. Mini strip-malls cater to your every whim. Lots of liquor stores, boutiques & restaurants. The Lone Star Café for kid-friendly food, like hamburgers & tacos. For upscale, "open your wallet fully" index, there's places like Hemingway's at the Hyatt.

Grand Cayman stuffs it all in along Seven-Mile Beach. But for a good reason.
The beach and protected waters are heavenly. During the 80's, the first big boom of development hit these shores. Condominiums and hotels sprung up one by one along the beach. Older places, like the Pan Cayman House, had their ideal spots secured & their repeated guests in tow.

Now there's another building boom going on. The Ritz Carlton Hotel is on the rise & other new condos are in the works. How long can old-fashioned condos, like the Pan Cayman, hang on? Slowly but surely, they're being pushed into extinction.

So it is, that the Meridian, a 28-unit, glass & steel structure, is about to replace the Pan Cayman. Further insult to the Pan Cayman's demise is that the building code for condos is about to change. It's going higher! Where once only hotels could be 5 stories, now condos will be allowed that height. And it seems only logical that hotels will one-up that restriction... with higher building heights in store for them, too.

But back to the Pan Cayman. A place where Lee greets you in the little office with her cat. Where Nan & Frank, a very English couple, have been spending a month in unit #3 over Christmas for the last 15 years. Where the slightly crooked cabana on the beach seems to be yours alone to watch the sunset. This lovely scenario will soon be over.

To announce what's about to happen, the Meridian has staked out a spot on the beach for its sign & brochures. Walkers going by are beckoned to "Take One" and dream the dream of owning a piece of paradise. Starting at 1.295 million USD.

So far sales have been good, at least for the ground floor. The direct beach-access units. As for those on the fifth floor, they'll undoubtedly go last. Taking you higher may not be what everyone wants, but what you may get... in order to live the dream, as more and more people clamor to this island.

Staying at the Pan Cayman House before it's gone can give you a healthy dose of the friendly, family-oriented ambience. The kind of tourism Grand Cayman once held dear.
Please say "Hi" to Lee for us, if you go.