The End of an Era

The Reef Resorts blog has now moved to its new location: http://blog.thereef.com/

All of you Reef Blog fans are sure to love the new layout and design of this blog. We will certainly keep you updated on all the latest news here at The Reef and in The Cayman Islands.

Until we meet again on the new blog Ill let John Lennon and Paul McCartney sign us off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QShSmpI0r9k

Over and Out.

Top Ten Dive Site in the Caribbean

Is blogging about another blog considered laziness or just praise among peers?

Anyway, our good friends at Orbitz.com have recently posted on their own travel blog a section detailing the Top Ten Dive Sites in the Caribbean. Rated #1 on their list is The Cayman Islands with The Reef Resort being highlighted due to our location away from the hustle and bustle of SMB. (Seven Mile Beach for those not in the know).

It seems our little secret in East End is getting out.

WaterSpout

This amazing footage is of a waterspout just off the coast here in East End.

Images from January 09

The month of January has flown by already and below are some pics of what has been going on this month.

Last week our daily fish feeding attracted alot of guests who were excited to see the Tarpons, chubs, grunts and other fish that come around the dock expecting bread.



The next picture is an image of a Castaway Owner in their local habitat. With new Owners (Iguanas) moving in soon, alternate accommodation will become a necessity

The Department of Tourism's PRIDE training came by the reef for a two day seminar where Jake (Head Concierge) learned to fold napkins among many other things. He's a natural ain't he!

Below is a mini design of The Reef by the Van Leeuwen children who stayed with us over the Christmas period. Note their attention to detail with the all beachfront suites and Apollo's taxi cab parked right out front. The Reef: Where budding architects come to train.

Blue Dragon trail - find the dragons !

As part of our efforts here at The Reef to apply our resources to helping environmental initiatives, we had our web team redo the Blue Dragon trail pages that seemed to have somehow got lost in the ether a while back.

This should shortly be linked directly from the pages of the Blue Iguana programme, but for now you can find the Blue Dragon Trail pages directly here.

One thing we added was the ability to print a pdf of the map so you can easily get ready to do the self-guided tour yourself once you arrive on island.... a great way to explore it.. get the kids to "capture" all the dragons on their camera !

Cayman Airways Sale-Book by January 27

Sir Turtle is celebrating the new year with cities on sale!


MIAMI US $179

WASHINGTON US $279

TAMPA US $179

NEW YORK US $279

CHICAGO US $279

JAMAICA US $139


Please visit Cayman Airways.com for more information then head to Thereef.com to book our own winter specials.

Cayman Christmas Lights

Christmas lights are a big thing here in Cayman as houses compete for pride on the best displays and most unique ones. Several large houses even allow the general public access into their property to view their massive displays.

Every year as well, George Town Harbour is decorated with Christmas Lights bringing a feeling of Christmas throughout the capital.

simplerelaxation.com

The underground relaxation community has been quietly screaming out for a leader for sometime now.

From every corner of the earth these secret sun worshipers and beach bums have been looking for a place to call their own. Well, good news has arrived as the perfect place to practice the once banned art of relaxation has been found! Please keep everything hush hush and visit simplerelaxation.com where you can find out how to access this piece of paradise.

ELFED 2008

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Stingray Awards

The annual Stingray Awards ceremony took place on November 29, 2008. These awards are given to the top performers in The Cayman Islands Tourism Industry . The Reef Resort had our own hospitality superstars nominated this year for various awards:

Dulles to Cayman Last Minute Sale!

One-way airfare starting as low as $99* when purchased by December 8, 2008

Cayman Airways, the national flag carrier of the Cayman Islands is proud to announce, new full-service, nonstop flights from Washington D.C. (Dulles) to Grand Cayman starting December 13, 2008.
To book contact your travel professional or for more information visit www.caymanairways.com/dulles

Caribbean Honeymoon Romance

Once your wedding is planned and all the arrangements are completed, the next logical step is to figure out where to go for your honeymoon, right? Also, you certainly want to be somewhere secluded and romantic so you and your partner can enjoy the first days of marital bliss together. To make this as simple as possible we have brought back one of our most popular packages for 2009. The "Simply Romance at The Reef" package includes:

5 nights in a Beachfront Deluxe Studio Suite
Champagne and Strawberries in room upon arrival
Private 3 course candlelit dinner for two on the beach with bottle of wine
Sunset Kayak Reef tour for two (or alternative couples watersports activity when available)
Couples Massage at Le Soleil Spa
All taxes and gratuities on packaged items

For package rates, please visit http://www.thereef.com/.

Simply Cycling

Any past visitor to The Reef will know that the main road right next to us has always looked ideal for both walkers and bike enthusiast as there is very little road traffic in our area.

Well Christmas has come a little early this year as roadwork has recently been completed and the surface is smooth as can be. With Cayman now growing as a destination for Cyclist with the recent Cayman Invitational race event that was scheduled for November 8, 2008 and attracted world renowned cyclist such as Christian Vandevelde and Peter Luttenberger to name a few, international eyes and bike clubs should know have The Cayman Islands on their radar.

If you're a novice rider or maybe someone looking just to go on a stroll then you will be glad to know that The Reef Resort also offers our guest free bike rentals which are available at out Front Desk area.

On the top right of this picture is The Cayman Cycling Clubs jersey which is sponsored by us here at The Reef Resort. It is available for purchase at bikejerseys.com

Yoga Spa Retreat

'Life is not a race, but a journey to be savoured each step of the way"

The latest addition to The Reef Resorts Simply Relaxation strategy is the all new Yoga Spa Retreat with Donna.

Donna is a certified Hatha Yoga teacher and Burdenk Water conditioning therapist who also has a weekly column in the Caymanian Compass.

This 1-hour yoga experience is an idyllic retreat for the inner self enhanced by the ancient arts of traditional Hatha Yoga, Aromatherapy, Native Flowers and Fragrance.

This experience is absolutely perfect for a first time Yoga experience as well as yoga enthusiast.

For more information please call 1-345-946-3338 or email info@thereef.com

North Side Primary School learns to swim at theReef

I'm a proud swim parent and (in my spare time!) am working to turn the Cayman Aquatic Centre (including 50m pool) from dream to reality.

A core part of that dream is to "waterproof" Cayman's kids, and that means ALL of Cayman's kids.

In the Eastern Districts there is (until the new Frank Sound High School is built) nowhere for primary school children to learn to swim.

We've therefore done our part at theReef to help, with North Side primary school being taught in the larger pool at theReef two mornings a week.

This is noted in today's Cayman Compass , including a picture I took last week as I saw the school bus parked by the pool one morning.. boy, those kids were having way too much fun !

Autumn has come!

Happy Halloween everyone! I would like to share a nice little story one of our owners experienced during this fall season. Thanks for sharing Bill & Laura!

Laura bought a nice pumpkin. It sat proudly on the edge of the deck toward the lake next to a beautiful mum plant. The chipmunks and squirrels had chipped away at the skin a bit but it was doing OK. We just turned the "modified parts" away from our view. One morning I got up and it appeared a racoon decided to bore into it. Poor pumpkin went down hill from there. The squirrels and chippies run in and out of the hole, have widened it and even have their own now. The pumpkin now sits on the end of a retaining wall and is the center of constant attraction.

The Blogman Cometh

Goooooood evening????????

Yes, it is evening time here in Scotland where your favorite reef blogger has been stationed over the last few months and i must apologize for the lack of reef news since then. However, there is good news on the horizon as i will be back in Cayman and back at thereef in less then a months time which is very close to Pirates Week. Hint Hint.

Upon my return expect more updates of the latest news at thereef as well as Cayman.

Gustav grazes The Reef!!

Good afternoon everyone and thank you for all of the wonderful emails and messages from all of our Reef friends and 'extended family' wishing us well through Gustav!

Firstly, we are very thankful to advise that we are all safe and well and that The Reef only received very minor damages on the beachfront and dock areas due to the high waves. Clean up is in progress and, thanks to our amazing maintenance crew, over 70% of the beach and one of our pools is back in perfect condition already! In fact, due to the high waves, we have gained additional beach again which is great news for all of our guests as this adds to our already massive beachfront, even more space to find that secluded spot!!

I have taken some photos around the resort this morning to give you all an idea of how we are doing.

As you can see, our tennis court was an oversized sand pit for a day and our pools have been

pumped out and cleaned ready for action!!

With our brand new hurricane shutters protecting our all beachfront rooms throughout the resort and a very proactive team here at The Reef, clean up will be a breeze!!!

Therefore, to set your mind at ease, we are open for business and all should be completely back to normal within a couple of days! We look forward to seeing you soon!!

Killer Whales in Cayman

This group of Killer whales were spotted 7 miles off of East End on July 27, 2008. Apparantly, they tried to get a room at TheReef but were denied because we didnt have any rooms big enough. Sorry guys.

World of Caybrew

Last Wednesday i got the chance to take a quick tour of the Caybrew factory located in Prospect. I initially went there to drop off my used bottles as Caybrew has a return policy where you get paid $2.00 for each returned case.

After i returned my bottles i was offered a free pint of draft Caybrew from the free sample area they have set-up inside. While enjoying my brew i was offered a free tour of both the recycling area and the actual brewery itself. How could i say no!

I walked through the warehouse area where pallets of this delicious beverage were being prepped for delivery to all the local bars.

My next stop was at the recycling part of the factory where i got to see what happens to those little green bottles and how they are cleaned. Kudos to the Caybrew team as that machine is top of the top and assures the quality of the reused bottles.

After my look at the cleaning area i then walked through the brewing area where the barley, malts, and water combine to make the drink. Walking in, one is initially hit by the strong smell of malt and the heat of the room. This is certainly where the magic happens.

After about 5 minutes of learning the step by step process that goes into brewing the beer, i exited the factory and made my way back to the reception area.

My advice is to give Caybrew a try as it is great tasting and very refreshing.