Westin Punta Cana or Grand Cayman?
 

Hi... Plat100 here, looking for a 5 night beach stay in December. Keys are they must be a reasonable point redemption and served by Southwest Airline.

Ive been looking at Punta Cana and Grand Cayman Westins. My wife and I would be going and we are fine with chilling by the beach or pool, walking around, and playing in the water. Anyone been to both and care to compare and contrast?

thanks.

We were just at Punta Cana, the seaweed was so thick in the water it was nearly impossible to swim and the rotting seaweed on the beach smelled terrible.

I've only been to the Westin Grand Cayman -- great property and beach which I can highly recommend. Plat recognition is above average. The biggest thing to consider about Grand Cayman, though, is the cost of dining. It is NOT cheap but it is definitely world class.

I've stayed at other resorts in Punta Cana and the beach there is stunning BUT I don't have any personal experience with the Westin there. Is the Westin an all-inclusive property? If not, you might want to research dining options on/off property. Having stayed at several all-inclusive in Punta Cana over the years, I think the off property dining options are quite limited.

Westin Punta Cana is not all inclusive. There are 2 restaurants on property and the shuttle to the village. More than a few nights would get repetitive.

Thanks a lot folks. This is good information. I may have to back a suitcase of booze and snacks.

by the way, what's the currency there? I'm looking at a few menus for local restaurants and they are in $$$ of some sort.

Have you considered Westin Cancun? It's great value on points (28k for 5 nights, or 34k at the Royal Beach Club), it's in a nice, quiet area of the hotel zone in Cancun, with great beach and pool. Plat treatment is great, with an amazing breakfast spread, and daily happy hour at the RBC. Tons of restaurants a 5-10 min cab ride away.

Only caveat is the ongoing renovations (none in the Royal Beach Club), but there's a detailed schedule on their website.

Have stayed at both...Food is better in Grand Cayman (sunshine Grill across the street is awesome and fair priced). Cayman dollar is fixed at $1.25 (so just add 25% in your head). The beach is way better in Cayman (no seaweed, semi private) and if you rent a car a lot of places you can search on the island. As stated above a few nights at Punta Cana gets old. One drawback in Cayman was the bar/beach service was terrible (no service or forgot my orders). Overall the food is more expensive but I would go back to Grand Cayman especially if you can get the room on points as that is pricey if paying cash.

I was just in Punta Cana a couple of weeks ago as well (although not at the Westin--stayed in the Bavaro Beach area). Regarding the seaweed problem... from what I understand from others who have been to PC numerous times, the seaweed only does that once a year (and guess what time of year it does that?). I've only been the one time a couple of weeks ago, so maybe others with more experience can chime in, but perhaps this wouldn't be a problem in December when the OP wants to go.

The official currency is the Dominican Peso (DOP), which currently trades at 46.75 per USD (or approximately two cents per peso). However, when we were there, we found that USD is widely accepted pretty much anywhere that caters to tourists.

I spent last Xmas at the Westin Punta Cana and just couldn't warm to the place. Nothing terrible but it felt like I was somewhere in the US, everything priced in $$, American football on the TV etc. Much more so than Cancun even. They played incessantly loud Xmas music the whole time, pumped through endless speakers around the property. Food was limited, poor quality and expensive. I think there are better choices out there. The Westin Cozumel looks interesting for a new property.

Not even a comparison. Westin GC is a great property on a great island. Punta Cana isn't even in the same league.

Any recent experiences at the Westin Grand Cayman? Is the resort fee of $65 a day (ouch!) waived or possibly reduced, etc...?