Affordable hotels/places to stay in Curacao or Grand Cayman?

[ClaudiainDC]

Does anyone have recommendations of places to stay in either Curacao or Grand Cayman that are not too $$$ at this time of year? I doubt I'll find anything at bargain-prices, but any recommendations of ways to save a bit are appreciated!
Thanks,
Claudia

[ScubaBasics]

We have always had good luck with Sunset House in Grand Cayman, not the cheapest but alot of value for the price.

[ianr33]

Cheapest place I have found is Welcome to your private Cayman Islands Getaway Not in the least bit fancy,not on the water (walking distance to Cobalt Coast though) Very friendly folks who dont mind sharing their wine !!

[Tennessee Slim]

Curacao has many apartments that cater to divers but I can’t vouch for any of them (cost or quality). There are more in the east but a few are way out west. If an apartment suits your plans, I’d suggest you contact Suzy at The Dive Bus. They often fix up divers who are coming here but who don’t want to stay at a resort.

If you’re looking for a reputable hotel, I’d look into the Clarion. It’s about the least expensive hotel I know of where you can count on not having to share your room with a gang of iguanas. But it is high season. According to Travelocity, the Clarion is creeping up on $150USD per night for a double. It’s on Piscadera bay, which is a decent location considering it pretty much splits the drive time to either end of the island.

[diversteve]

There's a B&B on Grand Cayman. Bed & Breakfast Inn Grand Cayman Around $700/wk which is cheap for Cayman. I've never stayed there as we rented condos on SMB.

On Curacao we stayed at Piscadera Bay Resort, it's showing as $92/nt. Which seems about right, for the week with the cleaning and electricity my bill was around $650. Last April. Piscadera Bay Resort :: Home (eng)

Every condo is a duplex and has two bedrooms. I'd guess the age of the units as mid-70's. All only have A/C in the bedrooms, mine only had wood shutters on the windows. My buddies had been refurbished recently - ask for #4...Clean, just not the newest. Since they're in PB they have gated security with night patrols. Although PB is pretty quiet at night.

Just inland from the Marriott and the Hilton so you have dining/diving/casino options. Also check out Hooks Hut just down the street it's a diveshop/restaurant/beach/bar combo. Good for lunch. They also rent tanks for shorediving off-site.

For something farther west (better diving) we stayed in clean, newer apartments in Lagun. My Dream Apartments

We were the only people there at the time so it was pretty quiet. About a 50-60' vertical ladder down to the water there so you'd want to drive to Playa Lagun or Playa Jeremi to dive. Reasonably close to West Punt also, maybe 10-15mins.

They said there were some security issues judging by the 8' walls and bars on every door/window. But no issues the 3 nights we were there. The owners Max and Sonia dropped by once or twice just to see how we were doing - nice people.

All the units were 1BR with a typical Curacao kitchen and small living room. The oceanside units have a great view/breeze. I don't remember what I paid but it was really reasonable, as I recall maybe $250 for 3nts?.

Definitely need a car out there and stock up on food in Willemsted before you drive out. At Centrum market, just a couple miles south of the airport. They even sell cheap styro coolers for the drive out.

[Alex777]

Eldemire Lodge is about the cheapest place to stay on Grand Cayman - under $100/night IIRC. It gets mixed reviews: some find it fine, and some hate it. It is centrally located, however.