Divi Tiara, perfect for Halloween

[scubadada]

I very recently made my first trip to Cayman Brac. I missed one day of diving due to Tropical Storm Philippe, so took one of CBBR's bikes and went exploring. One place I stopped was at Divi Tiara. The entire place is totally decrepit, enough to give you the creeps.

Tennis anyone?

The timeshares at Club Tiara were haunted houses

 

[KathyV]

I very recently made my first trip to Cayman Brac. I missed one day of diving due to Tropical Storm Philippe, so took one of CBBR's bikes and went exploring. One place I stopped was at Divi Tiara. The entire place is totally decrepit, enough to give you the creeps.

Thank you for sharing, the wreck of the Divi Tiara is a sad sight! My husband and I once walked the property - he ventured further than me - I'm a wimp and I was driven back by the burrs and mosquitos.

But you may be interested in this video tour that Jordan Liles posted about the abandoned property: https://youtu.be/7KGf4J8pcVY

One time when we were on Brac I spoke with a local who told me about the abrupt closing of the resort. The Divi Corp suddenly decided to shut down after the Cayman government refused to grant a gambling license for them to open a casino.

She said that she was working at Divi Tiara when the resort closed and the news was totally unexpected. The dive operation had just spent a lot of money on upgrades and installed a nitrox station and bought some new dive boats.

The resort management simply locked the doors and left everybody standing around looking confused. The chef started handing out free supplies of meat, produce, and other foodstuffs to locals rather than letting the stuff rot. The hotel property was still loaded with furniture and appliances and décor items so they held a lottery.

She said that you had to put in $100 (or $150?) into the lottery to draw a room key out of a basket. You could take everything in that room as long as you hauled it away quickly. People took everything they could manage including bathtubs and toilets, light fixtures and furnishings. She said that there was a long line of trucks and cars and boats going back and forth to Divi that went on and on for days.

It doesn't sound like very responsible company, they just decided to cut their losses and didn't give a damn about the people that were affected, the staff, their business partners, or the big eyesore they were leaving on this lovely island.

I wonder what happened to the guests that were staying there when it shut down?

 

[KathyV]

I wondered what happened to the guests staying at Divi Tiara at the time it closed but I found a statement from the Cayman Department of Tourism stating that "...visitors impacted by the closure were re-accommodated at the Brac Reef Resort and at the Little Cayman Beach Resort."

That's good, but it must have been a shock to have your hotel close down around you while on vacation!

 

[caymaniac]

I was one of the Timeshare owners. I bought in 1989. Divi corp. gave us no choices. I basically have nothing to show for my investment. They shut the timeshares down in 2006. Divi plays Cayman politics and this is why they have never been fined for leaving such a mess on the Brac. Divi should be forced to clean the site up.
The way it used to be:

Pit (1 of 1)-19 by jadlh, on Flickr

FileC005 by jadlh, on Flickr

Image022 by jadlh, on Flickr

Image021 by jadlh, on Flickr

Image005 by jadlh, on Flickr

Image012 by jadlh, on Flickr

Image007 by jadlh, on Flickr

Pit (1 of 1)-3 by jadlh, on Flickr
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