My husband and I and our 16 month old son stayed at Plantana April 17-24. We had been to Grand Cayman before our son was born and decided to try renting a condo this time so we would have more room. I am so glad we did and very glad we chose to stay at Plantana. The staff was courteous, helpful and friendly (despite what the previous reviewer says). Our condo was great - very clean with a newly remodeled kitchen and cute, tropical furnishings. We were on the corner of the building, away from the pool so it was nice and quiet. And being just steps from the beach is never a bad thing! The beach at Plantana is perfect. This was our son's first time in the ocean and in a pool and he had a wonderful time.
I do recommend that if you go to get groceries, always put all your food in the refrigerator. We neglected to do that the first day and ended up with a little ant problem. But once we put the food away, the ants left. Totally our fault!
We will definitely stay at Plantana again. We're already talking about going back next year! Overall the value is great - not much more expensive than a hotel, but so much more room and not as crowded at the pool or the beach.

We have stayed at Plantana for four consecutive visits. They finally have a new General Manager named Carlene Alexander and she makes all the difference in the world in the attitide of the office personnel. You have never been made to feel welcome at Plantana until this year. It's like they were doing you a favor to allow you to stay there. We've decided to give them another chance next year and hopefully Carlene will turn around the attitude of certain members of her staff.

The good news is you usually only deal with the office staff when you check-in and check-out.

Plantana on a whole is a 5 but loses a point for the attitude of some staff members. Each of our four visits has brought complaints from other guests about the unfriendly welcome you get.

I believe Carlene will change that!

Plantana is unique - private, quiet, only 49 units, friendly Caymanian staff, polite residents and guests. The rooms are individually decorated by each owner and well maintained. Most units have 2 bedrooms and 2 baths with open floorplans - (not the often seen "boxcar" layout) The bedrooms are spacious and the units are well-built and quiet, and the rates quite competitive (particularly for the garden units which have a partial or no ocean view) My favorite feature of the units are the large screened-in porches in each unit -- delightful to enjoy breakfast with the azure sea as your backdrop, or heavenly to watch the sunset and moonrise over the gentle sea on a warm balmy evening.

The beautiful park-like grounds with mature plantings and colorful blooms - even resident iguanas - are unmatched at other Seven Mile Beach properties. The surf along the broad clean beach is very gentle - great for children -and no rock outcroppings to trip over entering the water. The water is crystal clear, and just beyond where you can touch the sandy bottom, and a short swim away, a snorkler will find success and delight around the rocky areas. For the ocean-timid ,Plantana's crystal clean beach-side pool is a pleasant alternative and great for little mermaids and men.

Plantana is situated about the middle of the seven mile beach and a morning walk either north or south is delightful. However mid-day will find extremely busy (and noisy)beaches to the north around the Marriott, or to the south around the Westin or the Ritz Carlton where often there are so many people and beachchairs, I'm not sure the occupants in the rear can even see the water. The hotel resort properties are busy, noisy, jam-packed and fun for those seeking a more lively atmosphere.
The fun for me was to enjoy the peace and pleasure of Plantana during the day and in the evening dress up and take in an excellent dinner, salsa band, or piano bar just a short walk down the beach to the hotel restaurants or at Luca in one of the nearby restaurants. What a treat to then walk along the moonlit beach back to Plantana for a quiet night's sleep.

Plantana is also very close to city-side services -- restaurants, golf course, grocery store, shopping center and even Georgetown for the more serious walkers. An interesting walk for a change from the beach, is to walk east along the golf course for less than 2 miles to the other side of the island and a very different coastline. There is a resort property there where I had breakfast before my return. You will, I think ,appreciate your return to the Seven Mile Beach side of the Island.

Other favorite spots for me were Stingray City where you not only get to swim with and feed the Singrays, but are treated to a truly vibrant snorkle spot where the sea is alive with color and character; Ristorante Pappagallo a short drive to the northeast from Plantana where you can enjoy preening parrots a magical lagoon setting and an excellent menu; The Lighthouse Restaurant is my favorite for a first trip - a step back in island history, with a splendid sophisticated menu - a must see situate on the rocky coastline! For lunch a fun stop is the Calypso Grill with its expressive color scheme- sit dockside and let your inner Carribbean come to life - enjoy exotic island drinks and why not go island with Marinated Conch and the Chef's Sticky Toffee Pudding? -- oh, yah, Mon!

Next trip I hope to take my grandchildren and visit the Turtle Farm, the Atlantis Submarine and possibly venture off island to Little Cayman.

It makes sense to me to choose Plantana, and I will again. Plantana-- where you can hear the gentle surf and the sweet songbirds..............
You can feel the gentle breeze and the warmth of the Carribbean sun on your skin..................
You can read quietly then scan the multiple blue hues from the water's edge to the horizon............
You can taste the salty sea air on your lips and smell the sea and the rich musky scent of the palms, pines, and St. Augustine grass..................
You can touch and wiggle your toes through the white, warm, sand.

At Plantana you will experience the island lifestyle and touch your senses and your soul.

We stayed at Plantana from June 23-29th 2007.

The property was in very nice condition, we stayed in unit #7. I highly recommend this unit as it was very well appointed, the kitchen had everything you could ever need to cook small or large meals. The unit is a beach front, ground floor unit which was super convenient for running back and forth between the beach and the condo. Even though the unit was very close to the pool we didn't find noise to be any problem at all.

The stretch of beach in front of Plantana was just perfect. It was clean and the white sand is soft and powdery. There are a couple of reefs not too far out where you can find tons of beautiful fish. If you go down the beach a little farther (toward the governors house) there is a HUGE reef but make sure you have your fins on as you will need them. I found having beautiful snorkeling right off your own beach to be a huge bonus.

The staff was friendly and helpful. One day the cable box didn't respond and I went to the office. The maintenance person was there immediately to help.

We traveled with family and they were in units #8 and #10 which were also quite beautiful. We had 3 kids under the age of 9 in our group and they all had the time of their lives.

I would highly recommend Plantana as its conveniently located just a short drive from the grocery store and its walking distance to Legends and Eats Cafe.

Enjoy, its paradise. We were planning our summer 2008 trip back before we even left!