Suzy Soto

Board Member

Alongside her previous husband, Eric Bergstrom, Suzy Soto founded the Tortuga Club, which opened in 1963 in East End. Affectionately coined her “dream resort,” Suzy also oversaw the hostelry’s front-of-house functions and did the hiring. Today, East End is integral to the eastern districts, growing faster than anywhere else.

Suzy has been in business and is often referred to as one of Cayman’s original “women in business” – for over 50 years and displays no suggestion of slowing down. Additionally, she is an author who published her first narrative – a biography of Bob Soto (whom she later married). Suzy also published a cookbook in 1995.

Suzy is credited with creating the Cayman Islands Hotel Association, which lead to the creation of the Caribbean Hotels Association (CHA), founded in 1968 with 67 members, the Tortuga Club among them.
Suzy did hotel inspections and served as CHA regional director and chairman of its Training Committee. She helped found its Small Hotels Advisory Council and wrote a 300 page manual for small-hotel operators while running seminars for management and staff in a range of tourism-related interests.

Ms. Soto created the iconic “Sir Turtle: logo, dressed in a top hat and cane and, later in dive clothes. “One day, Vic Chenea from Tourist Board came around and said he wanted to buy Sir Turtle for a government logo,” Ms. Soto said. “I told him he could use it, but he said ‘no, we want to buy it.’ Sold it to him for $1.”

In 2001, the new Cayman Islands Tourism Association named her director and vice president of the restaurant sector. In 2003, she won the Certificate of Honour and was named to the Quincentennial Wall of Honour for contributions to the Cayman Islands and tourism.

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