We spent last week in Grand Cayman on an adults vacation and it was heavenly! None of us had ever been to Grand Cayman before and we were all excited about exploring a new island. I had heard a little bit about the island and done a decent amount of research, but I was mainly excited to just get there and see it all for ourselves! We had four nights to enjoy the island and planned our vacation with Melanie again who helped us book our activities. I will say that we enjoyed a few advantage by booking with her. A few of those include: a possible room upgrade if available, free breakfast every morning at our hotel (which came at almost $100 value each morning), and $100 credit during our stay (which of course I used at the spa!). We are also usually always greeted with a nice surprise when we get into our rooms too…champagne, cheese or fruit plate, etc. I just wanted to share because it doesn’t cost a thing to use her services and it’s always nice to receive those few little extras.

Grand Cayman Travel Guide

How We Got There

We flew American Airlines from Pensacola to Miami and then from Miami to Grand Cayman. The thing I was most excited about was how simple it was to get there. The flight from Miami to Grand Cayman is only one hour! I was pleasantly surprised about that. The airport in Grand Cayman is really nice and was easy to navigate and quick to go through customs when we arrived. From the airport, we precooked an airport shuttle through Majestic Tours but it is pricey and probably not necessary. It was about $150 each way when you could probably just grab a taxi when you arrive for much cheaper. The hotel was only a 10 min drive from the airport which was awesome! All the hotels are pretty close, which is a big plus in my book.

Where We Stayed

We stayed at the Kimpton Seafire resort. It was really beautiful and felt quite new. I’m not sure how old it is, but the decor was really fun with a funky, modern vibe. They didn’t stray away from color and it felt hip! The staff was super attentive and so kind from the minute we arrived and they grabbed our suitcases to the moment we checked-in and were given a private tour of the hotel and amenities.

One of the biggest worries I had when we booked was that the hotel would feel too big. After just visiting Baha Mar the month before, I was feeling like a smaller resort would be nice since Baha Mar was huge! But the Kimpton was just perfect. On the website, some of the photos made it feel like it was a fairly large property; but it really wasn’t. I never felt like our room was too far away which I loved.

Our rooms were so spacious and nice. We had an oceanfront view with a King bed. The room had a bar area with coffee maker and two refrigerator drawers, bathroom, sitting area and a nice size balcony! We had breakfast every morning at the hotel restaurant which had an amazing breakfast buffet or you could order off the menu. I highly recommend the omelet station! The spa was beautiful and full service with a sauna, steam room and nice co-ed hot tub area. Every morning they had a nice coffee station set up in the lobby and in the evenings they had a complimentary wine happy hour set up to enjoy. We spent most of our time at the beach area when we were at the hotel and we were always able to get chairs and they provided food and beverage service at your chairs! They also have complimentary water toys like kayaks and paddle boards for you to enjoy at your leisure. The pool area was also really nice and where we probably would have been if we had our kids with us, but we didn’t spend any time there this trip. As for the kids, they have the pool area plus another area that has slides and splash pad I believe and also a turf section that had an outdoor ping pong table and corn hole.

This would absolutely be a place that you can bring kids. I have to say, at the beginning, I was a little worried that there were going to be too many kids there since we didn’t have ours with us, but that wasn’t the case at all. It was perfect for everyone. I will share a few other resorts that we considered for our trip as well.

Other hotel options we considered:

The Ritz Carlton– this would absolutely be a great choice too. This is an older Ritz with a more traditional vibe with several great restaurant options. We had dinner here one night in the main building which is across the street from the water, but they also have a section that is right on seven mile beach that has several of their restaurants, more rooms and some residences. This was the most expensive of our options and although I know we would have enjoyed this spot too, I am really happy we chose the Kimpton!
Palm Heights – this spot feels young, hip and fresh the second you walk in! I got a very Miami vibe here and have a feeling this place knows how to party, ha!! I loved the decor so much, picture lots of white with some beautiful yellow accents and you feel like you could be transported to Miami or maybe Cuba. They have a nice bar area that also serves sushi and then a beautiful restaurant called Tillies that we ate at one night.
Westin – the Westin also seemed like it would be a great, affordable option with kids and family. They are right on seven mile beach and supposedly have an awesome pool scene. We didn’t make it here, but we did walk by the pools by beach and they have swim up bars and a nice outdoor space.

The photos below are a look at the pretty Palm Heights hotel.

Where We Ate

Cocoloba – this is a fun, casual, beachside Mexican restaurant right at the Kimpton. The food and drinks were good and the convience was really nice.
Avecita – this is a Spanish style restaurant in the Kimpton that serves a very nice dinner. They also serve the breakfast for the hotel each morning. Our dinner was really good and the restaurant is pretty, but if I had to rate all four of our dinners this trip, this one got last place. But the competition was so tough, because truly we had a good meal.
Taikun – this was maybe my favorite meal if I had to pick. It was a sushi restaurant at the Ritz Carlton and also had rice and noodle bowls. We ate family style so we were able to try lots of different things and it was all so delicious!
Tillies – this is a beautiful outdoor restaurant at the Palm Heights hotel right on the beach, but they do also have an indoor space with open doors and air condition. We ended up sitting in the indoors and we loved it. The lobster pasta was a must plus they served a delicious whole fish. For dessert, you must try the miso sticky toffee pudding.
Mykonos – hello, chic! this greek spot is a must see. We stopped for drinks here before dinner one night because we heard we had to go see this spot and didn’t know about it before we arrived. It just opened in May 2023 and the decor is absolutely fabulous. The courtyard is beautiful and shows itself as quite the party spot in the evenings and inside is a clean white vibe with the perfect touches of pink. I saw videos of people dancing on the tables, so I get the impression this place goes off after hours.
Casanova – if you love authentic Italian, this is your spot. I would say the rest of my group would say they loved the food here the most of all of our restaurants. I loved it too! Be sure to ask for an outdoor table downstairs and you are right by the water and can see the tarpon swimming waiting to be fed. It was such a beautiful view overlooking the water. The service and management was so friendly and I am certain we will be back to this spot.
Kaibo Beach – this was the little beachside lunch spot we hit the day of of our full day boat excursion. I loved the vibe of this spot and they had a wood burning oven for delicious, this crust pizzas.

Places we didn’t make but heard were fun or amazing:

Calypso Grill – outdoor, casual lunch spot that is on the water
Sunshine Grill – a casual, outdoor lunch spot that came recommended to us!
The Wharf – this was also another recommended restaurant that has a pretty view of the water that also feed fish outside the restaurant at 7:30pm. This restaurant is just down the street from Casanova, the Italian restaurant.
Blue – this is the Caribbean’s only AAA five-diamond restaurant and is located in the Ritz Carlton. It is a seafood cuisine with a renowned chef.
Miss Pipers – this was recommended by some of you. I wish you had made it here this trip, but didn’t. It is a quaint cottage decorated with a collection of her travel keepsakes.
Bacaro – we were supposed to eat here one night, but ended up at Tillies instead because we had been having drinks at Palm Heights. This spot was really pretty, we got to see it the day we took our boat trip. It is a waterfront restaurant overlooking the yacht club. It looked beautiful and I imagine the food was really good!
Seven Steak House – this is the Ritz steak restaurant that is supposed to be wonderful.

What We Did

I felt like we had a good mix of adventure and relaxation on this trip. We were here for 3 full days and one half day and got to do a lot. We left feeling quite fulfilled! By far my favorite thing we did was take a full day charter with Captain Jerry’s Watersports (email: jerry.ebanks@yahoo.com). Captain Jerry and his mate, Vijay, were amazing! We did the private charter and they showed us some truly amazing snorkel spots, took us to sting ray city and trust me, it was a lot nicer to do it with them then a boat packed like sardines, starfish cove, and our lunch spot kaibo beach. They never rushed us and had the boat stocked with snacks, waters and beers. They also supply all the snorkel gear that you will need. I can’t recommend them enough.

Our other excursion we did was right at our hotel through red sail sports. We did the 3 hour tour on their large catamaran. It was called the Kittiwake & Reef sail. You hit two snorkel spots and then they open the bar up on the boat you and you cruise back to the hotel and enjoy the scenery. We enjoyed this excursion for just a little adventure, but we did not think the snorkeling was good. The kittiwake is a sunken ship that seemed to be much better for divers than snorkelers. It was around $100/person and a way to get on the water for a few hours, but just wanted to warn you that there is MUCH better snorkeling out there then you see on this little trip.

Besides our couple of excursions, we enjoyed our days beachside at the resort and strolling down 7 mile beach seeing other resorts and looking around. We enjoyed drinks at the bar and pool area of the Ritz Carlton one day and in the evenings we hit a couple of fun spots for cocktail hour…Palm Heights and Mykonos..both I would highly recommend.

The girls also snuck off for a couple of hours to enjoy the spa at the Kimpton as well and we both really enjoyed our massages. The spa was first class and it felt so good to sit in the steam room for 20 minutes and sweat out all the good food and drinks we enjoyed on our trip!

I would suggest to be sure not to miss Stingray city no matter which way you can get there because it was amazing swimming with all the rays, feeding and kissing them! Try to get some snorkeling in too because the reefs are gorgeous and we saw so many beautiful fish and creatures.

Our Schedule

Jul 19, 2023- Wednesday
11:35 AM Majestic Tours – Private Arrival Transfer, GCM
Airport to Kimpton Seafire Resort, SUV
7:00 PM Restaurant Reservation at Taikun

Jul 20, 2023- Thursday
1:00PM Half day Catamaran excursion from the Kimpton
7:00 PM Restaurant Reservation at Avecita

Jul 21, 2023- Friday
9:00am Full day boat excursion to Stingray city
7:00 PM Restaurant Reservation at Tillies

July 22, 2023 – Saturday
9:00am Spa Treatment
7:00pm Dinner at Casanova

Jul 23, 2023- Sunday
09:45 AM Majestic Tours – Private Departure Transfer,
Kimpton Seafire Resort to GCM Airport, SUV

Final Thoughts and Review

We all truly loved our vacation here. I know that I was excited to try a new island to visit, but I would say that I had moderate expectations of the island. I thought I was going to like it, but I wasn’t sure how much I was going to LOVE it. And truly, we LOVED it! The island feels very safe and well developed, yet still gives that wonderful island feeling. I loved how many wonderful restaurants there were to choose from and you can see that there is even more growth. I was blown away with how much we saw and loved the snorkeling here. It was so beautiful and we all immediately said we can’t wait to take our kids back here. The sting ray experience felt like one of a kind and swimming with the sea turtles was a true highlight. I hope this is helpful for you and as always, if you have any extra questions, leave them in the comments. Also, if you have any recommendations for the island as well, I would love for you to share them too!