By Claudia Gerard
When we visited Grand Cayman last year, we stayed at the Ritz Carlton. We stayed for 6 nights when my son was 9. Hands down, the best hotel for families in my honest opinion. They are great with kids. The staff is amazing, which speaks to great management because they are polite, attentive and friendly. Concierge (both regular and in the Club) were very helpful and informative.
The Hotel
The hotel is very large and has two “wings” (for lack of a better word) that are connected by an indoor bridge filled with some lovely artwork available for purchase. There is also a grand piano that guests are allowed to play. It is kept locked, but the concierge will unlock it for you. My son was preparing for a school talent show and enjoyed practicing with an audience! In terms of rooms, I would recommend getting one on the beach side as they are closer to the main pool.
Hotel Activities
We spent a lot of time at the pool and beach. The main pool is quite large and tends to get crowded during busy times of the year. There is a second smaller pool that is less active near the Italian restaurant. The main pool has food and beverage service, or you may choose to sit and eat at the Al Fresco restaurant. The beach has food service as well, and you can rent cabanas for either half a day or a full day. The hotel offers water sport equipment for guest use. We went snorkeling and took out the water trike from the hotel.
My son enjoyed the game room, as they had video games, pool, air hockey, foosball, and more. It was a nice break from the pool. There is also a water park at the resort. In the afternoon (around 5), you can feed the fish. The hotel has a fun program for kids where they have to collect signatures from the staff (many nations are represented and they are all very friendly) and at the end they get a prize.
I would recommend upgrading to the club access. There are snacks throughout the day and they will make kid-friendly meals anytime. They serve a light fare for breakfast. Lunch and dinner and have a nice dessert selection after 8pm. There are beverages available all day and during meal service there is wine, champagne, and they will make any alcoholic beverage you would like with the exception of frozen drinks. All this is included in the daily rate and it does need to be booked in advance, as it is limited to a certain number of guests.
My husband and son played golf one of the days. They had fun, but said it wasn’t a great course relative to others they have played at.
Dining
New Yorkers will appreciate the Eric Ripert restaurant Blue which, unlike Le Bernardin, is kid-friendly if your kids are used to eating at fine dining establishments. Not quite the same caliber as Le Bernardin, but still very good. There is a sushi restaurant that is quite good, but you definitely need reservations as it gets booked up. The only restaurant that I would not recommend is the Steakhouse (Seven). The steak was, in our opinion, subpar and overpriced (this, of course, comes from someone who is used to NYC steakhouses, so should be taken with a grain of salt).
Excursions
The resort offers tons of great activities for kids. Book the snorkeling and Sting Ray City trip right from the hotel. They are both very family-friendly. Unlike the tours you would take outside of the hotel, you will be in a small group with very friendly and helpful guides.
Stingray City is not really an attraction, but more of a spot in the ocean where stingrays appear to congregate. You are able to swim with them and the guides will help you to hold them. The water is not that deep, so it will work with children. You will also get to see and hold starfish on a brief stop at a location with very shallow water.
The Cayman Turtle Centre is another fun activity. Go early to beat the cruise ship crowds and do not pay the extra for the water park — totally not worth it. We were told by the concierge to avoid it. Cabs can be hard to get when you are leaving, so you might want to arrange something with whoever drops you off. The folks at the Turtle Centre will call a cab for you, but once the cruise ship buses pull in, it gets super busy. It is not a long trip. We spent about an hour there.
We spent half a day on the snorkeling/Stingray City/starfish trip and then went into town for a couple of hours to check it out. Turtle Centre is a one day trip starting in the morning.
Transportation
In terms of transportation to and from the hotel, you can of course arrange a car service through the hotel (around $200 each way) or you can just get a cab. There are a lot of them at the airport and while I do not remember the cost, it was a lot less. Hotel is about a 15 minute ride from the hotel.
So?
Overall, a great vacation and we would go back if we didn’t like exploring new places! I have also never heard any complaints except that it is pricey.
