PHOTO ESSAY: Top Luxury In The Caribbean: The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman

All photography ©Dale Sanders 2020, article written by Christine Sallas

The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman opened in 2005 and is a super-sized example of island luxury, covering nearly 144-acres on the island’s narrowest east-west point. Spanning sea to sea, the resort is flanked by both the famous Seven-Mile Beach and the North Sound and straddles the main thoroughfare on the island, West Bay Road, with a climate-controlled walkway called The Gallery. Its luxurious appeal is unmatched by any other hotel in the area; in fact, it is the only Forbes Five-Star Hotel on the island, newly named to Forbes’ annual Star Rating list this past February.

Island Mood Redesign

Despite its relatively new construction, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman chose to undergo a complete redesign in 2013, a mere eight years after it first opened to the public. In place of a more traditional luxury look found in other Ritz-Carlton hotels, the Grand Cayman resort chose to institute a tropical island luxury feel. A fresh and cool seaside palette mixed with a modern style makes up much of the hotel now, with softer and fresher blues, silk drapes with a verdant print in eye-catching greens, fresh flower arrangements throughout the resort, floral wall panels in a modern design, and soft beige colors on the exterior, mimicking the island sands.

Seven-Mile Beach

The Cayman’s Seven-Mile Beach is frequently named as one of the top beaches in the world by numerous top travel magazines. Attracting tourists from all over the globe, Seven-Mile Beach is often viewed as one of the main reasons for Grand Cayman’s appeal as an ultimate tourist destination. The sparkling blue waters and soft white sands of the beach are open to the public, so no matter where you’re staying along the shore, you can explore the full length of this gorgeous landscape. Seven-Mile Beach is also quite near Grand Cayman’s capital, George Town, and you’ll find incredible beach bars and top-of-the-line restaurants at the luxury resorts along the shore. And if you’re looking for an unforgettable tropical sunset, this is the place to be, since the Seven-Mile Beach faces due West.

Fine Dining At Its Best

In true synergy with the Ritz-Carlton property vision, the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman offers a la carte dining and top gourmet cuisine to give customers the best of the best in their dining options. For on-site dining, the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman offers six different restaurant choices, among them Blue by Eric Ripert, one of the top fine-dining venues on the island and the only AAA Five Diamond Restaurant in the Caribbean. Famous for its two tasting menus and four-course a la carte dinner menu, the restaurant recreates top options from New York’s Le Bernardin (Eric Ripert’s elite French restaurant) as well as featuring daily catches from the surrounding ocean, including conch, cobia, and wahoo. Other available restaurants on-site include a steakhouse with gorgeous ocean views called Seven, an alfresco restaurant offering Italian cuisine called Andiamo, and Taikun, which offers sushi options just off the main lobby. 

If you prefer to head off-site for a dining experience, you won’t want to miss The Cracked Conch, offering a globally-inspired menu kissed with a local Caribbean flair. In fact, the Cayman Islands owe their reputation as an epicurean destination partially to The Cracked Conch, as its chefs (headed by award-winning local chef Gilbert Cavallaro) have been bringing innovative, bold dining experiences to the area for nearly three decades. For a special treat, don’t miss the restaurant’s classic specialty of tender Cracked Conch.

Duty-Free Shopping At Camana Bay Shops

The Cayman Islands are famous for their tax-free shopping, especially when you’re looking for luxury goods. If you are a shop-a-holic at heart, this is the perfect place to indulge in a fun shopping spree. Camana Bay Town Centre is a perfect location to browse; you’ll find everything from top, coveted luxury brands like Gucci, POLO Ralph Lauren, and Prada to unique, one-of-a-kind treasures made by local artists and artisans.

A beautiful mosaic is installed in the Observation Tower, and its design mimics the scuba-diving experience of exploring Little Cayman’s famous Bloody Bay Wall; the first level evokes the ocean floor while the top-level recreates the sun seen through the water’s surface. The five courtyards of Camana Bay are named for various local plants (jasmine, cassia, gardenia, heliconia, and canella), and they each feature different water features and planting schemes, giving each a distinctive personal flavor.

La Prairie Spa: Luxe Relaxation

After a fun day out on the town shopping, you may need a luxurious spa treatment. Lucky for you, the hotel is home to a state-of-the-art La Prairie Spa. The experts from La Prairie harness natural ingredients and combine them with top technology that brings real results. And for a truly luxe experience, many of the treatments utilize luxury ingredients like caviar and gold to help you feel truly pampered. For a true escape from everyday life, try the three and a half hour Total Escape treatment, complete with a manicure and pedicure, sixty-minute Swedish massage, and a sixty-minute La Praire Signature Facial, where La Prairie experts will work with you to assess your unique skincare needs and give you the best results possible.

Family-Friendly Fun

Despite its elegant, luxe appearance, the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman is an incredibly family-friendly destination, offering unique experiences for children and adults alike. Tropical fish often swim up into the resort’s roped-off swimming area, making it a perfect location to snorkel. Though some guests might view the resort fees as too high, the reality is that it is that fee which allows guests to check out snorkels, fins, clear-bottomed kayaks, rafts, paddleboards, and other items at their leisure. For families looking to have a bit of aquatic fun, that cost is well worth it.

In addition to the resort’s main pool, the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman also boasts an area for families called Starfish Cay, an incredible miniature interactive water park for kids complete with waterslides and fountains. There are also five tennis courts on-site, where both kids and adults can take lessons from trained tennis professionals, so there is no shortage of family activities!

Ambassadors Of The Environment Children’s Program

One of the top draws for families is the resort’s famous Ambassadors of the Environment children’s program, created by Jean-Michel Cousteau. A French oceanographer and explorer, as well as an environmentalist, a film producer, and an educator, Jean-Michel Cousteau is the son of legendary ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau. This environment-focused program is designed to teach adults and children of all ages all about the cultural traditions and the natural wonders of the Cayman Islands through a variety of fun activities. Not only will you learn to appreciate the natural beauty around you, but you will also learn to respect that natural environment and learn how to live more responsibly alongside nature. Explore the Cayman Islands’ reefs and local marine life with a brand-new perspective by embarking on a glass-bottom boat expedition, where you can look at the ocean world below you through a 6-foot glass-viewing dome curved at the bottom of the boat. 

Children can discover the island through Snorkeling 101 classes, learn how to cook in culinary adventures, discover animal communication, and even check out the night sky. Adults and families can engage in mangrove kayak tours, learn about blue iguanas, and even practice their photography skills, both on land and under the water! Most activities can be customized for tour groups of varying sizes, so you’re sure to find the perfect activity. All adventures begin at the Heritage House, an island cottage in the traditional style that is designed to teach guests all about Caymanian culture.

Long-Standing Luxury

The Ritz-Carlton hotels have a long history in America of revolutionizing the luxury experience, with the first opening in Boston in 1927. Continuing the vision of celebrated hotelier Cesar Ritz, known for redefining European luxury with his management of The Ritz in Paris and The Carlton in London, his wife Marie expanded the number of hotels bearing Cesar Ritz’s name after his death. Eventually, The Ritz-Carlton Investing Company was purchased by Albert Keller, opening several other hotels in the Ritz-Carlton name; by 1940, only the Ritz-Carlton, Boston remained, and it, and the other hotels now bearing the Ritz-Carlton name, still define Cesar Ritz’s vision of luxury hotel accommodations today.

For more information about the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman or to book your next stay, visit them online at https://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/caribbean/grand-cayman. To view more travel photography by Dale Sanders, please visit www.DaleSandersPhotos.PhotoShelter.com.