The Cayman Islands’ Only Five-Star Hotel Is Back After A Massive Renovation

When the Cayman Islands closed for worldwide vacationers for the duration of significantly of the pandemic, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman took the chance to invest people two many years renovating across its sprawling 144 acres.

This marks a significant update for the vacation resort and the manufacturer — the only Forbes Journey Guide Five-Star winner in the Cayman Islands is one particular of the marquee qualities in The Ritz-Carlton’s portfolio.

“In the very last 17 years that it is been opened, it has develop into a single of the iconic Ritz-Carltons,” mentioned Chris Gabaldon, senior vice president of luxurious makes for mother or father organization Marriott Global, about the Grand Cayman vacation resort. “Of 112 beautiful resorts, there are a couple that stand out as icons.” Gabaldon stated it ranks among the elite Ritz-Carltons, like people in Naples, Laguna Niguel and Tokyo. “It’s wonderful to enjoy the evolution of an icon.”

Designed by New York Metropolis-based Champalimaud (which did the interiors of grand motels like Raffles Resort Singapore and The Pierre, A Taj Hotel, New York), The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman’s new look can take inspiration from the island’s tropical landscape and rich heritage. Guests usually plant them selves along the aquamarine waters of Seven Mile Beach in the course of the working day but, when the sunlight sets, the revamped Silver Palm Lounge turns into the scorching gathering spot. The foyer lounge is saturated in a vibrant pale green, the colour that’s on the underside of the silver thatch palm. Exclusive to the Cayman Islands, silver thatch is the nationwide tree and was the backbone of the country’s economic system until eventually the 1960s. In the center of the lounge, higher than white round seating, a cluster of round light-weight fixtures recollects the thatching patterns of regionally woven baskets.

The all-above green not only would make Silver Palm eminently Instagrammable, but adds vitality to the place and the adjacent airy white lounge. Incorporating to its convivial vibe, Silver Palm retains a assortment of unusual rums (attempt 7 Fathoms, which is aged two to four many years in white oak bourbon casks anchored 42 ft, or 7 fathoms, underwater) tucked absent in a personalized-built hardwood cupboard. Silver Palm pairs rum with chocolate produced from regional cacao, it doles out hand-rolled Caribbean cigars and serves an inviting afternoon tea (like a specific version for little ones).

The silver thatch motif can be located throughout the Grand Cayman hotel. Navy shadows of thatch fronds line the grey hallway rugs primary to the deep-blue place doorways. Inside the accommodation’s foyer, overlapping gray palms address the wallpaper and a large rope basket waits to maintain your soaked beach front and pool towels and merchandise — thatch rope was one of the country’s top rated exports.

The bed room pulls hues from Grand Cayman’s deep-blue evening skies and the soft product of its sand though mixing up to date coastal (like the navy and ivory striped rug) with midcentury British Caribbean touches (the 4-poster mattress in some rooms was viewed as a luxurious for the duration of that interval). The thatch palm sample pops up all over again in the black screens framing the glass doors to your balcony. To make it sense additional homelike, the desk beforehand in the space was changed with a round dining table, banquette and brown-leather-based-strap chair. The neutral décor will get a jolt of coloration from Jan Barwick’s vivid art depicting ching chings, a regional phrase for Better Antillean grackles, a chook with two endemic subspecies known for its exclusive music and wily antics.

Art is a hallmark at the resort — it has the greatest and longest-functioning gallery on the island. The lodge gallery strategically joins the two vacation resort towers so that you can search the pieces of a variety of locals as you trek from a person side to the other. Artworks also are dotted all over the assets — at the elevator financial institutions, admire Cayman artist John Reno Jackson’s evocative summary operates. As you retain your eyes peeled for art, be confident to search down — the carpeting features silver thatch palms, banana orchids and other native crops.

While a lot has adjusted in the 369-room vacation resort, several of its prized features stay. The Ritz-Carlton retains its standing as a culinary destination with its Blue by Eric Ripert restaurant. The resort also hosts the genial chef’s Cayman Cookout, an once-a-year meals festival. The 2023 cookout lineup, set for January 12 to 16, incorporates luminaries from the meals and consume environment like José Andrés, Antonio Bachour, Daniel Boulud, Jennifer Carroll, Adrienne Cheatham, Tom Colicchio, Dominique Crenn, Kristen Kish, Emeril Lagasse, Aldo Sohm and Andrew Zimmern.

Blue gets prime epicurean billing, but the hotel’s Taikun sushi restaurant is not to be missed and proceeds to be a favored for regulars. Order some sake and the omakase to savor indulgent bites like miso-brown-butter-baked scallops, wagyu nigiri with wasabi mayo and a garlic chip, and salmon foie nigiri topped with tobiko.

An additional attract at The Ritz-Carlton is the Four-Star La Prairie Spa, a futuristic sanctuary in which you can be pampered with superb treatment plans from the famed Swiss skincare brand. Heading outside the house, you can tee off at the Greg Norman-intended nine-gap golfing class or acquire in routines like mangrove kayaking or reef snorkeling by Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Setting, an immersive method that teaches a higher regard for nature. Ambassadors of the Surroundings was initial launched at the assets and has since expanded to a handful of other Ritz-Carltons.

The new makeover adds to the longstanding favorites to revive this legendary location. Marc Langevin, the hotel’s general supervisor reported, “We are back again in the activity.”