Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman Review

Room: We stayed in an ocean view room in the south tower and it was BEAUTIFUL. Above you will see the view from our balcony. I highly recommend requesting the south tower to make sure you get views of the beautiful Cayman beaches. The room came with complimentary waters, coffee and gorgeous amenities that made us feel so comfortable during our stay. Beware of the blackout curtains – it’s a love/hate relationship! 😉

Top: Leith here // Jeans: Express here // Sunglasses: Ray Ban here // Sandals: American
Eagle here // Choker: Gorjana here

Food – VIP Lounge: One of the smartest things we did was upgrade our room to get access to the VIP lounge. This was a lounge located in the North tower that included breakfast, lunch, dinner appetizers, desserts and unlimited beverages (including alcohol). We ate almost every meal in the lounge (except for nice dinners) and it was some of the most delicious food we’ve ever had. This isn’t your normal buffet. They hand-picked a variety of different foods each day cooked specifically by the chef for the lounge. The staff was incredible and made us feel so welcomed and taken care of. This truly is the way to go when visiting the Ritz, and I promise it’s worth the extra investment!

Food – Restaurants: To be honest, we ate at the lounge most of the time because the food was truly incredible. We did, however, go to Seven (a steakhouse) one night, which was located inside the Ritz, and it was delicious! The service was incredible and our waitress was an absolute doll. On our last night we decided to go off property and eat dinner at The Grand Old House. This was extremely special because my in-laws had been to that exact restaurant on their honeymoon 32 years ago. We sat outside right on the water and it was such a special night as we had an early-birthday celebration for Mama Mia.

Transportation: If you live in Houston, you’re in luck. The short two-and-a-half-hour direct flight made getting there quick and easy. We got through customs in about ten minutes, and had a driver arranged through The Ritz waiting there with cold waters. We didn’t really leave the resort very often, but when we did, the taxi drivers were friendly and made us feel safe and comfortable.

Dress: Lush here // Earrings: Bauble Bar here // Clutch: Sold out (Similar here and here) // Heels: Steve Madden here Color “Taupe Suede” // Bracelets: David Yurman here and here

Spa – La Prairie Switzerland: The beauty of the spa starts as soon as you enter with a gorgeous lobby that leads into the women’s locker room. We treated ourselves to a massage one evening and also had a great time utilizing the other spa amenities (steam room, sauna, hot tub, showers, etc.). The masseuses were some of the best we’ve ever had! We were treated to champagne, snacks and warm neck pillows which made us feel so special and pampered.

Pools: There are two pools located at the resort – the main pool in front of the beach and an adults-only, more private pool located outside of the south tower. We spent the majority of our time at the main pool, but both were equally beautiful. Although pricey, the food and drinks from the pool bar were delicious. Servers were constantly making rounds with water, fruit, crackers or cold towels.

Dress: O’Neill here and here // Sunglasses: DIFF here (Use code “JESSICADIFF” for 25% off your purchase!) // Swimsuit: ON SALE – ASOS top here and bottoms here // Sandals: Lucky Brand here

Swimsuit: L*Space top here and bottoms here // Similar: here and here // Sunglasses: Ray Ban here

Beach: The Ritz is located in the middle of Seven-Mile beach with an expansive shoreline that is exclusive to the resort. The water appeared to be crystal clear up close, but created a gorgeous turquoise blue from far away. What I really loved about this resort compared to others we saw was the privacy on the beach. The chairs were spread out enough to where you didn’t feel like you were on top of the person next to you, which gave you your own space to relax. Servers were on hand constantly checking to see if you needed a beverage (um, YES!) or anything to eat. I would highly recommend the Pina Colada’s (they’re said to be the best on the island!), and I couldn’t keep my sister away from the Strawberry Daiquiris. Unlike many resorts on the water, the Ritz comes with an extensive amount of water activities. You can choose to kayak, paddleboard, water bike, jet ski, sail or even jet pack which provided a lot of entertainment for everyone else watching. There were also multiple floating devices available at the beach and pool for any guest to use.

Recommendation – if you want front row chairs on the beach, get there early (like 7 AM)! We showed up at 8 AM one day (which was eaaaaaarly for us) and we still were sat on the second row.

Must Do’s in the Caymans: Our favorite experience, by far, was our excursion to Stingray City, snorkeling, and Starfish Point. Although there are many tours available on the island, we booked our private tour through the concierge which was exclusive to only Ritz guests. This made the tour more enjoyable because the group was smaller than most catamaran cruises. The tour guides provided towels, water, granola bars, life jackets, snorkeling gear, and were very knowledgeable of the area and on the activities we took part in. Our first stop was Stingray City and as soon as we arrived, our boat was surrounded with stingrays. INSTANT ANXIETY. Of course, Katherine jumps in the water and immediately tries to go kiss the thing (it is said that if you kiss a stingray you get seven years of good luck……!) and meanwhile I’m still on the boat scared they’re going to eat us. After the guide reassured me that they are friendly and cannot sting, I hopped in the water. Now looking back, I am SO glad I did because it was one of the coolest experiences of my life. We had two tour guides that were experts with the sting rays. They would catch them and show us how to safely hold them and go in for a kiss. Lucky for me, I got my kiss! Here’s to hoping it brings me seven years of good luck. From there we went snorkeling, which gave us a glimpse into the Cayman Island sea life (and even an EEL)! Finally, our last stop was Starfish Point. This was not only a great place for pictures, but the beauty of Starfish Point was incredible! This might have actually been our favorite stop on the whole excursion. Holding live Starfish was an experience you rarely get and something we’ll never forget.

Swimsuit: Shein here // Earrings: Seaside Pearls here // Sunglasses: DIFF here (Use code “JESSICADIFF” for 25% off your purchase!)

Other Recommendations: Word to the wise – use sunscreen and bug spray! I don’t burn easily, and did fine the entire trip until the last day when it was extremely overcast and rainy. I decided not to put on sunscreen because I didn’t think the sun was out, but yikes! Also, the bugs are really bad around sunset. That’s when we would go out to take most of my blog pictures and we got eaten alive. The hotel was so gracious to provide complimentary bug spray in our room, we just weren’t smart enough to use it. We learned our lesson after the first night though and it ended up being great!

Overall, I would say I highly recommend The Ritz Carlton in Grand Cayman! The service, the food, the beach and the grounds were truly so luxurious and beautiful. We felt completely spoiled the entire trip and were able to unwind and relax. If you’re thinking about making a trip to Grand Cayman, I highly recommend staying here. If you’re looking for something a bit more affordable, my next choice would be the Kimpton Seafire Resort and Spa.

Please let me know if you guys have any more questions about this gorgeous resort! Did you guys like this type of hotel review post? Should I continue doing them? Let me know in the comments below 🙂 I hope everyone has a great week! Be kind to each other.