Feb 1, 2007
By Thom
Sunday
There is nothing boutique about the new Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, I muse, when we pull up outside the lobby of Grand Cayman Island's newest luxury resort.
This is, after all, The Ritz, and we are on an island known not for scalloped little treasures of beach here and there, but the huge, graceful arc of Seven Mile Beach; seven miles of sugary sand that slopes off so gently into the cerulean blue of the Caribbean Sea that you feel as though you could wade to Cuba without getting your chest wet. The Ritz, which rises from the heart of Seven Mile Beach like a Moorish palace, fits right in on an island made for superlatives.
While Shawna and I have an admitted fondness for the small, luxury hotels and villas, we also appreciate the grandeur of luxury. Set on 144 acres, with more than 365 rooms, The Ritz seems to deliver the best of both worlds.
You have all the amenities of a grand hotel; the beachside pool, the incredible 20,000-square-foot La Prairie Spa, 7 and Blue, two world-class restaurants, the Greg Norman Blue Tip nine-hole golf course, and of course, the water sports; all right there outside your suite.
Despite the scope of the property, however, the customer service is exactly what you'd expect at a family-run resort; fun-loving employees (bartenders who remember that you like a lemon, not a lime in your Cuba Libres) who have the discretion and authority to solve any issue (the generous gal at the delicatessen who popped an extra chocolate-chip cookie in our bag because she thought Shawna needed "some 'tim sweet" for dessert).
Monday
"I wish every Monday could be like this," Shawna said, after we finished up an eggs benedict breakfast (with crispy back bacon and a rich hollandaise sauce, often hard to come by in the Caribbean) and went for a barefoot stroll out on the beach. The sand is so fine, you feel like you're walking on Neptune's quilt.
"I do have one complaint," Shawna noted as we turned around and tossed a coconut husk for a friendly dog that'd been shadowing us. "The beds." She didn't need to say why; I already knew. The Ritz beds are the most famous beds in the world; plush and downy; they seem to mold to your body each night so you wake up wondering if you shifted at all in your sleep. The down side? The Ritz spoils you in dreamland and you'll never be satisfied with another bed again.
Our suite, 480 square feet of luxury, is equally comforting. The balcony is another astonishing 75 square feet (I looked it up!). With a pair of chairs and breakfast table, it's the perfect perch both for a morning bite and for sipping some champagne and watching the sunset (the sun goes down over the sea on this side of the island, and The Ritz has a front-row seat).
This evening we had dinner at 7, a beautiful and elegant dining room that looks out on the pool and beach-front plaza. On the edge of the beach were private dining tents, aglow with lamps and billowing like a Bedouin camp on the Red Sea. I had grilled grouper, while Shawna enjoyed mahi-mahi with wasabi mashed potatoes.
Tuesday
Red Sail Sports picks us up right on the beach for our morning dives. Gerald and Andy, both from South Africa, gave us a private briefing as we headed out to the dive site and got us squared away with gear.
We dropped in above Round Rock Cave, a beautiful sand chute that drops out over one of the famous Caymanian walls. We hovered at 100 feet and then made our way out around the wall and into a series of narrow slot canyon swim-throughs. Our next dive was the Royal Palm Ledges, a flat, shallow reef with an overhanging ledge. There were tons of chubs and blue-striped snapper schooling around in the crystal-clear 82-degree water, and some gorgeous sponges and brain coral. Small wonder that the Cayman Islands are known as the finest diving destination in the entire Caribbean.
Back at The Ritz after an afternoon of shopping downtown, we decide to head up island for dinner; the concierge has recommended Pappagallo.
"It's little Italy meets Polynesia," exclaims Shawna when we arrive. And sure enough, the decor the peaked thatched roof, bamboo walls and lazy ceiling fans?seems very South Seas, but the cuisine is all Old World. Eschewing diversity, we both have the lobster bisque, an appetizer of stuffed mushrooms and two big plates of lasagna.
Later that evening, we sit out on our balcony, toes propped up to the horizon, and watch the faded glory of another day in paradise. It's not a Monday, to be sure, but Tuesdays in paradise aren't half bad either.
This is, after all, The Ritz, and we are on an island known not for scalloped little treasures of beach here and there, but the huge, graceful arc of Seven Mile Beach; seven miles of sugary sand that slopes off so gently into the cerulean blue of the Caribbean Sea that you feel as though you could wade to Cuba without getting your chest wet. The Ritz, which rises from the heart of Seven Mile Beach like a Moorish palace, fits right in on an island made for superlatives.
While Shawna and I have an admitted fondness for the small, luxury hotels and villas, we also appreciate the grandeur of luxury. Set on 144 acres, with more than 365 rooms, The Ritz seems to deliver the best of both worlds.
You have all the amenities of a grand hotel; the beachside pool, the incredible 20,000-square-foot La Prairie Spa, 7 and Blue, two world-class restaurants, the Greg Norman Blue Tip nine-hole golf course, and of course, the water sports; all right there outside your suite.
Despite the scope of the property, however, the customer service is exactly what you'd expect at a family-run resort; fun-loving employees (bartenders who remember that you like a lemon, not a lime in your Cuba Libres) who have the discretion and authority to solve any issue (the generous gal at the delicatessen who popped an extra chocolate-chip cookie in our bag because she thought Shawna needed "some 'tim sweet" for dessert).
Monday
"I wish every Monday could be like this," Shawna said, after we finished up an eggs benedict breakfast (with crispy back bacon and a rich hollandaise sauce, often hard to come by in the Caribbean) and went for a barefoot stroll out on the beach. The sand is so fine, you feel like you're walking on Neptune's quilt.
"I do have one complaint," Shawna noted as we turned around and tossed a coconut husk for a friendly dog that'd been shadowing us. "The beds." She didn't need to say why; I already knew. The Ritz beds are the most famous beds in the world; plush and downy; they seem to mold to your body each night so you wake up wondering if you shifted at all in your sleep. The down side? The Ritz spoils you in dreamland and you'll never be satisfied with another bed again.
Our suite, 480 square feet of luxury, is equally comforting. The balcony is another astonishing 75 square feet (I looked it up!). With a pair of chairs and breakfast table, it's the perfect perch both for a morning bite and for sipping some champagne and watching the sunset (the sun goes down over the sea on this side of the island, and The Ritz has a front-row seat).
This evening we had dinner at 7, a beautiful and elegant dining room that looks out on the pool and beach-front plaza. On the edge of the beach were private dining tents, aglow with lamps and billowing like a Bedouin camp on the Red Sea. I had grilled grouper, while Shawna enjoyed mahi-mahi with wasabi mashed potatoes.
Tuesday
Red Sail Sports picks us up right on the beach for our morning dives. Gerald and Andy, both from South Africa, gave us a private briefing as we headed out to the dive site and got us squared away with gear.
We dropped in above Round Rock Cave, a beautiful sand chute that drops out over one of the famous Caymanian walls. We hovered at 100 feet and then made our way out around the wall and into a series of narrow slot canyon swim-throughs. Our next dive was the Royal Palm Ledges, a flat, shallow reef with an overhanging ledge. There were tons of chubs and blue-striped snapper schooling around in the crystal-clear 82-degree water, and some gorgeous sponges and brain coral. Small wonder that the Cayman Islands are known as the finest diving destination in the entire Caribbean.
Back at The Ritz after an afternoon of shopping downtown, we decide to head up island for dinner; the concierge has recommended Pappagallo.
"It's little Italy meets Polynesia," exclaims Shawna when we arrive. And sure enough, the decor the peaked thatched roof, bamboo walls and lazy ceiling fans?seems very South Seas, but the cuisine is all Old World. Eschewing diversity, we both have the lobster bisque, an appetizer of stuffed mushrooms and two big plates of lasagna.
Later that evening, we sit out on our balcony, toes propped up to the horizon, and watch the faded glory of another day in paradise. It's not a Monday, to be sure, but Tuesdays in paradise aren't half bad either.