A few months ago, we took our very first vacation (or shall I say #vacashaan! lol) with Shaan and traveled to the Kimpton Seafire Resort & Spa in Grand Cayman. We had a GREAT time so naturally, I decided this trip was worthy of a blog post (plus a lot of you asked me to write this, and I really need to be better at delivering on my commitments, y’all #2020resolution). Moreover, when you’re traveling with infants, it is absolutely necessary to scope out the scene before you just show up somewhere all unprepared. What are the cribs like? Do they have 24/7 room service? Are the restaurants baby friendly? As a parent, all of these things matter a great deal. So I like to think blog posts like this, with all the pictures and details, really help cut back on the number of unknown variables during a vacation (i.e. disastrous situations), which can be pretty high when traveling with an infant. So, I’m diving right into the deets below, and if you’ve got more questions- leave it in the comments and I’ll answer ?
Why We Chose The Seafire Resort:
- Considering this was our first flight with an incredibly active 6 month old baby, we wanted a destination with no more than a 3-4 hour travel time (we flew out of EWR so the flight time was perfect).
- After doing a poll over on @thechutneylife asking for recommendations on our first family vacation, there was an overwhelming response from other moms raving about the Seafire Resort! Almost everyone mentioned the cleanliness of the hotel and the incredibly friendly accommodating staff. It was surprising how many people recommended this place- I almost felt out of the loop!
- We were looking for a luxury property because truthfully this vacay was more so for me and the hubs than it was for Shaan (sorry baby!). We wanted on site restaurants and wanted to feel “taken care of” before diving back into reality- needless to say, the Kimpton def delivered. Champagne waiting in the room, a poolside cabana stocked with snacks, complimentary happy hour- we lived our BEST LIFE.
The Hotel & Our Arrival
The Kimpton Seafire Resort & Spa in Grand Cayman is the Kimpton brand’s only luxury property and I’m really hoping they make more because they are DOIN IT RIGHT, people! We arrived to the hotel via taxi for our 4 night stay and were immediately greeted at the door with a delicious welcome drink! Shortly after, our luggage was whisked away and Shaan baby got the cutest little sting ray lovey upon arrival (plus points for this one! ) The lobby is spacious with it’s high ceilings, multiple (and not to mention adorable) seating areas and even has a pool table to kill some time while you wait to be checked in! You can tell some serious effort went into designing this place and the staff makes you feel like a VIP from the start.
The Room
We booked a 1 bedroom suite with an ocean view and it was the perfect amount of space for our family of three. The living area was separated by a door which was great when we wanted to watch movies and get room service after Shaan fell asleep or when he was napping (both the bedroom and the living room had a tv which was nice). One afternoon we moved his pack n play (which was provided by the hotel and SUPER clean) right outside on the gorgeous wrap around balcony where we also enjoyed our daily breakfast.
The bathroom had a double vanity, large soaking tub (perfect for bath time with the baby), walk in closet, and the seating area had a sink that made washing baby bottles everyday quite easy. Overall the room was huge and we used every little space during our stay.
Amenities & Extras
Not pictured below but each room at the Kimpton has a list of amenities you can ask for incase you forgot something- and I loved that they did this. Items on the list included hair bands, lint rollers, sewing kits, shaving cream, stain remover wipes and a TON of other things to make your life easier! Kudos, Kimpton, Kudos!
Here are a few of my favorite amenities & services:
- Free coffee and tea are available in the lobby in the mornings and there’ a small cafe on site for quick bites, coffee! I even spotted some organic baby food pouches here!
- Kimpton brand is famous for it’s “social happy hour”- where guests can gather in the lobby- mingle and enjoy FREE WINE every evening! Yes, read that again. FREE WINE, ERRYDAY.
- During peak months the Kids Club is open where they host daily activities for your little ones! Drop your rugrats off and hit up the spa which looks INSANE (sadly I didn’t get to go but I shall return one day #noworries). In room baby sitting is also available upon request! This place was MADE for parents.
Restaurants
The Seafire Resort has three on site restaurants: Ave, Avecita & Cocoloba.
Cocoloba
Cocoloba, their casual beachfront Mexican restaurant, is the only dining option open before 5 pm and it’s where we ate twice a day during our 4 day stay. Sufficient to say, we loved the food. The street corn, chicken tacos, pina coladas and margaritas were our favorite!!
Ave & Avecita:
Ave & Avecita are kind of like two restaurants in one. Ave is open for breakfast and then re opens right intake for happy hour! The bar is absolutely gorgeous, the bartenders friendly & inviting, and the variety of gin and tonics (my fave) made for one very happy mama! We loved grabbing our drinks and watching the sunset on the outdoor patio every evening. We’d then make our way inside after to get dinner at Avecita!
Poolside Menu:
When we were’t busy eating at Cocoloba, we’d get some light bites from the poolside menu as we chilled in our cabana! Wd didn’t try much but (had to save space for tacos and margs) our favorite was the roasted cauliflower hummus, even Shaan enjoyed it!
Pool & Grounds
My favorite thing about this property was all of the cozy little corners nestled throughout the property. All the spaces felt like little sideways tucked into lush greenery.
The pool is HUGE at the Kimpton and incredibly kid friendly. They have a special kids pool but the main one is large enough that you can be out of everyones way even with your little ones in tow. Cabana rentals are for the day and provided us with the perfect refuge form the blazing island sun. Each cabana had two day beds, and came with complimentary snacks and soft drinks. Since we had it for the entire day, we were able to leave behind some of our belongings when we retreated to our room for Shaan’s nap! Convenient and highly recommend renting a cabana if you’re traveling with little ones.
Cons:
I don’t have any real complaints about this property but a few things I feel are important to share and note:
- We booked our stay during mid September and the hotel was rather quiet. We didn’t mind this at all but if you’re someone who likes a more lively vibrant scene, this is a forewarning. Again, it could just have been a quiet time in their season.
- Even though there are a ton of nearby restaurants and as much as I loved eating at Cocoloba everyday, it would have been nice to have another dining option on the resort for lunch!
Overall
Overall, this property checked off everything on our list:
- Great distance from EWR/PHL
- Incredibly accommodating to parents and children
- Comfortable spacious rooms with suite options
- On site restaurants and shops
We had such a great time on our vacation and I cannot wait to return, and next time I’ll definitely be making time for the spa! If you’ve got the travel bug, check out my two other travel posts on Switzerland & Aspen! Happy Travels ?
