As much as I love the Caribbean, Grand Cayman has never been on my short list to visit. That is until I read Brooks Reitz’s informative and fun Substack newsletter, A Small & Simple Thing, earlier this year in which he featured a recipe for a kale salad that made me want to check it out.
That is a funny habit of mine: when I come across something that speaks to me either in an article or word of mouth or an Instagram post, nothing will do until I experience it for myself. Case in point, a few years ago the Passalacqua hotel in Lake Como was named the Number One Hotel in the World by The World’s Best 50 Hotels. I read the article when it came out late at night when I couldn’t sleep, and rather than go back to sleep like a normal person, I went online, booked a room there for the following summer, and only then was I able to sleep. Some would call it instant gratification, I prefer to look at it as knowing what I want and making it happen! (By the way, my husband and I did make that trip albeit with a few modifications from my middle-of-the-night booking and it was one of our very best. You can read all the details here, here, and here.)
Anyway, that’s what happened with the kale salad article. Not only did I want to taste that salad for myself, I wanted to experience staying at Palm Heights – which according to Reitz, he has “never seen a hotel excel at so many things”.
I have to say I agree. It is quite simply a fabulous place to stay. Is it a little trendy? It is, but it didn’t bother me. It wasn’t pretentious even though it had all the similarities of a place that would be. In fact, when we checked in I immediately thought we might have made a mistake but I quickly warmed up to it and ended up absolutely loving the hotel.
It didn’t hurt that two of the world’s most famous supermodels and sisters, their mom, and extended family were staying at the hotel while we were there. Definitely upped the cool factor, especially for my husband who ended up chatting with them for half of our stay. Only Todd!
What makes it great:
- The Food – truly some of the best I have ever had on any vacation, and definitely the best I’ve ever had in the Caribbean, which can be disappointing. There are multiple restaurants on the property. We loved them all but the clear favorite for us was the Coconut Club right on the beach. There is a huge variety on the menu that I loved – food to indulge in like burgers and pizza but also ceviche, fresh juices, grapefruit and avocado salad, plus that kale salad that is every bit as delicious as Brooks Reitz said it would be.
- The Water – Words cannot do it justice. The water is so blue, so refreshing, so clear and calm. We couldn’t get over it. You can also snorkel out to a small reef right on the property.
- The Service and Hospitality – Not only is everyone who works at Palm Heights incredibly nice, but it is the attention to detail that really stood out. An example: one morning I ordered a bowl of mixed fruit. Our server noticed that I only had the mango from the bowl, and the next morning brought me an entire bowl of fresh mango. They really pay attention to their guests which makes the whole experience feel very personalized.
- The Design – I can only describe it as happy. Yellow is everywhere. Stripes are everywhere. There are flowers everywhere. It’s great.
- Saturday Night Karaoke – Palm Heights has a fun event at their restaurant, Paradise Pizza. They call “Mambo Italiano” which includes a pre-fixe Italian menu and a lot of funny intoxicated people singing karaoke. It is highly entertaining.
Other things to know:
- The hotel is very close to the airport. 15 minutes maybe. We booked the VIP airport service but you do not need it, especially on your flight out. You also do not need a car service. The taxis are clean, affordable and available.
- The hotel is a refurbished Hilton according to what I read about its history. I really liked the room and was happy there, but I could see how some might not love it. It does have an old Hilton feel in that the bedroom is somewhat isolated from the living area. My only takeaway was that I might see if they have other options for rooms on my next trip. That said, overall the space was big and roomy with a gorgeous view of the pool and the ocean. And it was very comfortable.
- Palm Heights is small – only 51 rooms in the entire hotel.
- There’s a great spa and a huge (enormous) gym across the street. I had an amazing massage and worked out in the gym one of the days.
- Tennis – my husband and I love to take tennis clinics on vacation, an activity that we sadly have no time to do in our regular non vacation lives. Palm Heights does not have tennis on the property but the Ritz Carlton is about a 7 minute drive and we went twice while we were there.
- Weather – we visited in late July while our kids were at camp. It was HOT. The manager told us that most of their guests in the late summer months are from the South because we are the only people who can take the heat – ha. It didn’t bother me because I sat in the shade and swam in the ocean a lot but just know that it is a very warm climate in the height of summer.
- There are a lot of great restaurants outside the hotel. We went to a great Italian restaurant right across the street called Ragazzi and loved it. Another one we heard about multiple times is a Japanese place called Kojima.
I became so obsessed with the pour over coffee maker in our room that I ordered a similar one on Amazon on the way home. It made the best coffee! I loved it so much I even made a video about it on Instagram. I am not going to tell you how many takes I had to do to get it to work.
So that’s what I have to report on Palm Heights! Highly recommend it. Enjoy these final days of my favorite season…
