Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa — Hotel in West Bay

We just returned from celebrating my birthday at the amazing Kimpton Seafire GC. The short of it: It is a gorgeous resort, a lovely beach and property with excellent service. The beach has sugary sand and crystal clear turquoise water, very well maintained and nice chairs, umbrellas and cabanas at the beach and pool.. While it is pricey, we felt that our 5 star experience there was worth it. That being said there are a few things to consider, depending on what you are looking for in a resort, with details below. I should mention up front that we went in September, the lowest of the low season as we were told by several staff, and the experience would likely be quite different if the resort had been full. We didn’t need to make reservations at any restaurants or be strategic about when we went down to the pool, beach or gym. I’m sure in the high season that planning would be necessary.

First the rooms: The location on Seven Mile Beach can’t be beat, the property is impeccably designed and maintained. The rooms are nice, designed to emphasize the main attraction, which is the amazing beach and sea views. We had an oceanfront suite with an adjoining room for our kids, which was very nice.

Food at the Seafire: The food options we used at the Seafire Resort were the Ave for breakfast/brunch and dinner, Cocoloba for lunch and drinks, room service for dinner, poolside service, and the Seafire Pantry. Breakfast at the Ave was very good, I loved the protein bowl and my husband and son enjoyed the chicken burrito. The Ave dinner menu was not great, the food was just good. Cocoloba, the beachfront on-site restaurant, was ok. Nice for beachfront lunch but menu was not great, drinks were just so-so, and decor was meh. The lighting was terrible, with harsh, bright lights on even at night. I understand it is to be renovated next year. Seafire Room service was not great, the salad was very basic, the pizza was bland and the pasta was not good. My husband liked his chicken sandwich and his fries. The service delivering it was good though, and you can call to have the cart picked up quickly when you finish. The poolside service was great for drinks and smoothies for the kids. We loved the pina coladas there, they were quite sweet but very strong! Lots of people ordered food from the poolside so it can’t be too bad, we just never stayed still long enough to order food from the pool or beach. Lastly on food, the Seafire Pantry is a gem.

One complaint I have about the stay, was the way the hotel handled a couple of families staying there with 5 children around ages 2-4y. Many families were at the Seafire with children and babies, and it’s nice to watch people spending quality time together and enjoying their children—we are not looking for an adults-only resort. Most of the parents were attentive to their little ones and considerate of the other guests. But two families staying at the resort together seemed to be less watchful of their kids the entire week, parked at the middle of the pool all day, letting them roam around the restaurants and climb on the stools and handrails at dinner, screaming and yelling at times, and the parents did little to manage it. Two of the parents would wander off and leave all 5 young kids with the other couple. On any given day was no place the other guests could escape where the wild kids would not be (the adults only pool is tiny and not nice and right next to the regular pool). At happy hour in the lobby each day as we were trying to enjoy a pre-dinner glass of wine, these two families would bring their kids and let them roam around the lobby and play with the pool table, climbing on the sofas and throwing pillows on the floor while their parents chatted together. We have 3 children of our own and love traveling with our kids, we understand kids are active and sometimes loud. This was beyond that—many guests and staff saw their behaviors each day and exchanged glances and comments amongst ourselves when we saw them coming. Hope the manager can handle this kind of thing better...

I stayed at this resort with my daughter in mid-August 2024 and have been meaning to write a review for some time, but kept putting it off because I wanted to make sure I had enough time to provide a thoughtful write-up and do the resort justice. I just can't say enough great things about the Kimpton Seafire. I've been to many premium/luxury resorts, especially in the Caribbean (including 2 others in the Cayman Islands), but I can say that this resort is hands down my new favorite. Everything about it is high-touch and premium, yet not in a stuffy or intrusive way. Each interaction with the staff felt warm and authentic, and they proactively go out of their way to make sure you feel taken care of. Plus, Kimpton has thought of every last detail - the resort is so well laid out with great signage, the common areas and guest rooms are meticulously clean and so stylish, the beach and pool areas are just perfection, and they could teach a master class on customer service. They truly apply a 'customer first' approach to every aspect of your stay.

Some of the top highlights were: Because of the way the building is situated and the guest rooms are angled, almost every room has at least an ocean view (and a pretty awesome one at that). The balconies, even in the standard rooms, are larger than a most other resorts too. The guest rooms are so thoughtfully laid out - high-tech lighting controls (e.g., with master on/off, night light mode, electronic privacy indicator, etc.), optimal power outlets and USB hubs (plentiful and well-located), enough hooks and racks to hang your towels (this is a pet peeve of mine), extremely stylish and vibrant room decor. Delicious breakfast buffet that you can enjoy indoors or outdoor on the deck. Unique hot food buffet, tons of fresh fruit, amazing selection of mini-pastries, well-prepared omelettes at the omelette station. The only watch-out is that I noticed a lot of birds showed up on the outdoor deck. They weren't aggressive enough to pick at your food if you were sitting there, but if you left the table for even a minute, they would go for your plate. Because of that, we ate breakfast inside most mornings, which is a shame because the view from the deck is lovely. It was my daughter's 17th birthday the week before our trip, and every single night we were there and ate dinner at one of the hotel restaurants, the staff ended the meal with a slice of cake with 'Happy Birthday (her name)' and a card signed by all of the staff working that evening (and it was not a pre-signed, generic card, but instead personalized for her and different every single night!) And the craziest thing is I never even told them it was her birthday. I am pretty sure they just noted it when they saw her passport at check-in. Finally, the pool and beach areas are just spectacular. The pool deck always had plenty of open lounge chairs and umbrellas, so there was never any pressure to get down there early to secure a seat. It wasn't peak season, but I have a feeling that still wouldn't have been an issue even during peak periods. The beach area is long and wide with white powdery sand, and the ocean is bright turquoise blue with zero seaweed, rocks/pebbles, etc. You can go out pretty deep and the water is so clear you can see your feet even when you're neck-deep. There were no waves at all when we were there, which made it calm enough to be able to do things like paddleboard yoga (which was offered as an exercise class one morning!) Even though there were plenty of pool and beach chairs, we did decide to book a cabana one day, just to have the experience. We booked a Seabridge cabana and it was well-worth it - huge cabana with a large comfy sectional sofa, fridge, ice cooler, large fan, large safe and included 2 outdoor lounge chairs too. Plus, it was perfectly located in between the pool and the beach, making it super easy to go back and forth.

I love this resort so much that I have already made plans to return again next year! ...

This is going to be a long review, because although this is a great property, I think many of the reviews so far are overly positive.

TL;DR: Cayman is very expensive for the Caribbean (especially food). This is a very clean resort with some thoughtful touches for families. The resort has room for improvement in order to offer true luxury.

The check-in experience put a bad taste in our mouth up front. Our concierge wasn't prompt, didn't offer us a tour, didn't have our luggage available to change while waiting for our room, and our room wasn't available until well past 4p. Overall the property was very good for the rest of the stay but not excellent. I'll summarize some good and bad below:

Good

1. Lots of activities each day like crafts, water sports
2. Good gym
3. Excellent doormen, never had to wait longer than 5 minutes for a taxi
4. LIBRARY BY THE SEA is the gem of this property -- the service and concept should really be used on the whole property. They would do well to let the guys and girls running this bar run the whole place.
5. Close to Public Beach where you can get some more reasonably priced authentic food
6. Most everything is clean and well-maintained (this is hard for a beach-side property)
7. The splash pad was fun and close-by
8. Coccoloba was a great spot and had some fun theme nights.
9. The family suites are fun rooms that have a nice balcony, books for kids and two bunks (not well advertised).

Bad

1. The concierge detracted from our experience and could be eliminated for better value. She didn't help us on that first day. She didn't read any of our response before-hand (fresh fruit in room, higher floor, anniversary trip). And she never checked in after we arrived, not even once.
2. The front desk has arrival times for guests, so should have a room ready or at least communicate to the guest when a room can be expected.
3. The pool was WAY too hot, and the water was very cloudy. Many kids at the resort had the same dry hacking cough. After the first day we didn't let our daughter in the pool as we were concerned for health. I actually overheard two beach attendants commenting how dirty the pool was, so I'm sure it's not just my misperception.
4. The pool deck was filthy. Walking across it with bare feet would leave your feet dirty and track grime all over your towel and into the pool. There was also puddling issues. I never saw anyone sweeping or power washing the deck during the week as is normal at other properties.
5. The splash pad needs maintenance -- most of the interactive items are not working (water guns, water gears, foot activated water jets), and the rubberized surface is peeling/flaking.
6. There needs to be a daily activity geared for boys, as most boys aren't interested in making bracelets or necklaces, or hair braiding.
7. The chair attendants were rude. You have to come find them to dress your chairs, but they are immediately there to tell you that a chair is a special "reserved" seat and you have to move. There is no need to treat me like I'm a thief because I accidentally set a towel on a non-occupied, non-labeled "reserved" seat for a couple minutes while we dipped our feet into the ocean.
8. There is no posted rule about not eating outside food, but when we brought a sandwich from one of the GREAT vendors on public beach to eat at our hotel, a poolside attendant came and literally tried to throw our food away while we were eating. I have never experienced such rude behavior at a luxury resort. The property should encourage guests to sample local things -- I would have gladly ordered a cocktail or some sides to accompany my meal, but they again chose disrespect.
9. The family suite has no phone in the master. The refrigerator is PACKED with mini bar items so no room for leftovers. There is no balcony off the master.
10. Housekeeping timing was poor. They would skip cleaning because we were in the room at midday for a short nap. They would not have the room turned down by...