Seven Mile Beach - Grand Cayman - February 12-16, 2018

My job sometimes takes me to some pretty awful places...but this definitely isn't one of them. I recently had the privileged to visit the Cayman Islands for a work event and spent about a week getting to explore the island. The Cayman Islands are made up by three islands that feature pristine beaches, clear, warm water and some of the friendliest people around. And Seven Mile Beach (often referenced as the Caribbean's Best Beach) was area where I would be spending the bulk of my time. While there are tons of fantastic hotels and resorts located throughout the island including the brand new Kimpton Sunfire (absolutely incredible), the Westin Resort, Ritz Carlton and a Marriott Resort, my home base for this trip was the lovely Sunshine Suites Resort (a bit different than my usual Trump, Hyatt, Sheraton, Marriott hotels that I had become accustomed to). This said, the Sunshine Suite had a partnership with the Westin Grand Cayman Resort and I was able to take advantage of all of their wonderful amenities and beach access. The Sunshine Suites was a charming 130 room all-suite hotel. Surprisingly this hotel had incredible reviews on Trip Advisor, but would have rated it a solid 3-star experience at best. The rooms were nicely appointed and on par with most moderate priced hotels in the Caribbean. The hotel (i mean resort) had a postage sized stamp pool and a pretty solid three-meal restaurant and bar - The Sunshine Grill - that celebrated local flavors of the island. I opted to try one of their "world famous burgers" and it was a valiant effort...but nothing to write home about.

This said, the one thing that The Cayman Islands are known as the culinary capital of the world with over 200 restaurants, food festivals and more delectable creations than you can imagine. Even though I was there for work, I felt that I was constantly eating and digging into the fresh fish and international flavors. There are over 130 nationalities who call the Cayman's home. My favorite was Morgan's Seafood Restaurant that was located within the Cayman Islands Yacht Club and featured locally sourced fresh fish. I especially appreciated their "Ocean to Table" concept and opted for the Tuna Sashimi and fresh catch Wahoo that had just been swimming earlier that day. This was one of the best meals I have had in a long time and certainly recommend you check it out. I also had the chance to The Lone Star Bar and Grill...a Tex Mex Restaurant camouflaged as a sports bar, Yosi Sushi, Jessie's Juice for when you are craving that $10 smoothie, Perk Up Coffee and Coccolaba Bar and Grill at the Kimpton Seafire that boasts gorgeous views of the Sea and great food and drinks. I was also able to sample quite a few of the islands tasty brews...which all unfortunately tasted like Miller Lite...so won't detail them out as I have in past posts.

There are definitely a ton of wonderful things to do in the Cayman Islands that I didn't have time for - like exploring their underwater kingdom. Cayman is a scuba and snorkeling paradise with over 365 dive sites and has so much to see and explore like the Kittiewake which was a former submarine rescue vessel that was sunk and the Keith Tibbetts a Russian frigate that was sunk in 1996 and the only Russian warship available for scuba diving. Also available are tourists favorites like Stingray City, visiting the Turtle Center shopping at Camana Bay - a new live, work, play development with great shops and dining, heading over to Rum Point for a drink, or just taking it easy and enjoying Cayman's world famous sunsets.