Living Our Bucket List Life: Caribbean

Showing posts with label Caribbean. Show all posts

Turks and Caicos: The Vix (April 2015)

My spouse and I dined at The Vix for lunch on a Saturday afternoon in late April 2015. We did not make a reservation to dine. The Vix is located in Grace Bay, in a large shopping plaza called Regent Village, which was a 10-minute (0.5-mile) walk on paved sidewalks from our hotel, the Seven Stars Resort. The Vix is open for lunch and dinner daily; the lunch menu claimed that they serve lunch until 3:00, and then begin dinner service at 5:00 pm; however, the staff was willing to serve us both food and drinks between those hours when they were technically “closed”. This restaurant accepts credit cards. The Vix offers both indoor and outdoor dining; however, the doors were open to the bar and the indoor dining room on the afternoon that we visited. Although the outdoor dining area is positioned on the wide sidewalk, it was clearly designed for our dining, surrounded by lush foliage, with a fountain in the center. We shared two dishes: the barbecue chicken flatbread pizza (which included goat cheese dollops and arugula on a possibly pre-packaged, yet tasty, bread / shell) and the fish and chips (which were some of the best fish and French fries that we have had anywhere, which were accompanied by a small green salad). Both the food and the service at The Vix were good, and we enjoyed sitting on the patio and people-watching.

Turks and Caicos: Coyaba (April 2015)

My spouse and I dined at Coyaba for dinner on a Friday evening in late April 2015. About one month prior to our arrival, we requested a reservation via email, and the restaurant responded promptly with a confirmation. Coyaba is located in Grace Bay at the Caribbean Paradise Inn, which was a 10-minute (0.5-mile) walk on lighted and paved sidewalks from our hotel, the Seven Stars Resort. Coyaba is open for dinner only, every evening except Tuesday. Coyaba is a Fodors choice restaurant. The restaurant accepts credit cards as payment. It offers semi-indoor and outdoor dining - there are no truly indoor tables at this restaurant, but there are some tables located beneath a covered roof adjacent to the bar (circulating fans keep the air moving). The remainder of the tables are spread throughout the garden, positioned beneath palm trees and amidst tropical foliage and strings of lights. Coyaba has no official dress code; however, most patrons sported resort casual wear (for example, most men wore Bermuda-type dress shorts and collared Polo-type shirts). We ordered two appetizers: the kale / seaweed salad (a huge portion of seaweed salad surrounded by crispy kale) and the scallops (served cold and cut into bite-sized pieces, accented with seaweed salad and caviar and served on actual scallop shells), and then we shared one entrée (the tandoori mahi mahi with coconut curry sauce and jasmine rice), and finished our meal by sharing one dessert (the sticky toffee pudding). Prior to our meal, the waiter delivered a glass filled with pita triangles and crudité (one celery stalk, one carrot stick, and a toothpick that held one grape tomato, and one green olive); the bottom of the glass held a white dip-like substance similar to a sweet liquidy butter. The food was tasty, and the service was good (many staff members work together to wait on each table). We enjoyed our evening at Coyaba and feel that it is a good fine-dining choice
in Grace Bay.

Cayman Islands (July 2011)

My spouse and I traveled to the Cayman Islands for the July 4 holiday weekend in 2011. We used Delta frequent flyer tickets, so we had to fly from Allentown to Atlanta to Grand Cayman. We were able to fly to Atlanta on Friday night (July 1), where we stayed at the Doubletree Club Hotel. The next morning (Saturday, July 2), we flew to Grand Cayman and checked into the Westin Causurina, where we got a great deal on our room (just over $100 per night). We originally thought that we would stay at the Ritz Carlton, but the rooms were 3x that price. We relaxed by the pool and ate at the beachside restaurant. In the evening, we dined at the hotel at their Havana restaurant, which has one some Wine Spectator awards. On Sunday (July 3), we dined at Eric Ripert's Blue restaurant at the Ritz Carlton. On Monday evening (July 4), we dined at Luca.

Hotels:

Westin Grand Cayman Link to my review
Atlanta Doubletree Club Hotel Link to my review

Restaurants:

Blue by Eric Ripert Link to my review
Luca Link to my review
Havana Link to my review

Cayman Islands: Luca (July 2011)

My spouse and I ate dinner at Luca at the Caribbean Club in early July 2011 over the Independence Day holiday weekend. We weren’t quite sure what to expect when we entered this condo-hotel on Seven Mile Beach, and we were pleasantly surprised with the upscale, modern interior of the restaurant, including a long, lively bar and an impressive, on-display wine cellar. Outdoor seating is also available overlooking the pool and the beach beyond. The food was delicious, creative, and pleasantly presented. The pasta is made in-house and available in many varieties and combinations. You can’t go wrong with making a reservation at Luca!
Casa Havana: Cuban Food and Formality in the Caymans
My spouse and I ate dinner at Casa Havana at the Westin Casuarina in early July 2011 over the Independence Day holiday weekend. Billed as one of only two AAA 4-diamond restaurants in Grand Cayman (the other must be Blue by Eric Ripert) and the recipient of many Wine Spectator awards, our expectations were high. Service was formal and polished. One memory that “sticks” in my mind is the waiter offering me freshly ground black pepper, which I accepted, and then his asking how I wanted it ground: fine, medium, or coarse. (Asking my preference for the texture of my black pepper was a first for me!) The interior space is a bit small, with additional seating outdoors on a patio overlooking the beach (it was too hot and humid to eat outside when we were there). The interior space wasn’t completely comfortable to us - the temperature was fine, but the tables were a bit close together, and the sounds of fellow diners conversations carried from one table to the next. The food was creatively presented and prepared using unique ingredients, and I appreciated the effort more than I enjoyed the flavor combinations. But this restaurant is still a wise choice for fine dining on Seven Mile Beach.

Cayman Islands: Casa Havana at the Westin Casuarina (July 2011)

My spouse and I ate dinner at Casa Havana at the Westin Casuarina in early July 2011 over the Independence Day holiday weekend. Billed as one of only two AAA 4-diamond restaurants in Grand Cayman (the other must be Blue by Eric Ripert) and the recipient of many Wine Spectator awards, our expectations were high. Service was formal and polished. One memory that “sticks” in my mind is the waiter offering me freshly ground black pepper, which I accepted, and then his asking how I wanted it ground: fine, medium, or coarse. (Asking my preference for the texture of my black pepper was a first for me!) The interior space is a bit small, with additional seating outdoors on a patio overlooking the beach (it was too hot and humid to eat outside when we were there). The interior space wasn’t completely comfortable to us - the temperature was fine, but the tables were a bit close together, and the sounds of fellow diners conversations carried from one table to the next. The food was creatively presented and prepared using unique ingredients, and I appreciated the effort more than I enjoyed the flavor combinations. But this restaurant is still a wise choice for fine dining on Seven Mile Beach.

Cayman Islands: Blue by Eric Ripert (July 2011)

Blue: Eric Ripert Always Delivers, Even in the Caymans!
My spouse and I ate dinner at Blue by Eric Ripert in early July 2011 over the Independence Day holiday weekend. We love Eric Ripert’s restaurant Le Bernardin in New York City, and so we had high but tempered expectations for our meal at Blue at the Ritz Carlton. The Ritz property is classy and chic and sophisticated, and Blue is located on the ground floor (the floor below the lobby, Taikun Restaurant, and the Silver Palm Lounge). The size of Blue is expansive, with plenty of room between tables. Despite the fact that we booked as far in advance as we could (which I believe was one month), we didn’t have the most desirable table. (We originally had planned to stay at the Ritz, and had been staying there when we made the reservation; as a hotel guest I would have been more disappointed with our table than I was as a non-guest.) The hotel has a nice bar area, and also seemed to have the possibility of dining outside in cooler weather. One of our two waiters had an off-putting attitude about him, and gave my spouse a difficult time when he inquired as to the beer selections. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to serve him beer, but he didn’t want to recite the list, even after telling us that it wasn’t extensive. The food was amazing! One of us had the Eric Ripert tasting menu, and the other had the Blue Tasting menu, both of which contained the same number of courses, but one of which was slightly more expensive than the other. (The restaurant also has an a la carte menu.) We sampled every one of each others dishes, and agree that although it’s a close tie, we preferred the Blue menu to the ER menu. The food was every bit as good as Le Bernardin, which pleasantly surprised us (perhaps snobbishly, we didn’t think that food on a Caribbean island could be as good as food served in Manhattan). Service was polished and professional, though a little more informal than NYC service. Overall, if this restaurant had been open again during our short stay in the Caymans (it is closed on Sundays and Mondays), we would have gladly returned, even though it was a bit of a splurge.

Cayman Islands: Westin Casuarina Grand Cayman (July 2011)

My spouse and I stayed at the Westin Casuarina Grand Cayman for three nights in early July 2011 for the Independence Day holiday weekend. Up until three days before our departure, we were scheduled to stay at the Ritz; then we found an offer for the Westin that ended up saving us more than $500 over what it would have cost to stay at the Ritz. We had booked the least expensive room at the Ritz (which we knew would be far from the beach), but were able to book a more preferred oceanview room at the Westin and still save some money. After seeing the two properties, we aren’t sorry about making the change. Yes, the Ritz was lovely and classy and sophisticated, and the Westin was more family-oriented and casual, but the savings allowed us to cover some of our incidental costs. We felt the beach at the Westin was preferable to the Ritz, with much space to spread out and chairs that could be easily moved for privacy. (At the Ritz, the chairs are lined up side-by-side, and the beachfront area isn’t really large enough to move the chairs away from other people.) The quality of the water and sand was the same at both resorts, because they are nearly adjacent. Both hotels have cabanas that guests can rent for a secure and more comfortable place to relax; the Westin only had one type of cabana, directly on the beach but near the entrance to the property; the Ritz had three cabana levels from which to choose, some of which came with drinks and snacks and personal butlers. The Westin rooms were fine; not the newest but certainly not in disrepair. There was a nice balcony with space for two chairs and a table, another small table and two chairs inside the room, a king-sized bed, and a spacious bathroom with a separate water closet. Maid service was very spotty, one day not getting service until late afternoon (even though we were out of our room by 8:00 am every day), and another day not getting service at all until we called down to the front desk. Often, we were missing towels of various sizes. We requested a refrigerator, both on our reservation and again at check-in, but we were informed that it wasn’t possible and that we should just use the minibar in our room to store our self-purchased drinks. For future guests, beware of booking the lowest-category rooms facing the street, and don’t expect to check in early (it seems that this never happens to anyone). Lines at check-in and at check-out were long, so be prepared to wait. (Everyone is arriving and leaving on the same few flights.) The hotel has plenty of chairs on the beach, but fewer chairs by the pool; however, we saw people bring the beach chairs (metal and plastic) to the pool (where there were teak chairs with chair pads). Towels were plentiful, and the ladies providing drink and food service around the pool and on the beach came around often to inquire whether we needed anything. We had terrible and surly service at the lobby bar, but the service in the three restaurants (Casa Havana, Tortugas, Ferdinands) was good. The hotel location was favorable, making it possible to walk to a few other hotels, restaurants, and shops. There is a souvenir shop and a liquor store just across the street, so it’s possible to buy your own supplies and save a few bucks. The hotel also has a few shops for souvenir items, as well as a counter-service cafe to buy drinks and snacks (primarily breakfast items. The fitness center is small, but has all the necessary equipment and faces the pool. The pool area is lovely and expansive and able to accommodate many guests at one time; there are also two hot tubs, although they were tepid in my opinion. Red Sail Watersports is on-site, making it easy to book excursions. This hotel was certainly worth what we paid, but if the rates were higher, I might choose the Ritz or a condo-hotel instead.

Bermuda (July 2010)

My spouse and I visited the island of Bermuda over the July 4 holiday in 2010. The evening before our early flight, we stayed near the Newark Airport at the Springhill Suites. Upon arrival in Bermuda, we checked into the Hamilton Princess. We ate lunch at Port O Call, and dinner at Bolero. The next day, we ate lunch at the hotel (outdoors), and then we met some friends for dinner at Harbourfront. The next day, we enjoyed lunch at Hog Penny, followed by dinner at Barracuda. It was a quick 4-day trip but very enjoyable!

Hotels: