Kimpton Travels to the Caribbean
Grand Cayman is famous for off-shore banking, scuba-worthy coral reefs, and the white-sand Seven Mile Beach. The latter now boasts Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa, the brand’s foray into the international luxury market as well as its first new hotel in over a decade. SB Architects designed the building, while EDSA handled the landscape architecture, which includes a pair of ocean-view pools. Interiors, encompassing 266 guestrooms plus an 8,500-square-foot spa, were the work of Powerstrip Studio, which infused a beachy aesthetic with sophistication and nods to local artisans and island history; the firm also designed the three freestanding guest bungalows. Markzeff was imported to conceive Ave and Avecita, two of the property’s three restaurants. Amid the sea blues and sandy whites, there’s a good amount of green, too: A solar array generates electricity, rainwater is harvested for maintaining the landscape, and air-conditioning is geothermal.