Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Hotel Indigo Grand Cayman sits at the southern end of Seven Mile Beach on Grand Cayman Island, north of the Kimpton Seafire. Nestled between a public beachfront park and a highway, the site lacks direct beach access. We addressed this by orienting the building parallel to the coast and elevating the resort level one story above the park.
Hotel Indigo Grand Cayman by Blur Workshop, won an American Architecture Award 2025 from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design.
This layout ensures all 282 guestrooms offer sweeping ocean views—either of the Caribbean Sea or Governor’s Bay to the east. The rooftop bar and terrace capture prime sunset vistas, encircled by a glass guardrail for unobstructed sights. West-side planters create a hanging garden effect, while interior cascading vines blend indoor and outdoor spaces seamlessly.
Elevating the resort level prioritizes guest experiences with water views, relegating non-guest spaces below. Guests arrive via a winding driveway to a detached Lobby Pavilion with an iconic butterfly roof, framing panoramic ocean vistas for instant immersion during check-in.
The 5,000-square-foot pool deck offers diverse options. A pedestrian bridge divides the pool into a family-friendly zero-entry section and an adults-only infinity pool that visually merges with the horizon. Surrounding areas mix seating, activity lawns, and native trees for shade, color, and tropical flair. This variety extends to the 3-Meal restaurant, a food hall concept developed with interior designers for multiple culinary choices in one space.
Sustainability drives the design. South-side geothermal wells draw cool subsurface water for water-cooled chillers, slashing energy for heat rejection and reliance on local water treatment. Ice storage tanks pre-chill water, enabling chillers to use stored ice during peak demand, cutting summer electricity use and providing emergency redundancy.
Water conservation includes cisterns capturing roof runoff for fire sprinklers and a 50,000-gallon stormwater tank for irrigation. Native, climate-adapted plants minimize watering needs.
For air quality, a Dedicated Outdoor Air System (DOAS) with heat recovery delivers ventilation separate from conditioned air. Variable Air Volume (VAV) units adjust based on CO2 levels for efficiency. The heat recovery wheel pre-cools incoming air using exhaust energy, balancing comfort and consumption.
Future-ready infrastructure preps the hotel tower and ballroom roofs for photovoltaic panels.
Architects: Blur Workshop
Design Team: Scott Morris, Scott Sickeler, Scott Morris, Andres Gonzales, Samantha Yarmowich, Michael Gunter, Jonathan Massie, JP Mayer, David Moore, Nate Johnson, Kang Song
Interior Designers: Farouki Farouki
General Contractor: Decco Ltd.
Client: Dart Hospitality
Photographers: Garey Gomez Photography and Alex Marks
