The Somerset on Grace Bay

We just returned from our family trip to The Somerset and loved every moment of our time there. The rooms were incredibly spacious, clean, and comfortable, and the resort is small, welcoming and family friendly. Ms. Sharon, who runs the kids club, is a true gem. She welcomed my kids with open arms and was always intent on showing the kids a good time and giving the parents a much-needed break! She also hosts a movie night for the kids on Fridays and babysits. Doesn't get much better. I would also like to give a shout out to Winston, Berry, Jahnsen, and the rest of the front desk crew -- they were so helpful, friendly, and kind to my kids. Colin and AJ by the pool were also quick to get us towels, water, and anything else we needed. We love The Somerset!

My family of three (two adults and a three year old) loved our four night stay at the Somerset to escape the Chicago cold in early February. We were there mostly during the week and away from any holiday weekends so, even though there were other guests, there were times where it felt like the Somerset was our own private resort! Our family stayed in one of the two bedroom townhomes on the croquet lawn and we were pleasantly surprised by both the size and quality of the unit, both of which exceeded our expectations. With a little one it was nice to be slightly removed from the main pool area and to have the lawn right there for her to play in. The resort staff were all helpful and friendly and assisted whenever we needed something and left us alone when we didn't (which is almost as important in our book). We arrived on a Tuesday and decided to stay on the resort for the evening beach bbq after arrival, which worked for us after a long travel day but which I also wouldn't necessarily recommend unless you're similarly not looking to find another dinner location (food was not great, but more on that in a second, and not as kid-friendly as we imagined). We mostly relaxed at the resort during our stay. Our daughter loved the pools (which are, yes, unheated and a little chilly at first but you get used to it pretty quickly) and we also spent time on the beach. Both my spouse and I used the fitness center throughout our stay. It is walkable to get into "town" and the grocery store, but was a little further than we had been expecting so we only did it as a family one time. Luckily we brought our daughter's kick scooter so she was able to use that both ways, otherwise it would have been difficult. A stroller or other mode of transportation for little kids is definitely necessary. The bikes that Somerset makes available are a nice amenity and my wife used them for a quick errand one day. We didn't end up cooking in the unit at all, somewhat contrary to our expectations, but definitely could have with the available groceries and the quality of the appliances. A couple of other notes: - The food: A lot of other reviews mention the food and it was probably the thing that gave me the biggest pause about booking at the Somerset before we decided to do it anyway. The food is fine, the reviewers complaining about it are exaggerating. Everything we had was most definitely edible (even the beach bbq buffet, which as I noted above I didn't love), if sometimes average. Is the included breakfast option limited? Yes, but it is good for what it is (eggs, breakfast meat, breads and fruit) and all the other menu options are discounted for hotel guests. If you want a lavish, included, breakfast spread you should find an all-inclusive resort to stay at instead, as the Somerset very much is not an all-inclusive experience. We ate lunch at the poolside restaurant twice and also thought it was good for what it was - I personally am not looking for gourmet lunch options poolside, not sure what the other reviewers expect. We went out for dinner each night (except for the Tuesday beach bbq) and the Somerset concierge was helpful in identifying options for us beyond the reservations we had already made. One final note on food: in general, I didn't find the food in Grace Bay to be outstanding, so the Somerset fare was very much in line with what we experienced at other restaurants. The fish is excellent (so fresh!) everywhere, most other things are fine. - The Thursday night island fish fry was a highlight of our trip. It is easily walkable from the Somerset and the variety and quality of the food vendors was fantastic. - We didn't venture off resort for too many other activities, but the concierge helped us book a reef tour through Undersea Adventure, which was the perfect format and length (~45 minutes) for our three year old. Some other excursions sounded more exciting, but this was absolutely the right type experience for our daughter (who loves turtles, and saw many from the undersea viewing area). - Our daughter was a little too young for the kids club, but we saw other kids taking advantage of it and it looked great! - Airport transportation needs to be arranged separately (the Somerset concierge can help with this), but we found the entire Grace Bay area to be navigable without renting a car.

This is a belated review from August 2022. My family and I stayed in a 3 bedroom residence for over 2 weeks - and has stayed in the same residence for 10 days in 2021. The pros - Ms. Sharon at the Kids Club and the staff at the pool are lovely. The residence is spacious - having laundry in the room is a big perk. The cons- food at the resort is not great. We cooked breakfast in most mornings and dined out a lot. Housekeeping though friendly - was inconsistent. Some days they came so late that turndown was showing up an hour later. I could actually overlook the cons - but for what happened on our last day. We were due to check out on a Sunday. Our rental care company was coming to pick us up at 1:00 to get us to the airport and despite having just spent a tremendous amount of money - and despite being repeat guests to the resort -we were told by the manager that a late checkout of 1:00 was not possible and we needed to get out things out of the room by 12. When my husband pointed out to him the amount of $ we had just spent and that it was only an hour - he became nasty and literally sent housekeeping up to our room at noon bang on the door and stand there and stare at us like criminals as we left. It was a terrible ending to our trip. I am planning this year's trip now and sorry to say this bridge has for sure been burned.