Cloister Yourself: A Luxurious Beach Vacation at Sea Island Resort

Sometimes you want to get away for a family beach vacation. A bright and busy boardwalk; cotton candy vendors; and many children screaming with joy when the waves crash against them.

And sometimes, you don’t want anything of the kind. That’s when your thoughts turn to peaceful sunsets over the water; elegant dinners of high style; luxurious rooms to pamper and warm yourself; and quiet moonlit walks on the beach. The question, of course, is where to find such a complex.

Since the 1920s, America’s privileged classes have flocked to the Cloister on Sea Island for a beach vacation in great tradition. After an extraordinary three-year renovation, the Cloister has reopened as one of the finest resort hotels in the US, preserving the exquisite architectural details for which it is famous and updating its amenities to the highest level of luxury.

Located in the Barrier Islands off the coast of Georgia, the Sea Island Resort is still owned by its founding family, now in the fourth generation of serving their guests. The resort offers a variety of places to stay: plantation-style houses, known as the cabins; the Lodge, an English-style manor house nestled between championship golf courses; and the Cloister, an architectural masterpiece with 100 suites and rooms. The Cloister at Sea Island is the crown jewel of the resort. The rooms offer exquisite bedding; large screen HD LCD televisions discreetly housed in quality antique furniture; specially commissioned Turkish rugs and spacious bathrooms to soak up your daily worries.

There are a variety of recreational activities available, starting of course with golf. All three golf courses, Plantation, Seaside and Retreat, have consistently been rated among the best in America, with two of them being redesigned in the late 1990s. The courses have hosted USGA tournaments, as well as a variety of regional events. The resort’s instructional school is staffed by top professionals and offers clinics and training for golfers of all levels.

Other leisure opportunities at the Sea Island Resort include boating and fishing; music recitals and art classes; a spa with a wide range of treatments and five miles of beaches. The resort’s stables offer group and private lessons and guided walks along the beach. If you wish to bring your own horse, stable arrangements can be made.

The Cloister does not pretend to be a populist destination; some of the most distinguished families in the south have returned there for an annual pilgrimage for generations. Although there are informal corners of the resort where you can enjoy a relaxed meal, the resort’s emphasis is on thoughtful elegance and formality. In several of the restaurants, guests are required to dress for dinner, with a jacket and tie required for gentlemen. While this may not be for everyone, it is part of Sea Island’s very conscious effort to preserve the traditions it has exemplified for nearly eighty years.

There’s a time and a place for the bustling boardwalk, and there’s a time and a place for a little luxury. The Sea Island Cloister lacks a boardwalk; however, it lacks nothing when it comes to luxury.