In the wake of a highly targeted renovation, Georgia’s premier coastal retreat is more refined—and more flavorful—than ever
When the PGA Tour descends onto St. Simons Island for The RSM Classic each autumn, Sea Island Resort enjoys its annual 15 minutes of fame. The two tournament courses—Seaside, a shotmakers’ layout tracing back to architect Harry S. Colt, and Plantation, a Golden Age marvel that benefited from a Love Golf Design renovation five years ago—deservedly receive the lion’s share of coverage that week. But there’s much more to this sprawling coastal getaway.
Thanks to recent enhancements at The Lodge and The Cloister, the resort’s iconic hostelries, Sea Island now offers a more diverse and compelling selection of dining experiences, as well as guest rooms (at The Lodge) that convey the ambiance of an English country manor. All that and more, plus just the right amount of southern hospitality.
1. Exotic Flavors
Japanese cuisine has made it to the island. Once the property’s former white-linen dining experience, The Georgian Room now has a more casual front room dedicated to flavors of the Far East. The Lounge not only showcases ingredients imported from Hawaii and Japan, but presents sushi chef Grant Steiner’s creative twists on classic fare, such as crab cake flavors infused into a traditional California roll.
2. Reaching the Summit
The resort hosted the 30th G8 Summit of heads of state back in 2004, and guests can have their own conclave of comestibles in The Cloister Wine Cellar, with its sand-colored brick columns and wooden beams milled from Heart pine more than 150 years ago. Of the five tasting menus we vote for the G-8 Summit, which includes Nova Scotia lobster, dry-aged striploins, authentic spaetzle, and Carbonara style pasta with morels.
3. Reel Excitement
Chartered fishing trips not only offer excitement, you could haul in the catch of the day. Anglers looking for big game can head to the Gulf Stream in search of tuna, marlin, or sailfish, or take a more languid approach, drifting through the marshes and casting bait for trout, redfish, and flounder. Should you land a keeper, your guide can clean and filet it with The Cloister’s kitchen staff preparing it in a variety of ways.
4. Mind Over Matter
Sea Island’s 17,000-square-foot golf performance center is impressively equipped with all the latest swing- and shot-analyzing technology. But its most mind-boggling offerings are mental clinics with Dr. Morris Pickens, a sports psychologist who works with several of the almost two dozen touring pros who live and/or train at Sea Island.
5. In the Hunt
For an entirely different sort of birdie, spend the day at Broadfield, an outdoorsman’s compound that stretches across 5,800 acres and was once a private hunting club known as Cabin Bluff. The property’s 45 members have exclusive rights to deer and turkey hunts during the season (October through March). However, resort guests may book driven quail hunts as well as continental pheasant shoots.
