The Cloister at Sea Island, GA
 

We visited The Cloister a few weeks ago and we were very impressed! I had not expected it to be nearly as nice as it was. I have a feeling that going a bit off-season helps.

Gorgeous suite in the main building. Terrifically personalized service at every point of contact.

We also stayed at The Sanctuary later in our trip and I would rate The Cloister above The Sanctuary.

Here are some photos and a trip report for anyone interested:
http://polloplayer.wordpress.com/201...at-sea-island/

interesting, thanks!

We love the Cloister too. We will be heading down next month. It is the island that my family grew up going to every summer so I am biased but it is incredibly beautiful there.

@Valveking - lucky you! It has such an authentic feel to it. Lots of tradition but not broken down like some of the grand old places seem to be. (The Del Coronado comes to mind...)

If we lived on the E Coast I think we would be endeavoring to bring kids/grandkids there and make it a tradition for our family, too.

Btw, Garney Hill Catalog is currently running an enter-to-win 5 nights at Sea Island promotion - I entered it even though I was just there - would love to go back!

The Cloister is actually brand new. The old beautiful Addison Mizner Cloister was town down completely to make way for the new one. They saved the Spanish Lounge and reassembled it as part of the new one, but otherwise it is all new.

I don't suppose it's as dressy nowadays as it was back in the mid 1990s: I remember seeing families wearing proper evening dress with their teenage boys wearing tuxedos for dinner in the main restaurant. I also remember one of the greatest beaches I've ever seen. The whole place said 'Old Money.' We loved it.

It is not as dressy, but still much more so than most places. When I was growing up, men and boys had to wear jackets and ties to dinner every night and I think it was black tie on Tuesdays and Saturdays. It is a little sad that those days are in the past. They used to have a full orchestra after dinner every night and the whole resort would go dancing after dinner. They still have bingo twice a week which I highly suggest if anyone ever takes their kids down there. It is tons of fun.

It used to be they would give you a list of everyone that was in house or renting a cottage when you arrived and we would get together with the same families every year for cocktail parties,tennis and golf.

And this is why I rate it above the Sanctuary. The sense of tradition at The Cloister is authentic whereas at the Sanctuary it seems a bit contrived.

The Georgian Room was closed for dinner the nights that we were there (Sunday and Monday, I believe) but I think jackets are required there. The other restaurants seem relatively casual.