The Cloister at Sea Island

Been here many times through the years, three visits since COVID. Beautiful, lush property that is quite easy to navigate. Note you cannot get onto the island unless you are a guest/member/resident. I've always found the various restaurants and room service to be superb, never had a bad meal here. I appreciate the focus on history and not trying to "modernize" the look...that makes it even more of a jewel among the trendy minimalist styles I've seen elsewhere. Beds are extremely comfortable; the spa treatments are good. The fitness center is well equipped with a gym, yoga classes, lap pool and squash court. The resort is very pet friendly and even has a pet menu from which you can order room service. The only drawbacks I find are that the service is becoming increasingly spotty...some staff are wonderful (Willie at the bellman post deserves honorable mention!), others forget you completely once they've received their sizeable tip. Another issue is the increasing noise/crowding. Leaf blowers in the early morning, hammering and sawing all day for special event staging, lack of parking due to the landscape and event crews (I get that they want you to use the valet, but still). The beach club during the summer and holidays is packed with families, but there is a quieter adult pool at the main building that is wonderful for those who want more of a relaxing experience.

An extremely overpriced hotel in need of a renovation/refresh with very mixed service and mediocre food. Sea Island is a beautiful property, with great grounds and a nice setting. But the rooms and many of the common spaces are tired in need of a refresh. The standard rooms in June were over $1,300 per night, a very high number that calls for most things, if not everything, to be perfect. Our rover room had no view of the river, only trees. Starting with the service and experience. We often had to wait 15-20 minutes for breakfast. When we arrived, they told us it wasn’t possible to eat at any of the restaurants, due to capacity. So I had to complain to the manager to get one dinner reservation on Saturday night. But when we showed up at these restaurants, most tables were empty. At dinner, it often took 15 minutes for a waiter to even stop by. And we had to consistently flag someone for more water, to place an order, or ask for a drink. Throughout the weekend, we were consistently told “no” to anything we asked for. In addition to the restaurants all being booked, most of the activities were completely booked. The food was expensive and not good, to put it simply. Southern Tide was a terrible experience. Our waiter was nonexistent. The seafood wasn’t fresh. And when we went to the Oak Bar, all of our entrees came out cold. It took over 10 minutes to get our waiter and 30 minutes to get our entrees. And on the spaces, everything needs a renovation. The rooms feel very 2000s, the pool and beach chairs all need to be replaced, and the common spaces need updated furniture. For the price they are charging, double the rate of 2019 when we last visited, they need to dramatically improve the value and experience.

The Cloisters at Sea Island Spa had some frustrating issues. I was contacted the day before my 90 minute massage was scheduled letting me know my provider wasn’t available and if I could reschedule. I rescheduled them the day of my original appointment. I received a phone call stating that I was late for my massage. I let them know that I had had been rescheduled. They stated that they then weren’t able to accommodate the rescheduled time. They then rescheduled it for another day. When I went to the spa for that appointment, I was then, told my provider could only do a 60 minute instead of 90. This overall was very frustrating. The front desk staff did not seem to know all the previous contacts that I had had with them regarding the scheduling. There is no accommodation or apology for the cluster. That was the scheduling. It made The overall experience at the spa, not worth my while or the price. I don’t recommend having a service done at the spa.

Could not think of a better resort + location to go to. Beautiful beachside service and views along with a huge pool, sauna, game rooms, and loads more. Around New Years time there is also gorgeous Holiday decorations and New Years Eve Party that is a blast. Year round, there is excellent dining and unique events too.

First class resort. Our grandkids loved the two huge pools and we liked escaping occasionally to the adult pool nearby. Plenty of chairs and umbrellas along the beach. Outstanding restaurants. Easy to get a golf cart ride between Cloisters and the Beach Club.

First is the culture of service. It is the best of anywhere that I have been. The dining, Beach Club, accommodations, history and activities are all top notch. While this is an expensive resort, the experience is worth the price. This is my favorite resort and I can't wait to return.

From the moment we arrived we were treated like the only guests on the property. Willie at check in was particularly helpful and most jovial. Our room was luxurious with a wonderful river view. Food at Tavola was over the top and lunch at the beach club was not only good but a fabulous view of the ocean. Our day was spent at the beach and our every whim was looked after by the staff at the beach. We will certainly be back!

We went with our family of twelve on Memorial Day weekend. It was very busy, which was to be expected, but we could not have asked for a better experience for our 3 generation family-ages 6-72. I can not say enough about the staff's commitment to making this vacation the best experience possible. The concierge staff, particularly Evan, helped up plan everything in advance. Despite the crowds, the staff in the restaurants, the shops and throughout the resort could not have been more professional, polite and helpful. Thank you, Sea Island.