My what a beautiful, dreamy place. I keep dreaming about it and can’t wait to make plans to go back again soon, hopefully over the summer. The whole Golden Isles area of Georgia is spectacular, but to me, Sea Island is like the gold pot at the end of the rainbow. It’s special. 

 

 

We stayed at The Cloister, which to me is the crown jewel of Sea Island. By the way, the reason we were there was for me to attend The Southern C Summit. I went years ago when it was last held in Charleston and remember it being such a top notch opportunity to network with other ladies in similar creative industries as myself. The days are filled with not only educational and inspiring talks, but also events like luncheons, cocktail hours, and even some extras, like opportunities to get headshots done. Not to mention, it’s a nice excuse to get dressed up and mingle with some girl-boss friends.

 

 

There are a few properties that make up The Cloister: the Main Building & Wings, the Beach Club, and Ocean Residences. We chose to stay at The Beach Club because we wanted a room with a living room and view since Brandon would be working in there during the day while I was at the conference. The difference between these three properties? While I can’t speak to the Ocean Residences, I can tell you a bit about the Beach Club and the Cloister Main Building & Wings. As you probably guessed, they are two separate physical locations, although only a hop, skip, and jump away from one another. The Main Building & Wings overlook gardens and in some rooms, the river. The Beach Club is a quick walk or golf cart ride away and overlooks the ocean. I think the Beach Club is much more family friendly and has a more relaxed atmosphere. Next time, it will be hard to pick one location over the other! We loved having the doors open to our room while listening to the ocean waves, but while the rooms at The Beach Club are incredibly nice, the rooms at The Cloister are on another level of luxury. So it just depends on what you’re looking for in your stay. If we have our kids with us, we will choose to stay at The Beach Club again. If it’s just us two, I think next time we may stay at the Main Building & Wings just to experience another option. 

 

 

Forgive the picture above. It’s actually a screenshot of a video I took!

 

 

Here’s the view from our room at the Beach Club. 

 

 

And since I compared the two properties, here’s a sample of a view you might find at The Cloister Main Building & Wings.

 

 

We never left the property the entire time we were there. There was plenty to do with the conference, but we decided to stay at The Cloister for all meals on our own as well. The River Bar and Lounge is spectacular! I highly suggest the chicken salad sandwich with a side of fruit and truffle fries. We ate lunch there twice (Brandon three times!) and had dinner there once over the course of three days. We also ate at Tavola, which is a rustic Italian eatery on the property. Also incredible.

Honestly the restaurants were the only true amenity of the hotel that I really “used.” I was busy with the conference almost the entire time we were there! But Brandon did have himself a nice spa day and I am extremely jealous. He also went bowling at the new bowling alley at the Beach Club with some of the other husbands. He said it was super nice and had a lot of really cool features like fun lighting and comfortable seating, a giant TV projector screen that took up the entire space behind the lanes, and a nice bar.

 

 

I wish I had more photos from the Southern C. Honestly, we were busy the whole time between interesting talks, engaging mentor sessions, cocktail hours, and a beautiful brunch and luncheon. There was even a silent disco! That is something I have never ever done before and I cannot wait to do it again. I wonder if anyone in Charleston provides the equipment for one because that would be the most fun party to have with a group of friends. It was hilarious because everyone had headphones on and could alternate the audio between two different DJ booths. So one person might be listening and breaking it down to “Shawty Get Low Low Low Low…” and the next person is belting “Don’t Stop Believing!” at the top of their lungs. But what makes it even funnier is that there is absolutely no music playing in the room at all—it’s only heard through the headphones! So to a bystander, we probably just looked like a bunch of lunatics. 

The best part of The Southern C? Connecting with lots of blog friends and meeting so many new friends as well. Here are a few longtime favorites, Chassity, Cristin, and Ashley. Sharing more photos below—wish I had more!

 

 

Once the conference ended, Brandon and I rented a golf cart and rode all over Sea Island. This was probably my favorite part of the whole trip!

 

 

We rode over to the beach to go for a walk. The shells there are way more beautiful than in Charleston, Beaufort, and Myrtle Beach! Most likely because the beach is private and so much more untouched. I found all of these in about 50 yards or less.

 

 

Until next time, Sea Island!