The Cloister

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. 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.

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.

Bed bugs that came home with us. The room must have been infested. We let the staff know when we were leaving ( we didn’t put it together until the last day) and they barely acknowledged it. We were in the ocean res condos. Beware… $1000s of to fix the issue at home

A great family getaway and a great gentlemen's getaway for golf and fishing. Nice, luxurious, peaceful... It's just a must do.

great atmosphere, people, food, and activities. We look forward to returning often. Such a beautiful place!

The Cloister at Sea Island provides an environment of truly beautiful old world elegance that is hard to come by. Fabulous dining, service, accommodations- top notch in every way! Highly recommended!

You remember Jim Carey’s programmed smile on The Truman Show? Well, i could not help but think of the parallels between that movie and Disney World’s Epcot. This is a substantial property - full of things for families and couples to do. Every activity is created to outclass other resorts. FYI, we learned that Sea Island is a Brand not only a location. Which means if you ask for a cottage near the Lodge, you will be no less than 15 minutes from the beach, the main Cloisters and the actual land mass called Sea Island. Talk about deceptive advertising. Prices were insane - basically attempting to navigate Four Seasons pricing but with Disney vibes. Food was ok but nothing amazing. We had dinner at the steak house at the lodge and barely ate and didn’t order a bottle of wine - and still spent $750 before tip for only four people. This place is about creating an ‘insiders’ vibe like a country club so that people pay to feel a part of this. It’s the greatest trick in the overpriced resort book. And it works until things look tired. Well - It is looking tired.

I’ve heard many times how “special” this place is. It’s is not or maybe once was.The food is awful, the rooms are old, outdated and in need of a serious upgrade. We had an “ocean view” villa. It was partial, not as advertised. The grounds are shabby, pool’s are old, playground was rusty. We stayed one night because my wife was verbally accosted by a staff member and felt unsafe. We left the next day. It was a shame.and not the experience we anticipated.