I visited the Cloister Hotel in Sea Island for my first time in January with friends when I attended my first Southern C women’s conference. It was such a fun experience and I was so proud of myself for stepping out and attending this conference with other content creators and women-owned businesses. It was such a wonderful experience, so well-run and organized. I would highly recommend attending one year if you are looking to collaborate and connect with other small businesses and learn a lot along the way.
HOW TO GET TO SEA ISLAND
Sea Island is part of a barrier chain of islands tucked into the Atlantic Coast of Georgia.
The closest airport is Brunswick, which is just about 20 minutes from Sea Island via car. That is what I did and I found it very easy. I did have to fly through Atlanta coming from Pensacola, but it worked out well. You can also fly into Jacksonville, which is about an hour drive or there is a private airport on St Simons (SSI) which is about 15 minutes from Sea Island via car. The drive from Pensacola to Sea Island is about 6 hours, so that is an option one day if we come back with the kids.
WHERE WE STAYED
My friend, Liza, and I stayed in a double bed room at the Cloister in their Beach Club building. This building is just a short walk (or they can pick you up in a golf cart) to the main building, but it is located right on the beach with its own pool and restaurants attached to it. This would definitely be the building that I would want to stay in if I was coming back with my kids.
The rooms were very pretty and well done. I loved being able to enjoy the beach club building, but walk to the main building for all of our conference meetings and to enjoy some of the restaurants there as well.
The Cloister also has larger residences that you can rent if you are coming with a large family which I think would be a really nice option too.
The Lodge at the Cloister is the area people might stay if they are coming for the golf. We didn’t end up making it over to the Lodge (we had planned to try to make it for sunset to see the bagpipers play), but it is a short drive from the main buildings.
Below are a few beautiful pictures from the main building in the Cloister.
THE BEST THINGS TO DO AT THE CLOISTER
Because I was here for a conference, I obviously didn’t get to touch on any of the offered activities here at the Cloister. I tried to scout out what all they offered because I know it would be fun for my kids to enjoy.
I saw they had skeet shooting, falconry, fishing, horse back riding, tennis, golf, biking, bowling, water sports and more. They really seem to have it all covered and I love that there are activities that I think multi-generations can enjoy.
I had high hopes that I would make it for a spa appointment during my stay, but we ran out of time. I did at least get to walk over and check out how gorgeous it is. They have saunas, steam rooms, vitamin C showers, heated pool and multiple relaxation rooms. If you don’t want a spa service, you can also purchase a day pass to just enjoy the amenities.
THE BEST PLACES TO EAT AT THE CLOISTER
They have multiple restaurants around the property, so you never have to leave. We enjoyed a gorgeous lunch at Southern Tide over at the Beach Club, a fun bowling night at Sea& Strike which is also at the Beach Club and a wonderful Italian dinner at Tavola in the main hotel. I think they have more than a dozen different dining options through out the property, so make sure to check them all out.
THE BEST TIME TO VISIT THE CLOISTER
We were definitely here during their off season in January, but it was still a lovely time to come if you catch the weather right. It is cooler and you are not sitting by the pool or on the beach, but the sun was still shining and it felt great outside.
This hotel is very popular around the Christmas holidays because they do a gorgeous job decorating and have lots of cute holiday activities and events throughout the month of December.
The Summer is extremely popular from what I’ve seen because you can really enjoy all the amenities throughout the property. I would love to bring the kids back here in late Spring or early Summer.
A few snaps from our conference events below. We did have a pickleball welcome party which was so much fun, but we did travel off property to get to these courts. Hopefully they are planning to build some pickleball courts at the Cloister soon.
The grounds were so beautiful.
WHAT TO PACK FOR THE CLOISTER
Here is what I packed for our conference in January. We had scheduled events and themes throughout our conference, so keep that in mind :). But for January, I would bring layers. I was comfortable wearing short dresses with tall boots or a great maxi dress.
If you are in summer, obviously it would be a lot more swim suits, cover ups and cute workout clothes!
You can see everything I packed in this post.
FINAL THOUGHTS FOR OUR STAY AT THE CLOISTER
This is a fabulous resort with tons of beautiful amenities. I love that it offers you a one-stop shop to everything you could want all on property. Of course things can be pretty spread out because there are lots of different areas to explore, but it has a lot to offer.
I hope I get the chance to bring my kids back here soon and enjoy all the extra activities.
