Southern Hospitality at its most luxurious: The Inn at Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton, SC
Following a week long trip to our mother's hometown of Charleston, South Carolina to visit with her, family and friends (full report on the loveliest of carriage houses, hotels and fried green tomatoes coming!), we hopped in the rental car and headed South. We kept hearing about just how magnificently delightful The Inn at Palmetto Bluff was-- from local Charleston pals to friends in LA. We decided to see for ourselves.
About two hours South of Charleston (and 25 minutes North of Savannah, GA), The Inn at Palmetto Bluff sits on 20,000 acres of protected quintessentially Southern landscape. The Inn is part of a resort community (yup, you can own a piece of paradise) and conservation preserve. Don't fear though, this will never be the next Kiawah or Wild Dunes -- aka built up and crowded, as the owners have a commitment to the preservation of this precious land and there are extremely strict rules about building-- how much, what it looks like, how many trees can be cut down and where. And there are those 20,000 acres... Oak trees older than this country drip with Spanish moss, intercoastal waterways teem with egrets and picturesque clapboard cottages line the banks, and one begins to feel very far away from civilization and modern times.
We adored our cottage (#5) with a fabulous screened in porch where we spent mornings journaling with a cup of coffee (brewed in our wet bar/kitchen area) and evenings sipping wine and listening to the crickets and discussing our love affair with the South. Our mode of transport while at the Inn were our complementary bikes which we zipped around on from activity to activity.
Our perfect day: 7 AM morning coffee on porch admiring the still pink sky above the river. 7:30 AM breakfast at Buffalos -- indulge in the full Southern fare of biscuits (they have a Biscuit Bar!), grits, eggs, bacon, and sticky buns. 9 Am ride bikes to complementary yoga in the movement studio -- all glass with views of the water. 11 AM put on our bikinis and take out paddleboards. Paddleboard in the super salty May River and play with the wild dolphins who come to frolic around our boards. Marvel at the beauty of this place. 1 PM lunch and rose in our bathing suits at the adults only pool. Swim, read, chill. 4 PM head to the spa via bike. Checking in for our massages, we're asked if for our complementary post treatment beverage we'd like their seasonal specialty-- blood orange and vodka cooler! Love the South-- only spa have ever been offered booze post massage! Although we're no stranger to a delicious cocktail, we opt for the chilled mint tea. 6PM after showers we head to the Canoe Club for blood orange margaritas (now it's time for a cocktail!) which we take down to the dock. 7:30 PM Dinner of chilled local blue crab salad, seared Lowcountry Grouper and decadent desserts on the porch at the River House Restaurant. 9 PM wine and reading on the screened in porch of our cottage before crawling into the fluffy white bed.
Next visit (and there will be many) we'd love to do the Smores around the fire after dinner, check out the charming town of Bluffton via a complementary Mercedes Benz, go horseback riding, do a wine tasting, oh, and repeat our perfect day again and again.
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