The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort — Hotel in Kiawah Island

We stayed at The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island to celebrate our birthdays. This getaway was off to a great start with the greetings of the valets. They were courteous; each gentleman interacted with true southern hospitality including small talk and dining recommendations.

We are American Express Platinum members so we called 30 minutes ahead to see if early check in was available. We were told yes, the room was ready and only needed to be inspected which would be done by the time we arrived. Unfortunately, we had to wait 30 more minutes for the room to be inspected after we checked in. Once in our room, we were pleased with the view (oceanfront) and the room.

Upon returning from being out, we walked down the hallway there were doors open and people yelling and laughing. No big deal until were interrupted “celebrating” with a little music from a bluetooth speaker. There was banging on doors, then after a few minutes, we realized the banging was at our door. The security officer said a noise disturbance was reported. This was shocking since only 30 minutes before, we experienced noise in the hallways.

We moved forward and were getting ready to go to bed when I noticed something moving on the table. I turned on my phone flashlight and saw a cockroach like bug. I immediately called the front desk and was told someone would be right up. We kept our eyes on it and after almost 15 minutes, I called back. They confirmed someone was on their way. I then asked to speak with the manager on duty and she told me it would be documented. I asked if this was common and she said no. I asked if I needed to follow up and she said no. I hung up the phone and was called back. The front desk said the engineer was outside my door but didn't want to open the door because we had the privacy sign on it.

I opened the door and the engineer had a cup, towel, and vacuum cleaner. After I shined my phone flashlight, he turned on his flashlight. The bug was now crawling up the wall and he sucked it into the vacuum cleaner. He said he would report it to the front desk. We asked if this was common and he said no but then again, it is a resort was his response. No one followed up from the front desk or housekeeping about sanitizing the table.

I then changed from my pajamas to head down to speak with the manager on duty. I found out who I was transferred to was NOT the manager on duty but she would get her to meet me after I explained my concerns. I waited for the manager on duty.

I then explained what happened and my concern that I was not transferred to speak with her and that there was nothing done to sanitize the area. She asked if I took a picture of the bug. When I showed it to her, she informed me that it was a Palmetto bug and when it rains, they sometimes come into the 2nd floor from the trees. I proceeded to share my discomfort and uncertainty with this room, then I brought up changing rooms. She then said she could look to see. She didn't offer any kind of resolution; I had to lead her to changing my room. Once new keys were made, I headed back to the room and passed the front desk lady, who offered complimentary drinks for the next day at the lobby bar; this was not the manager on duty.

Instead of waiting for assistance, we moved ourselves. Before heading to breakfast, we spoke with the morning manager on duty. She said she was just reading the notes about our experience and confirmed that we were placed in the same room on a different floor; we explained that it was not offered, I asked. She apologized but really didn't seem to understand the magnitude of the problem. Her dismissiveness to the service we received was a bit shocking for a high-end establishment. She said this was not common but we are on the beach and the beautiful natural habitat. After sharing our displeasure of how things were handled, she offered lunch and later in the day, she sent cupcakes for our birthday.

I was disappointed in the lack of concern...

I sent the note below to the GM when we stayed and never heard a word back.

I'm reaching out about our stay at the Sanctuary this past weekend.

My husband and I were excited to come visit (our first time!) as we've heard so many great things. Unfortunately, we were met with disappointment when it came to the service and communication we received from your staff.

Prior to our stay, we made dinner reservations and spa appointments. We checked in and enjoyed our room - the view of the beach was lovely, and the layout of the room was comfortable.

In the morning, we were woken up by children screaming and crying in the room right next to us. My husband went to the gym, and I ordered room service. While we were eating our room service, housekeeping came by to see if they could clean the room. We advised them to come back in a few hours when we'd be out of the room. Less than 30 minutes later, housekeeping came again. We told them the same thing - my husband stating "give us an hour or so and we'll be out of your way. I'll put the Do Not Disturb sign on now and remove it when we leave." They acknowledged this and left.

In the meantime, we drove to the Ocean Course, with plans to sit at the Ryder Cup bar. It was closed for renovations, so we headed to the Players Pub instead.

Later, I received a call from the Spa telling me they had to cancel my appointment and didn't have any other availability. Because of this, my husband decided to cancel his appointment too. We figured - well, there's an indoor pool. We can at least go check that out. Unfortunately, that was closed as well.

When we arrived back to our room, we found that housekeeping had not come, so I called the Front Desk and spoke to a woman who told me she'd "have to check and see IF housekeeping can clean it". I was confused by this - why is it an option if they can or can't? At a five-star resort, isn't this the bare minimum you'd expect? Regardless, she told me they could come at 4:30. My husband and I went for a walk on the beach, so they could clean the room. We came back to the room around 6:15, and it had still not been cleaned. We called again. This time we spoke with D'Angelo - who was very apologetic about the situation. We told him we had dinner at 7:15, so he confirmed with housekeeping that they should go to our room around then.

At dinner, the food was good, but the service was not. They were out of the first two drinks I attempted to order, and our server was scarce throughout the meal. Rather than check on our table, my husband noticed that he was setting up for breakfast service for the next morning. We ordered a second round of drinks - my husband's came, mine did not.

We went back to our room to find that it STILL had not been cleaned, so we went to the front desk. The manager was apathetic and rude and offered no resolution.

The next day my husband went to the front desk to discuss our frustrations. He spoke to Brandi, who asked him "are you looking for compensation or something?" He said he'd ideally like to speak to a manager. The manager was unavailable, per Brandi, so we were told to come back in an hour.

We came back, and Brandi acted as if she'd never seen my husband before, which was bizarre. In the meantime, I received a call from Kelsey, the Housekeeping Manager. She apologized profusely and offered to take care of our dinner. I told her I'd be very appreciative of this and she said she'd sync with the Front Desk to make sure it was handled. We informed Brandi, and she said she'd notify her manager, and we would receive a final bill via email.

We never received a bill via email, never heard a word back on this note from the GM, and were overall let down by our stay at the Sanctuary. Disappointing and...

Kiawah has access to incredible amenities - One of the best beaches on the Carolina Coast, miles of bicycle trails, beautiful scenery, and wonderful sport amenities - golf and tennis. We were very excited about this trip, but it fell very much short. I am leaving three stars for the wildlife, scenery, and my prior love for this place - I have known Kiawah and Seabrook well since the early 1990's. The lodgings, dining, workout facility would earn a one star. These are all fixable, and I hope that Kiawah will pay attention to reviews like this. ||This was a long weekend family getaway for a conference. The conference facilities were updated and quite nice. This is a big upgrade for the island and hopefully a segue into trying to attract professional conferences. ||The lodgings were well below what I expected. We had opted for a villa and were assigned to the Turtle Cove Villas. The lodging is not just dated and in sore need of a paint job, it was dirty. The main bedroom had dirty carpet, the bathroom had filth in the corners, rust spots on faucets, broken drywall in the ceiling. We had opted to have the kids on a pullout couch. The couch itself was worn, stained, and grimy, but when we pulled open the tucked away bed, there were no sheets in the unit to be found, and the mattress was broken with crumbs from a previous guest eating in the bed. This entire unit was a disappointment, but the significant sore point is what you are paying to stay in such a condition. I understood that much of what you are paying for is access to the resort amenities, and I tried to justify it that way by staying out of the room as much as possible. Where you run into trouble with this thinking is that the entire resort has quite expensive fees and pricing throughout. There is no way of escaping the feeling that you are really just being taken advantage of. ||Dinner the only night we ate on Kiawah was basic fare, and over $200 for a family of four. Tables were grimy, and while our server was a nice person, when you are spending $45-60 an entree, you ought to be receiving a five star experience. I understand food costs, costs of running a restaurant are much higher in 2025. This experience was basic fare, mediocre execution, and exorbitantly priced. You are in a foody town of Charleston. Before you spend for a meal in on Kiawah, you are honestly better off heading into Charleston, or venturing into Johns Island along Maybank Highway where a number of new restaurants have opened. If you're concerned about driving (as you should be in this area of two lane highways), arrange for a driver service - you'd still save yourself money. I am all for having a nice time, and am not opposed to spending money for a great meal and a nice vacation, but here again is where you are not receiving value for the cost. ||In prior years, I have dined and stayed at the Sanctuary, and have made good memories there. We visited this time, and found two carry away sandwiches, a scone, and two black coffees ran us $60 another morning. While I highlight the price, my main concern was that again basic fare, and not great service in this coffee shop where orders were hurried and remarkably not memorable. ||This was a disappointing experience. I know Charleston well. It has become an expensive place, but this trip was obscenely priced with lack of value when you can stay on the Peninsula or any of the other barrier islands in the vicinity. I love Kiawah, but I hate to write that it is going to take time before I decide to take my...