The Cloister at Sea Island — Hotel in Saint Simons

We recently booked a trip to The Cloisters based on hearing about it for years and having had a good experience there 8 years ago. The location is beautiful but sadly our experience was more comparable to a Holiday Inn than a 5 star hotel.

We paid over $1,399.00 per night for our stay over Memorial Day weekend and we booked using our Amex to get the early check in and late check out when available.

Sadly since the second we stepped on property we were met with push back, long lines & bad management. Not only could we not check in at 4pm (which is standard at most 5 star hotels) but our room was not available till after 7pm. The management did not offer us any type of alternative like "please use the pool" or we "will comp you a round of cocktails at the bar while you wait". The management were not professional and could have cared less that we were upset and disappointed.

They were so overbooked they couldn't even offer us a parking spot to park our car so we had to drive around for 1 hour to even park our car with our 2 young children in it. Once parked we headed to the beach club side to see if we could get a bite to eat and sit down. There was not a single seat at the pool or the beach. The bar was 5 deep and the restaurant could not accommodate us till hours later. There is a cute ice cream shop where you can get overpriced average ice cream but the line was 45 deep.

When we reached out to management they were less than helpful and simply said "it's a holiday weekend"... Guess what? We paid the holiday weekend rate and expect to get a timely check in, friendly service and 5 star experience. If I could give it 0 stars I would.

When we finally got our room they said they could not offer us a valet service for our bags because they were busy till 10pm. I can't make this stuff up! We had to take our own bags to our room on the second floor of the beach side resort.

We finally gave up and called Amex to ask if we could check out in the am and move to Palmetto Bluff (which I can highly recommend and I recommend the owners of the Cloister go see what a real 5 star boutique hotel feels like...they treat their customers like family & go above and beyond). They agreed to let us switch hotels. When we called the Cloisters to let them know they said he had a reservation for a party of 8 for Tuesday night and we would have to pay the cancellation fee of $150.00 per person (that's $1200.00 for a reservation we didn't even make). Firstly we are a party of 4, so that reservation is clearly not for us, and secondly we didn't make a reservation for that evening. Amex assured us that they would not be charging us despite the unprofessional management demeaner and approach to us.

Overall I can assure you that the rates vs. the experience at The Cloisters is NOT WORTH THE MONEY! There are so many great beachside resorts that offer the same experience without the rude management and actually provide seating by the pool and beach chairs that are available. Not to mention great food and kind staff & management.

For the record we did reach out to management to discuss this before we checked out and all we got was "Sorry, it's a holiday weekend." Not professional. We have done Montage Big Sky, Palmetto Bluff, Salamander Inn and we can HIGHLY RECOMMEND! If you are looking for a beach resort that has similar charm and history to The Cloisters I can HIGHLY recommend the Ponte Vedra Inn in North Florida (1.5 hours from the Cloisters)......

Let me preface with this: This trip was our first time to Sea Island/The Cloister and we fully intend on returning! We stayed at The Cloister 5/22-5/26 (MDW) in room 71, a river front/facing room. I would’ve provided this feedback at checkout rather than on a review, however, it was not requested by the front desk person we were working with.

I have constructive & positive feedback regarding The Cloister & Sea Island properties.

I’ll start with the constructive feedback. Our room (71), while beautifully appointed/decorated, had a terrible mildew smell. I asked one of the housekeepers providing turndown service if this smell was typical for all of the rooms, and they said YES. In my opinion, there is zero reason a room that costs $1500/night should smell like mildew (and yes, I completely understand that the property is surrounded by water & that humidity is a factor - I’m from GA).

The mattress was terrible, you could tell it was a very old/worn out spring mattress with zero cushion.

Both sinks in our room had drainage issues & would fill up before we were done using them.

The humidity in the room was so bad that our last night there, the sheets were damp. I had to sleep on top of a towel.

The sheets were low quality & not what you’d expect from a 5 star resort.

The turndown service, while wonderful & definitely desired, came every evening at 530pm while we were trying to get showered/dressed for dinner. There should be an option to request turndown service at different times to prevent this, as our dinner reservations were at 745 each night.

Summary: please look into the humidity and mildew smell issue. I haven’t found any other reviews mentioning this, so I want to assume this was just our room. Would also recommend checking that the utilities (sink, toilet, shower, bath) are all in good working order before allowing someone to check in to a room. Please look into replacing your mattresses in a timely manner. Potentially allow guests to adjust the timing of turndown service.

Positive feedback: The properties are absolutely stunning. The decorations throughout are gorgeous and thoughtful. The concierge staff were wonderful. All of the food & restaurants were great! The spa was GREAT! We golfed at all 3 courses and they were awesome - we really enjoyed.

We will definitely come back with our toddler & stay at the beach...

Our family stayed at the Beach Club over Easter weekend. While there were some memorable highlights, our overall experience was disappointing, especially considering the standards typically associated with Sea Island. We understand that the holiday weekend likely contributed to the high volume of guests, and we hope some of the issues we encountered were due to that unusual level of activity.||Areas of Concern:||Service at The Cloister and Beach Club:|Upon check-in at The Cloister, we were met with a rather unwelcoming reception. The front desk staff offered no greeting, information about the property, or assistance. The only comment was a curt, “Your room is not ready.” There was no offer to store luggage or help with parking. Fortunately, as returning guests, we were already familiar with the property and able to navigate on our own.||Our room at the Beach Club was not ready until after the 4 p.m. check-in time, and no apology or explanation was provided. That said, the suite itself was clean and well maintained.||Dinner at the Georgian Room:|This was the most disappointing aspect of our stay. While the service was attentive, the quality of the food did not meet expectations. Both my husband and son ordered the ribeye, which unfortunately resembled something from a roadside diner in both presentation and taste. In truth, the quality was comparable to what one might expect from a chain restaurant, not a fine dining establishment.||Given Sea Island’s reputation, the overall level of service across the resort—and particularly at the Georgian Room—was underwhelming.||Highlights:||Bowling at the Beach Club:|This was a delightful experience. The staff was warm and accommodating, and the food options were enjoyable for the children.||Easter Brunch at The Lodge:|This was the standout of our visit and the reason we are willing to consider returning. From valet to reception, dining staff to golf shop attendants, every team member at The Lodge provided truly exceptional service. A special thanks to Blair Webb, the Lodge Manager, who went above and beyond to ensure a five-star experience, even on a busy holiday weekend. His leadership and dedication were evident, and we are truly grateful for the memorable brunch.||If not for our children's preference for the beach, we would likely stay at The Lodge on our next visit.||Thank you again, Mr. Webb, for ending our trip on such...