The Sea Gate St Simons Island — Hotel in Saint Simons

The first few nights staying here were great. The room was mostly clean, but there was a few stains on the walls and in the kitchen and the floor had sand. The mirror light didn’t work in the first room and the knob to the shower was broken upon arrival. Not a huge deal, however the bigger problem with this hotel is the reception. I called the book an additional two days in this hotel, but I had to get moved to a different room because the room I was in had guests coming which is fine. However, there is no reason guests should be waiting 4+ hours for a response about amenities. We are here on vacation and had to drive around all day waiting on a response from her and she told us it should be ready right away. We texted her well in advance to 11 to let her know we checked out with no response and then an additional few texts and calls throughout the day to see if we could just move our luggage over. I understand that check out is at 11 and check in is at 4, however she told us it would be ready so we waited around which was a huge mistake because we could’ve actually done something with our day. A simple no it’s not ready would have been understood. We did not receive a response from her until after 4. I would think us spending over $200 on a room each night there should be a little bit better communication. She got back with us a little after 4 saying she ‘was in a meeting’ after sending multiple texts and calling. When we arrived her friends/family were in the pool calling her name so I imagine she has time to book pool parties but not answer guests. I would consider hiring someone new if the person you have cannot respond to hotel guests requests in a timely manner because that’s just ridiculous. The other staff I ran across was really friendly and the view/location was nice. It was also pretty quiet besides the early morning pool cleanings, luckily I got there before the Spring...

I love the proximity to the beach. The staff is friendly- the other guests were friendly... just a couple of things we didn't really like. 1) The washer/dryer didn't work, which was a bummer because we like to wash our clothes before going home (I despise traveling with a suitcase of dirty clothes)- we told the lady that worked the front desk and she said there was an available room on the first floor to use that washer/dryer, but there was no key given to us or any direction on how exactly to use it. Our room was on the 3rd floor so it would have been inconvenient to go back and forth with a toddler (however if a key was given I would have).

The one way entrance/exit on the Ocean Blvd side was a tad bit confusing (and dangerous) there was a few times we were leaving as someone was pulling in (at night) and there was confusion... but we handled it... lastly, as I mentioned earlier.. I had a toddler and there weren't any good television channels for kids. She was fine because I brought her tablet... but as I was searching for Saturday morning cartoons to occupy her while I cooked breakfast... there weren't any options.

Overall, I LOVE Saint Simons... LOVE! I plan on returning every 3-4 months... I would want to stay here again (but felt it was a tad pricey considering others in the area and the washer/dryer not working). The beds weren't the most comfortable (kinda hard), but all in all we got good sleep.

The room was on the side where we could look out on the balcony and see the beautiful ocean (that is always a plus) - there was a wedding going on the weekend we stayed, so the hotel was pretty much booked up.. but it was quiet and peaceful. After I returned home to Atlanta I saw many other food choices (that I wished I had seen initially- Echo and Delaneys Bistro/Bar), but the pier was fun... the shops are in close proximity ... My daughter had a BLAST and asks to return...

I hate to review the Sea Gate Inn because it's a hidden gem and I don't want to share, but it's not fair to them if we don't. We had room 307 with a perfect ocean and pool view. Every day we flung open the curtains to bask in the beauty of that view.

The hotel was clearly updated several years ago and while the furniture is worn and a few things in our room were starting to show wear (microwave turntable didn't work, toilet rocked, toilet paper holder kept falling off, jacuzzi tub didn't always turn on, dishwasher was extraordinarily loud), overall it's a MAGNIFICENT place to stay. We've already booked our week for 2016 summer. We wouldn't DREAM of staying anywhere else. The view and in-room laundry, jacuzzi tub, separate shower, separate toilet, and quality of the furnishings (although getting old and worn out) is just astonishing for the price (around $250 nightly).

As for the staff - I don't know what the other people experienced, but we never felt so welcomed! The housekeeper we had was like a mother to us (thank you, Theresa!) and kept us buried in fresh towels and a clean room.

We had our two small children, ages 7 and 6, with us and the hotel is SO solidly built they could easily run, jump and go wild and no one could hear a thing.

The only thing I would suggest is just an upgrade to the worn furniture, change the dishwasher to something more quiet, add a full oven (there's only a range top) and fix the few broken things in the room.

Otherwise, it's a dream hotel, dream location and dream view. We will be back YEAR-AFTER-YEAR. It's a permanent fixture in our...