Montage Palmetto Bluff feels far-flung; like I’d traveled a
ways to get to the private resort along the May River in Palmetto, S.C. I
hadn’t. I arrived at the sprawling front porch of the Inn an easy four and a
half hours after leaving my own doorstep.
Greeted from the turn off May River Road onto Old Palmetto
Bluff Road by the sense that something extraordinary awaited ahead, every sight
stirred a bit of renewal.
Montage Palmetto Bluff is set in the Lowcountry of South Carolina between Hilton Head
Island and Savannah on an opulent 20,000 acre development – complete with a nature
preserve, walking trails, vibrant village, marina, restaurants, and a Jack
Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, the accessories to its spacious cottages, guest
rooms, suites and village homes that all pay homage to the region’s rich
heritage.
Formerly
The Inn at Palmetto Bluff, the oasis resort, bordered by serene forests,
features 50
Southern-style waterfront and forest cottages with well-appointed
furnishings, screened-in verandas, deluxe bathrooms with steam showers and
soaking tubs, vaulted ceilings, pine floors and fireplaces.
This fall, Montage Palmetto Bluff will debut an expansion,
featuring a new Inn with 150 new guest accommodations, a lobby lounge and
octagon bar with sweeping lagoon views; a 13,000-square foot Spa Montage with
salon and fitness center; and an additional resort pool with bar and grill. The
new developments will complement existing resort amenities, resulting in eight
dining options, two wedding chapels, four distinctive retail boutiques and two
state-of-the-art fitness centers with separate movement studio. Montage Hotels
& Resort, which acquired the management in December 2013, understands that
here more is more.
Though the resort bustles throughout the warmest of
warm-weather months, passersby echoed each other in their sentiment of the
waning summer as “perfect” in the Bluff. I acquiesced.
In the just beyond sultry, yet warm fall of South Carolina,
an evening candle-lit dinner at River House restaurant on the enclosed porch of
the Inn is the perfect way to complete the day. The May River, Carolina coast,
and South the collective muse of the resort’s chef, cuisine is farm fresh and
elegantly presented. Executive Chef Nathan Beriau creates unique dishes updated
with a contemporary flair for an extraordinary dining experience, incorporating
the freshest organic and seasonal ingredients, many sourced from local markets
and farms. For dessert, the Caramelized Banana Cream Pie is something of a phenomenon.
While it would conceivably be enough to experience the resort
needing little more than a relaxing breeze in your cottage or touring the
property on a cottage bicycle, adventurous travelers have access to Longfield
Stables’ programs and activities for guests of all equestrian disciplines
within a rural landscape as well as the smooth and scenic waterways for
fishing, kayaking or canoeing. Palmetto Bluff makes available watercrafts for
rental and private charters, including the meticulously restored 1913 yacht
Grace – a marvelous way to experience the Carolina waters. If being on the
water is what moves you, the options are vast from boat tours to historic
Daufuskie Island, and full and half days on the water tubing and skiing to scenic
dolphin tours and paddleboarding.
Remember, here – more is more.
Photos provided by Montage Palmetto Bluff & My Vicarious Life
