Kiawah: Turning Heads and Pages

When The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island opened its elegant doors in August 2004, the world's media sat up, took notice and commented on the spectacular beauty of the property.

According to Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report, the renowned newsletter for the travel connoisseur, "Everything is near perfection, from the beautifully appointed guest rooms and marvelous restaurants to the wonderfully gracious staff and peerless setting…its exceptional amenities aside, The Sanctuary also excels when it comes to understanding what the hospitality business is supposed to be all about. Indeed, the soul of any truly great hotel radiates from its personnel. And that is what is extraordinary about this newly opened property — its attentive and unpretentiously charming house-proud staff offering a level of warmhearted, upbeat service one often associates with long-established five-star hotels."

The Hideaway Report subsequently went on to name The Sanctuary as the world's "Best New Resort" — a tag also afforded by the upscale publication Elite Traveler. Condé Nast Traveler honored The Sanctuary as one of the "World's Best New Resorts," while The Robb Report named it as one of the "Best of the Best."

The nation's newspaper visited The Sanctuary and was taken with its oceanfront Southern mansion ambience. The New York Times reported, "Seaside parlors are richly carpeted and packed with opulent furnishings… as well as art collected or commissioned by the hotel, portraits and family photos — all chosen to hint at a hypothetical dynasty that might have owned such a place."

The Times' city rival, the New York Daily News, offered this assessment of the resort: "The Sanctuary is a Xanadu-among-the-dunes, aiming to take its place among the finest resorts the East Coast has to offer…Just 30 minutes from downtown Charleston, S.C., a vast, rambling pleasure ground has risen Venus-like from the sea, putting all rivals to shame."

The country's largest daily publication, USA Today, claimed "The Sanctuary is truly 'ultra luxurious' and a fitting counterpart to the golf." Travel + Leisure Golf agreed: "If ever there was a resort born with an old soul, it is The Sanctuary…a distinct blend of Old South refinement and island breeziness. If Kiawah's Ocean Course is the jewel of the coast, The Sanctuary is now its crown."

The epicurean press has also hailed The Sanctuary's restaurants. Bon Appétit says the Ocean Room lives up to its esteemed surroundings and Chef Chris Brandt "does delicious things with fresh seafood, as in seared ahi tuna with wilted wasabi leaves, crispy shrimp dumplings, and jasmine rice scented with lavender." The Charleston Post and Courier reviewed the Ocean Room and said it "was simply divine…the Ocean Room is entirely set for fine dining, and that's what it delivered." Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report also recognized Jasmine Porch for "Best Down Home Cookery."

Visit The Sanctuary online.

Look for Connoisseur: The Magazine of Kiawah Island Golf Resort in your guest room.

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