Are you considering a trip to Sea Island Resort? Read on for all my favorite things about the spa at Sea Island Resort, staying at the Cloister, and more.

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Most of the time on our vacations, you’ll find me tumbling around in the woods and pulling twigs out of my hair, but every once in a while, a gal needs to kick back and relax by the fire with a glass of wine in her hand. I love me some glamping, but does anything really compare to an evening in a hot tub? Life is about balance, after all. 

I’m fresh off our annual girls’ spa trip, and, Y’ALL, let’s take a moment for the Sea Island Resort. The place is an absolute dream, and for all the reasons listed below (and then some), you’ll find Sea Island firmly ensconced on my must-visit list of spas. We visited during late February, and while the outdoor pool was still closed for the season and the beach was too chilly for this native Floridian’s taste, the weather was glorious, and there were no mosquitoes or gnats. 

I hope my list of favorite things and memorable experiences helps you make the most of your Sea Island vacation!

Where is Sea Island Resort? 

Sea Island Resort is nestled on the Georgia coast between Saint Simmons and Brunswick, surrounded by Southern sunny beaches, peaceful marshes, and Spanish moss-laden live oaks.

What’s the history of Sea Island Resort?

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Where’s the best place to stay at Sea Island Resort?

Sea Island Resort offers a multitude of lodging options, including the beautifully landscaped Cloister (where the spa is located), the Lodge, the Inn, the Broadfield, and the Cottages. What’s right for you and your party is, well, obviously a personal choice, and there’s a handy property comparison PDF on the resort website. However, rumor has it… there is no bad place to stay at Sea Island. It’s more a question of which space and accompanying amenities will offer the action-packed itinerary - or glorious lack thereof - that’s right for your family. 

We picked the Cloister because I had every intention of impersonating a sloth all weekend and being a peaceful 5-minute walk from the spa was too tempting to pass up.

11 Reasons to stay at Sea Island Resort:

The spa is an absolute oasis.

Did you just book a room at the Sea Island? Run, do not walk, to your phone and book your spa treatments. You can thank me later. 

My favorite things about our two days in the spa at Sea Island, in no particular order, were:

• The Hot Stone Massage had me all but drooling on myself by the end.

• The 30-minute HydraFacial did wonders for my skin.

• The Water Rotunda was a hidden gem. For some reason during our stay, we had the water rotunda to ourselves basically the whole time while the Mineral Bath was highly frequented by spa-goers. The water rotunda is a warm, glass-enclosed space featuring a whirlpool that cascades down to a wading pool where you can camp out and just let that waterfall beat you up (in the best of ways).

• There were a plethora of perfectly-attended showers and a bowl of lavender-scented iced towels for after the sauna, steam room, or mineral bath. 

• The center atrium is just as beautiful in real life as in photos, and it was the perfect place to relax with a book before or after a treatment.

• You can also book a 2-hour spa pass to enjoy the amenities without booking a treatment for $55 (pricing as of March 2024), but do keep in mind that the spa is closed on Sundays. 

The fitness center is fabulous.

Dare I say that I enjoyed the fitness center at Sea Island Resort just as much as the spa? 

Listen, at home, I belong to a notoriously cheap, dingy, and questionably sticky gym that’s part of a national chain. It’s wildly affordable and close to my house, and frankly, I’m too lazy to jump through the hoops to cancel the membership. Because of this, the sparkling clean, light-and-airy fitness center at Sea Island Resort was an absolute treat. 

Hit the Cardio Studio so you can eat your weight at the breakfast buffet (see below), and reserve your spot at one of the yoga classes. We did the Weekend Flow, which had me happily flopping about and gasping for air like a tiny beluga whale, and the Restorative class. 

The spacious indoor pool and hot tub are housed in a gorgeous room filled with arches and natural light, and there’s also a pilates studio, cycling studio, and indoor squash court.

You can drop your things in the fitness center locker room or bounce between the spa and the fitness center if you’ve booked a treatment that day, and the eucalyptus shower steam spray was a delightful discovery. It’s also worth mentioning that the fitness center houses a handy bathing suit drying device.

I loved the fitness center amenities so much, I really didn’t care that the spa was closed on Sunday. 

The entire resort feels like a spa. 

Frankly, the atmosphere, gardens, and decor at Sea Island Resort are so incredible, the whole darn place feels like a spa. The Cloister is, hands down, one of the most peaceful places I’ve had the pleasure of staying. 

You can soak up the sun on Georgia’s sunny beaches. 

Get out there and get some Vitamin Sea. However you want to enjoy the private stretch of beach at Sea Island Resort, they have got you covered: book a shelling tour, take a personalized sailboat lesson, or lounge about in your private poolside cabana. 

The cocktail and mocktail selection is heavenly.

I deeply appreciate a well-balanced, boozy cocktail, but these days, more than one will send me directly to bed, which is why a carefully crafted mocktail is now the way to my heart. Fortunately, the Sea Island Resort serves up delicious, interesting cocktails and mocktails throughout the resort. 

On the cocktail front, Tavola serves up yummy seasonal offerings. I caught the end of the winter menu, and the Carciofi artichoke cocktail was rich and herbaceous and absolutely stellar. The drink event came with a little artichoke petal flair on the side of the glass!

For mocktails, the River Bar & Lounge is where it’s at. If you hate sugary mocktails (hello, it’s me!) Juniper Berry is clean and refreshing. Do you prefer something on the sweeter side without it being actually sweet? You may also enjoy the Peach; I sure did!

Expect sweeping views of the Georgia marsh or coastline.

We booked one of the more affordable (using that term loosely today) rooms at the Cloister, and I could not have been more excited about the epic views from our balcony. We had a front-row seat to panoramic sunset vistas each evening, which gave me that “Ahhhh” feeling that lets you know you’re truly on vacation.

It is worth mentioning, however, that you could hear the shooting range periodically from our deck. This didn’t bother me, personally.

Sea Island Resort offers a number of excursions.

Are you jonesing for a hawk walk? Are suffering pickleball withdrawal? Or maybe you’re ready to put the (bike) pedal to the metal? Whatever you’re into, Sea Island Resort offers an excursion for that. Current offerings range from Intro to Clay Shooting to Die Dye on the Lawn to a Falconry Experience. Check the excursions page for the latest activity menu as you gameplan your stay.

Every corner is beautiful.

I feel like I could have spent a week exploring all the beautiful nooks and crannies of the Cloister and still not have hit them all. The carefully designed space offers cozy corners and peaceful hideaways around every turn, and you should plan time to just wander the resort.

I highly recommend browsing the books in the Georgian Library, enjoying the complimentary offerings while watching the love birds in the Solarium, or getting some fresh air on a swing in the gardens.

Pick your poison: golf, tennis, or pickleball.

My biggest regret from our ladies’ spa weekend at the Sea Island Resort is that I didn’t plan ahead to book a private tennis lesson (nor did I pack shoes for clay courts). But, their courts are gorgeous, and rumor has it the golf and pickleball offerings are equally lovely.

The tennis center boasts perfectly maintained clay courts, ball machine rentals, private lessons, and group clinics.

Are you more of a pickleball fanatic? Sign up for a 2-hour pickleball lesson and analysis, join a clinic, or reserve a court and rent some paddles to get your fix.

And, last but not least, the Sea Island Resort offers multiple courses and a Performance Center, which is home to an intriguing “golf performance gym.”

The breakfast buffet is what dreams are made of.

Now, normally, I’m not a breakfast buffet kinda gal. The breakfast buffet at the Cloister at Sea Island made me a believer though, y’all, and we ended up getting it two days in a row. I could rave about the tiny oven pancakes served in individual cast irons or the coconut and chia seed pudding, but how could I leave out the smoked salmon platter, the enormous display of fresh baked goods, or the made-to-order eggs? I do recommend an extra cup of coffee so the food coma doesn’t send you right back to bed.

The staff is so warm and kind.

What would this resort be without the incredible team of people working there? I had lovely experiences and great conversations with all the employees we came in contact with, and they were all a delight. The hardworking individuals working at the Sea Island Resort deserve a huge shout out and thank you for making our experience the dream that it was.

Have you been to Sea Island Resort? Tell me about your favorite experiences, must-try restaurants, and tips in the comments below!