Gilded Age Luxury at the Jekyll Island Club

The first time I visited the Jekyll Island Club, I thought I’d arrived on a movie set.  Live oaks dripping with Spanish moss line a broad driveway leading to a turreted Queen Anne-style hotel where croquet players, dressed in regulation whites, practice their sport at a resort that was the winter retreat for families like the Goulds, Vanderbilts, Morgans, and Rockefellers.  I was certain there was an early AM landscaping crew fluffing the moss to make it look just so. 

Not so. Jekyll Island’s historic district is always a picturesque time warp, just waiting for Julian Fellowes to script season 4 of The Gilded Age and send Bertha and the gang to vacation here in the winter instead of summering in Newport.  Just a thought.

The Jekyll Island Club is the centerpiece of the historic district where guests can peek at rescued sea turtles being rehabilitated at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, take a trolley tour of some of the restored cottages, and visit the island’s history museum, Mosaic, that tells the tales of this barrier island about 2 hours south of Savannah and 1 hour north of Jacksonville.

History was made here as the world’s wealthiest gathered with their families year after year starting in 1888 and today guests can live out their own Gilded Age fantasies in 159 guest rooms and suites, including three original “cottages”, southern estate homes by today’s standards, all recently renovated to reflect a 1920s coastal vibe.  Sip cocktails or a refreshing sweet tea on the sprawling verandas or dine like Alma Vanderbilt (minus the corsets, crinolines, and bustles) in the magnificent Grand Dining Room with its custom carpet highlighting the island’s native flora and fauna. 

Beach lovers can enjoy a stay at the Island Club’s sister resort, the Jekyll Ocean Club, with its 40 oceanfront suites, beachfront pool, and open-air beachfront restaurant.  Yoga from the sky deck or s’mores around the firepit gives guests the relaxation they crave day or night.  Island Club guests can hop a complimentary shuttle to the Ocean Club where chair and umbrella set-ups are included as part of the resort fee and beach treats are on offer daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

The sisters offer guests reciprocity, making it easy to enjoy the services and amenities of both resorts simply by hopping the shuttle. 

Dining options include Eighty Ocean Kitchen and Bar at the Ocean Club, which serves Lowcountry cuisine with an upscale feel.  The restaurant’s garage doors open to catch cool ocean breezes and make it easy to grab a cold brew or umbrella drink while hanging poolside.  Guests can also rent a poolside cabana for the day and catch a game on the 55-inch TV or enjoy a fridge full of their favorite refreshers.

The Wharf, located on the riverfront at the Island Club is an up-casual seafood camp where local oysters on the half, and an authentic Lowcountry boil are the stars of the show.  Every night, guests toast the sunset with a Green Flash, a signature cocktail mixed to celebrate the natural phenomenon of the same name, and one lucky guest gets to ring the ship’s bell signaling the end of another perfect island day.  Also at the club, guests barely must leave their chaise lounge thanks to the beach bites on offer at the pool house and the Pantry is always open for coffee, ice cream quick meals, sandwiches, and baked goods.  Be sure to take a giant chocolate, chocolate chip cookie back to your room.   You’ll thank me.   

And finally – – don’t miss the champagne sabering weekends on the verandah.  Yes, the resort’s beverage staff open champagne the old-fashioned way – – with a sword. (Check for times)   For those who prefer something sweet at the end of their jousting equipment, there’s always the s’mores bar, set up like a charcuterie station with every possible meltable, graham crackers and marshmallows on skewers.  

It’s these unexpected delights, the club’s casual elegance, and its family-friendly amenities that make the Island and Ocean Clubs favorites for family and multi-gen vacations.  Whether it’s a round of golf, a family bike ride, a day at the beach, or a book in the shade, there’s something for everyone.

Those same crowd-pleasing surprises make The Island Club a popular meeting and destination wedding venue. Brides love the Southern charm of a wedding under the live oaks and revel in the resort’s timeless elegance.  Guests especially appreciate the no-passport required convenience.   The resort’s three cottages can serve as private retreats, equipped with guest rooms and gathering spaces for the two families, while wedding guests have a selection of rooms and suites at the two clubs.    

Meeting planners appreciate the resort’s versatility.  Those “cottage” mansions are perfect hideouts for planners, sponsors, or VIPs.  Golf, tennis, boating, and fishing provide plenty of recreation and social networking opportunities while the resort’s flexible meeting space ensures that the business events are perfectly presented.

Beyond the Jekyll Island Club, where Nelson Aldrich and other notable bankers secretly met to form the Federal Reserve, the island is a history buff’s paradise.  The Wanderer, the last slave ship to land in Georgia, is memorialized at a UNESCO “Site of Memory” exhibit on St. Andrews Beach which later became the first public beach in Georgia that was accessible to African American Visitors.  A decade later, B.B. King and others played AND STAYED at the Dolphin Club a beachfront resort that was part of the Chitlin Circuit that showcased black entertainers to black audiences.

On the other end of the beach, guests find a visit to Driftwood Beach on the must-do list.  This ancient maritime forest has been claimed by the sea, and today, even the most challenged photographers find it hard to take a bad photo on this eerily majestic stretch of beach.  Don’t be surprised if you happen upon a small wedding group or families taking their holiday card pictures. Driftwood Beach has been recognized by Conde Nast, Trip Advisor, and others as a top beach in the US.

It’s important to note that Jekyll Island is not another crowded beach resort like so many others up and down the eastern seaboard.  Jekyll Island is a state park and by law, 66 percent of the island must remain undeveloped and preserved for nature and the 33% available for development is already built.  Beachcombers can walk for miles and barely encounter a soul.  Bicycling is a perfectly safe means of transportation.  There’s plenty to do – – or not.  Or as one book about the island calls it – – Splendid Isolation. For more information: www.jekyllclub.com