A winner of the Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Award for Best Small Hotel in North America, this inn offers a romantic getaway where guests can explore its beaches, forests, marshes and creeks and observe its abundant wildlife, including American alligators, European fallow deer, dolphins, river otters, armadillos, loggerhead sea turtles and more than 280 species of birds. Weekend and holiday rates range from $625 for a Hunting Lodge room to $8,000 for an exclusive full island rental.
Guests can choose to stay in a guest room with private bath in the 1917 Hunting Lodge, with two guest rooms and a shared living room with fireplace; the Cedar House or the River Lodge, each with four guest rooms, a shared great room with fireplace, and a large deck with a marsh view; or the 1928 Helen House, with three guest rooms (two with fireplaces), a living room with fireplace, and a screened porch overlooking the courtyard and marshes. Two of the Helen House guest rooms can be rented together as a suite for up to four people.
Also available for rental in their entirety are the Helen House for up to six guests and the Cedar House and the River Lodge, each for up to eight guests.
There is also the secluded Michaels Cottage, which sleeps up to four in its two bedrooms and has one bath, a living room with fireplace, a screened porch and a private outdoor shower for two. Another option is the exclusive full island rental for up to 30 guests.
Among the island's activities are swimming, beachcombing, fishing, motorboating, kayaking, canoeing, horseback riding, biking and birding. Amenities include a spring-fed junior Olympic-size swimming pool, lawn games, board games and books. Guests can take part in interpretive naturalist programs and hiking tours by truck, foot, watercraft and/or horseback. They can also trek across more than 15 miles of forested trails and seven miles of pristine beach.
Children of all ages are welcome May through September, and children over age 8 October through April.
Focusing on regional cuisine, breakfast, lunch and dinner are served family-style in the Hunting Lodge dining room. Breakfast might include Peach Pecan Pancakes or Grits with Tasso Gravy; for lunch, Fried Chicken or Local Blue Crab Cakes with Red Pepper Sauce; and for dinner, Crispy Flounder with Ginger Peach Sauce or Grilled Grouper with Pineapple Mango Salsa. Picnic baskets can be prepared for lunchtime excursions.
