By: Donna Pugrant
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The Montage Palmetto Bluff is a truly special property and so well managed. Located on a 20,000-acre bluff with 32 miles of waterfront that has been carefully preserved, this is one of the most peaceful places we have visited. The ride from the main road to get to the Montage is a few miles and the views and foliage are amazing from the minute you turn on to the bluff.
This was our first trip during Covid and we were a bit nervous about visiting a resort. Our nerves were instantly put at ease the moment we arrived and all of the staff were wearing face coverings and everyone is required to wear them when entering the lobby. They are also not at full capacity which makes this very spread out large resort feel very safe. All restaurants have outdoor seating as well. We never felt compromised by any member of the staff. A staff member told us that Montage takes Covid so seriously that they have not opened their other resorts yet because they feel this is the only one that has the ability to keep people distanced.
We stayed in a Lagoon View Cottage which only has two units to a building. The room is huge with a nice sitting area with a fireplace and large dressing area outside of the bathroom which includes a soaking tub and steam shower. The room was spotlessly clean and the bed linens top of the line.
But the best is the large screened in porch over looking the lagoon! Although the lagoon view is pretty special, the May River view cottages have pretty incredible views as well. The hotel makes sure you have bikes outside your cottage to get around since the resort is so large. Or they will take you by golf cart or give you your own golf cart to get around in.
The pools were very nice with 4 to use and the service everywhere we went was top notch. We normally go to beach type resorts but I think this was more enjoyable and still had plenty of things to do—that is if you can pull yourself away from your screened in porch! We went on the Grace sunset boat ride which we highly recommend, went kayaking, rode bikes and hiked on the numerous trails on the bluff.
This would be a great family vacation with large houses also available for rent and activities such as golf, tennis, bowling, fitness center and fitness classes, bocce, fishing and boating, skeet shooting, horseback riding, paddle boarding and of course a spa. There are also two main villages called Wilson and Moreland that have restaurants and shops that are beautiful.
If you are still craving the beach after all of that, Hilton Head and other beaches are about 30 minutes away. We drove to Hilton Head but we were very happy to get back to the peacefulness of Palmetto Bluff. It really is just the place to go to unwind and relax and not be crowded together with a lot of people.
The food was also impressive and very good service at each place we went. Each day breakfast was very good and we also ate at the Canoe Club and Coles. The Canoe Club is very upscale overlooking the May River and it was great food. The other upscale restaurant on the property is Octagon.
A special ending to each evening was making our own smores which are served from 7-10 around huge fire pits on the property. We decided to do two dinners in the town of Bluffton which is about 10-15 minutes away.
Adorable town with great restaurants, shops and art galleries. We ate at The Pearl and Bluffton Room and both were amazing and we would go back. They both have outdoor seating we could reserve in advance.
Without a doubt this is our new favorite place to visit and we will definitely be calling on Anne to book this again. Can’t wait to go back!
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** Donna Pugrant is a long time TravelAnne client. We are grateful to any client who shares their perspective on this platform, but Donna will always be known as the first client contributor to TravelAnne.com.