Know Before You Go: Montage Palmetto Bluff (South Carolina)
Set on 20,000 acres of waterfront land encompassing a private nature preserve and two villages, this low-key family travel destination in the low-country of the southern United States offers an endless variety of things to do on land and on the water, no matter the season. We could spend many lazy days here “porching”, biking, and enjoying the good life like a glass of sweet tea — drinking slowly and savoring each sip.
OVERALL RATING
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Exceptional
Overview
At-a-Glance
Date of stay: December 2020
Length of stay: 6 nights / 7 days
Trip type: Family road-trip to the Carolina lowcountry
Property type: Sprawling resort and gated residential community covering 20,000 acres of riverfront in the South Carolina Lowcountry
Tailor-made for: Active yet low-key family getaways where there is plenty to do and having a car on property is totally unnecessary.
Highlights
Spacious three bedroom home in Wilson Village - excellent accommodation and great, central location
Nightly fireside S'mores
Dolphin tour
Polar Express train
Hiking and biking the River Road Preserve trail
Good to Know
Dining was hit and miss - best meals were at Canoe Club and Octagon
Though there were some very special service touches, the overall service experience had less of a personal feel, likely due to being such a large resort
Lack of guest respect for the property - litter, leftover beverages, broken items
Small showers in village home; home was a little worn
Watch out for alligators in and near the water - there are lots here
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Location & Setting
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Set in the heart of the Lowcountry, near Bluffton, South Carolina, Montage Palmetto Bluff is like a world unto itself. Arriving at the gates of the Palmetto Bluff community is just the start of a scenic, miles-long drive to arrive at the resort.
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Property & Grounds
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A unique-in-the-world residential community and resort comprising two separate, distinct villages across a vast expanse of waterfront land and endless activities, Montage Palmetto Bluff offers guests the opportunity to feel like a resident in their upscale, "good-life" community while having access to all the amenities and services of a five-star resort.
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Room
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Guests can choose between rooms at the Inn, cottages along the lagoon, or residences in one of the two resort villages. We booked a Lagoon House Suite and were offered a heavily-discounted upgrade to a 3-Bedroom Wilson Village Home upon arrival, which we accepted. The Wilson Village area of the property is ideal for families, with access to all the Wilson Village amenities yet only a 10-15 minute walk to the Inn.
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The home we stayed in, Wilson Village Home 7, was a 2-master King bedroom down and 1-bedroom + Twin loft up configuration, each with ensuite bathrooms. It had a fully-equipped full-size kitchen, living room and dining area, washer and dryer, small front yard with white picket fence, large front porch with porch swing, and large screened-in back porch with outdoor dining and sitting areas for 4, outdoor gas grill and private uncovered parking for one car.
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Service
💛💛💛💛+
Southern hospitality was on full display at the resort throughout our stay. Staff were accommodating, friendly, professional and courteous. Due to the size of the resort, it felt like it was a little difficult to make personal connections with the staff. However, the property offered texting-based service requests and updates, which was extremely helpful.
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Dining
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The resort offers an abundance of dining options, with 7 full-service restaurants, an ice cream parlor and in-room dining, including in the Village Residences. Due to COVID-19, we ordered takeout or in-room dining for all but one meal during our stay that we did not cook ourselves in our home. Kids menus are available at all dining venues.The dining was okay, but not great, with long wait times and the wine program could use some work. We did, however, have some notable dining experiences with Octagon and the Canoe Club.
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Here's the resort dining rundown:
• Octagon - fine dining restaurant and bar at the Inn - great takeout dinner from here, but lengthy wait
• Canoe Club - fine dining restaurant in Wilson Village - two great takeout dinners from here
• Buffalo's - casual Southern Italian restaurant in Wilson Village - didn't eat here, closed for most of our stay due to COVID
• Melt - ice cream and sweet shop in Wilson Village
• Fore & Aft - casual Mexican riverfront / poolside restaurant at the Inn - decent lunch, unremarkable
• Canteen - casual sandwich / coffee spot in Moreland Village - didn't eat here
• Cole's - full-service restaurant, bar and game room in Moreland Village - didn't eat here
• In-room dining - offered throughout the resort, including to residences
• Private dining - special events
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Family Services & Amenities
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The resort is exceptionally family-friendly with endless things to do and robust seasonal programming. Paintbox, the full service kids program for children age 5-12, is offered daily for a fee. There is also a Montage Merit Badge program where kids can get badges for activities completed on property. During COVID, the resort introduced The Academy, a distance-learning program for school-age children age 6-17 visiting the resort, offered for a fee.
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The restaurants offered kids menus with coloring activities.
Guest check-in featured a children's welcome amenity of assorted plushes: bald eagles, gray squirrels and foxes were on offer during our stay (the girls were fortunate enough to come home with one of each, thanks to the generosity of several different resort staff who offered new plushes at various points during our visit).
The festive season is a very special time at Palmetto Bluff with a host of family-friendly programs, like the Polar Express Train, carol singers, a Santa Tram and visits with Mr. and Mrs. Clause, and much more. Book early as these sold out fast.
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Activities
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Activities are really where the resort stands out, with extensive seasonal programs. There are too many to list, but there is truly something for everyone, and you could stay at the resort for weeks without leaving the property and still not do all there is on offer.
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There are multiple pools, three of which are family-friendly, a Jack Nicklaus 18-hole golf course, miles of paved and unpaved hiking and biking trails, a full equestrian centre, and a game room in Moreland Village with 4 lanes of bowling and an arcade.
Bike rentals for resort guests include strider bikes, child-size bikes, and pull-behind trailers. Nightly fireside S'mores behind the River House and daily "porching" with afternoon cookies and hot chocolate (or lemonade during warm-weather months) were also family favorites.
The resort is pet-friendly and has a canine ambassador at the Inn which will delight little ones.
The resort has two exquisite treehouses (one with a playground), including a 5-story whopper in Moreland Village, which are a must-visit.
There is a full-service activity concierge that can assist with all plans and bookings, on or off property.
We booked one of many excursions offered, the Dolphin Tour, which we would highly recommend (especially the morning tours). We spotted several dolphins, some of which came up very close to the boat, almost close enough to touch.
Book activities early, especially during holidays.
The Concierge is happy to assist with helping to plan all manner of family-friendly activities. Check out the full activities brochure online at their website.
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Wellness
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With the abundance of outdoor activities including biking , walking, hiking and paddling, Montage Palmetto Bluff is a haven for wellness seekers (except for the dining, which is full-on Southern home cooking). There are three fitness centers and a variety of fitness / wellness classes offered daily. A full-service spa and salon is located at the Inn.
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Wow Factor
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The expansiveness and residential-feel of the resort combined with its staggering amount of activities on offer makes it truly one-of-a-kind. If the guests took more responsibility for helping to maintain the cleanliness and beauty of the place, including the resort's commitment to preserving the surrounding nature, instead of leaving litter and broken items throughout the resort, it would truly help up the wow factor.
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Value
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This resort offers so much to do and see. While much is available on the resort, many of the activities are only available for an additional fee. The dining was also somewhat overpriced. Overall, the value was okay but not great relative to other resorts of this class.
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Overall
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For a carefree family trip in the States with an endless number of seasonally-appropriate things to do, this place has much to offer.
Rating Legend*
💛💛💛💛💛 Exceptional
💛💛💛💛 Notable
💛💛💛 Standard
💛💛 Substandard
💛 Unsatisfactory
*All ratings are relative to similar-class properties
