We drove up to South Carolina for the long Labor Day weekend to Montage Palmetto Bluff. Our original plans were for Charleston, but when researching resorts and things to do, the Montage came up and looked like a little piece of Southern pie I couldn’t pass up. And it was. It was also a 2 hour less drive for us, super kid-friendly, offered way too many things to pack into a 3 day weekend, and all set on a 20,000 acre gorgeous property. Again, a little piece of Southern pie.
It’s called South Carolina’s Lowcountry and it’s nestled along the May River. Montage Palmetto Bluff sits inside a 20,000-acre community between Hilton Head Island and Savannah. From their website: “The resort encompasses an extensive nature preserve, two picturesque villages featuring eight Southern-inspired dining options, a riverfront marina and a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course.”
The actual “Inn” Resort consists of about 200 guest rooms and suites. On either side of the Inn, are villages with multiple residences. Morehead Village sits further way from the Inn, is still adding homes, and we heard is where Justin Bieber took over for their wedding. It has a bowling alley, one restaurant, and a grab-n-go type market. Wilson Village is right next door to the Inn, and where a lot of the action is with restaurants, bike and fishing gear rentals, a boat house, nightly s’mores and shops. Buffalo’s Restaurant and Melt Ice Cream were two favorites, and the “River House” is where the s’mores are . I’m not 100% sure on how many residences (I saw the number 35 on the website) between the two villages are available to rent through the Montage, but other homes in the villages can be found on websites like VBRO. We ended up renting a 2 bedroom house through the resort website. I researched both options, and the price was about the same (Montage v VBRO). When you rent through Montage, you get all the resort amenities with the price. This includes a long list of amazing things including room service or shall I say “House Service”, bike rentals, a Cadillac available for longer drives, and pool access.
9pm – We arrived a little later than expected so we checked in, stretched our legs out from the long drive, took baths, relaxed, and enjoyed the house. We were planning to order House service for dinner, but that late arrival threw us a curve ball and we ate the snacks we packed for dinner. We were greeted with some Southern Shortbread Biscuits and Bourbon jam, so we threw that onto our buffet of snacks.
9am: Ordered House service for breakfast. Eggs, omelets, breakfast potatoes, fruit, toast, and chocolate chip pancakes for the kids. Lattes and orange juice. The normal
10am: We headed over to Recreation to rent our bikes for the weekend. We opted for the bikes instead a golf cart rental and I’m so glad we did! We really enjoyed biking, since we don’t have that “bike-ability” available where we live.
10:30am: We let the trails lead the way and they took us around both villages, two tree houses, a beautiful chapel, and amazing views of South Carolina’s Lowcountry. According to my watch, we biked about 8 miles. Rock lasted a couple miles before joining Banks in the bike trailer.
12:30pm: Pedaled our way to the Inn for swimming and food. The Inn has 2 pools, family and adult-only. Obviously we enjoyed the family pool, which is right next to the tiny, cute, outdoor restaurant, Fore & Aft. It’s a Mexican Cantina menu with tacos, burritos, guac, and bowls. We ate our lunch by the pool, and honestly there’s just something about food and drinks by a hotel pool.
3pm: Dried off and explored the Inn. We stumbled upon the kid’s club area and learned all about the Montage Merits. There are so many family friendly adventures and the kid’s earn a Montage merit pin for each one to decorate their lanyards. The kids were obsessed with earning every merit they could and I loved that all the activities were outdoors. The kid’s club area is also where you book all your activities that need reservations, like horseback riding, boat tours, archery, etc. Bikes and fishing equipment are first come first serve.
4pm: Biked back home to change and relax on the porch. Montage offers a Southern tradition called “porching”, where they deliver sweet tea and cookies to enjoy on the porch.
6pm: Ordered pizza from Buffalo’s and enjoyed more porch hangs before a storm rolled in.
7pm: The rain scrubbed our plans to enjoy s’mores by the River House fire pits, but they still offered them in a to-go sack and we roasted the marshmallows on our stove. The house has a fire place on the back porch, which I’m just now thinking would have probably been the better choice for s’mores night.
9am: Angelo walked over to Buffalo’s to pick up some bagels, pastries, and coffee for breakfast while everyone slept in.
10am: Slow morning and bike rides to the Inn to meet the Resort’s Canine Ambassador May (named after the May River).
11am: Rode over to the Boat House to pick up our complimentary fishing equipment, then found a spot on the lagoon to cast our reels! We didn’t get any biters (you have to go early or later in the evening to have better luck), but the kids loved practicing their casts and we enjoyed some funny conversations with people passing by on their kayaks.
1pm: Casual lunch on the patio at Buffalo’s and ice cream for dessert from Melt. Then a “game” of Bocce ball with Banks.
3pm: The Horse Stables and Shooting Club are a little further than the kid’s wanted to bike, so we took the car over for some archery and paintball fun.
4pm: Back home to shower and get ready for the evening at the River House.
5pm: The Wilson Village lawn was poppin’ on this Sunday evening and we made reservations to pick up a Lowcountry Boil for dinner. We enjoyed dinner on the picnic tables, with drinks from the River House bar, listening to the live music, and the kid’s rode around the village on their bikes.
7pm: Bingo on Wilson Village lawn. Sophia won!
8pm: S’mores at the River House fire pits.
9pm: Quick bike ride back to the house with full bellies and happy hearts!
9am: We ate some breakfast items we brought with us while we packed up the house and car for the ride home.
11am: Returned our bikes and drove 20 minutes to Savannah, GA for lunch on our way home.
