Anonymous wrote:Resuscitating this thread to ask - thinking about going in early June with close friend to celebrate our 50th birthdays. We just want to chill, hang/talk by pool and on beach, go for bike rides, etc. Does Kiawah fit the bill? Thinking three nights - is that about right?

It will be hard to rent in June for just 3 nights if you're looking for a house.

We prefer the car-less BHI (all houses come with bikes and golf carts) which keeps the island feeling like a community of lifelong visitors or owners. A day at each club, one on the beach, one at the spa, one kayaking the marshes near the old lighthouse, one biking, and in the evenings, hit the bars for games and bands.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any diversity there?

Similar to Martha's Vineyard

No. There's been a Black community on the Vineyard for over a century.

Kiawah is very posh but becomes very boring quickly. I agree with the Hilton Head folks.

Anonymous wrote:


I can't see how anyone would find Kiawah pretentious. There's no "scene" the way there is in upscale resort towns in the Northeast. It's very well maintained but sleepy and relaxed.

I go there frequently for work and there are definitely some pretentious people. “Their island” attitude.

You tend to get that when you have $20-$70 mil houses.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Resuscitating this thread to ask - thinking about going in early June with close friend to celebrate our 50th birthdays. We just want to chill, hang/talk by pool and on beach, go for bike rides, etc. Does Kiawah fit the bill? Thinking three nights - is that about right?

Have you considered a combo trip to Savannah/Jekyll island? I love biking around Jekyll and there are nice accommodations there right on and near the beach. Good food too. You could split and do a night in Savannah and 2 nights on Jekyll, and do lunch or dinner on St Simons one day, maybe check out Sea Island.

That would be more interesting scenery than Kiawah.

Jekyll is 90 min from Jacksonville or Savannah Airport. Doesn’t seem to make sense for 3 days when the other options mentioned are 45 min or 5-10 min from airports in other location.

A combo HHI/Savanah trip would make more sense as HHI is under an hour to Savannah and Jekyll is anhour and half best case.

Anonymous wrote:Resuscitating this thread to ask - thinking about going in early June with close friend to celebrate our 50th birthdays. We just want to chill, hang/talk by pool and on beach, go for bike rides, etc. Does Kiawah fit the bill? Thinking three nights - is that about right?

Have you considered a combo trip to Savannah/Jekyll island? I love biking around Jekyll and there are nice accommodations there right on and near the beach. Good food too. You could split and do a night in Savannah and 2 nights on Jekyll, and do lunch or dinner on St Simons one day, maybe check out Sea Island.

That would be more interesting scenery than Kiawah.

I can't see how anyone would find Kiawah pretentious. There's no "scene" the way there is in upscale resort towns in the Northeast. It's very well maintained but sleepy and relaxed.

Biking on the beach at low tide is fun. There are also bike path in the middle of the island and it's a freaky experience to realize you've just biked past a giant alligator. We've stayed there a couple of times and gone to the Family Circle tennis tournament in Charleston.

For about the same price as a small condo on the beach, we got a large house on the golf course. It's only a couple of minutes bike ride to the beach so consider a place located on the interior. We had a screened porch.

I have spent a lot of time in both Kiawah/CHS and HHI. I think you can get what you are looking for in either place. The Sanctuary at Kiawah is nicer than any hotel on HHI, but if you're going Air BNB or house rental through the Kiawah Resort, it's apples to apples. Personally would try to get a spot with a beach view in either place as you have to watch out for alligators on anything with a pond.

I think it really comes down to your preference on:

- Flight / drive time - CHS is the easier flight bc there are more of them, then rent a car and 45 m to Kiawah. HHI obvi shorter drive.
- "Resorty" feel - all Kiawah. HHI is definitely more of an "island" as opposed to a "resort" experience IMO. Sea Pines is probably the closest to a resort experience on HHI
- Luxury - Kiawah is fancier although HHI is certainly nice
- Diversity of things to do and places to eat - HHI

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Resuscitating this thread to ask - thinking about going in early June with close friend to celebrate our 50th birthdays. We just want to chill, hang/talk by pool and on beach, go for bike rides, etc. Does Kiawah fit the bill? Thinking three nights - is that about right?

That’s such a long way to travel just to do those things for a few nights. You can do all that much closer to home. It will also cost you alot of time and money, between the rental property and rental car.

I personally would pick an easier place to get to.

You can fly to both Charleston and HHI. I prefer the convenience of HHI.

Assuming you fly into Charleston (really fast, simple flight from DC), I think Kiawah is an easy and great choice for what you want!

If you want somewhere driveable but not really near an airport depending on where your friends are coming from, maybe Cape May, Avalon or Stone Harbor, NJ? Timing wise though, I suspect you could get down to the Charleston area in about the same number of hours as battling summer traffic driving somewhere more regional.

Anonymous wrote:Resuscitating this thread to ask - thinking about going in early June with close friend to celebrate our 50th birthdays. We just want to chill, hang/talk by pool and on beach, go for bike rides, etc. Does Kiawah fit the bill? Thinking three nights - is that about right?

That’s such a long way to travel just to do those things for a few nights. You can do all that much closer to home. It will also cost you alot of time and money, between the rental property and rental car.

I personally would pick an easier place to get to.

Definitely Kiawah for friend gathering of beach and spa.

Anonymous wrote:Resuscitating this thread to ask - thinking about going in early June with close friend to celebrate our 50th birthdays. We just want to chill, hang/talk by pool and on beach, go for bike rides, etc. Does Kiawah fit the bill? Thinking three nights - is that about right?

Are you driving for flying?

Either way I would do HHI over Kiawah and add another day.
I would do Hilton He

Resuscitating this thread to ask - thinking about going in early June with close friend to celebrate our 50th birthdays. We just want to chill, hang/talk by pool and on beach, go for bike rides, etc. Does Kiawah fit the bill? Thinking three nights - is that about right?