As a native of Georgia, I have been to St. Simons many times and always favored the main island over Sea Island. As an occassional visitor to Sea Island, it always seemed to be a little stuffy and intimidating, but always a first class resort. After a recent visit with friends during the "off season", I have a different opinion. The new Cloister was incredible and seemed to be more comfortable than other visits. Maybe it was the lower guest occupancy, but it was truly a comfortable and enjoyable stay while providing the best service and amenities. The restaurants, golf, spa, and overall experience were exceptional. We've already made plans to return and hope that the high season during summer will be just as enjoyable. If you have never been, I would highly recommend. The deals in the off season and the relative tranquility of the resort are a perfect combination.

Our return stay to the Cloister was nothing short of excellent. The Christmas decor throughout the property created a beautiful environment. Our suite was located on the 2nd floor of the main house & had every amenity one could ask for. Linens from Portugal were pristine. The room had a bay window that afforded us a lovely view of most of the property. We've never stayed anywhere that had such soundproof rooms; great bonus when there to celebrate New Years as we were. Our children were well entertained with the various activities available. Horseback riding on the beach was a big treat. The rooms are not inexpensive, but you will feel that it is money well spent!

This is not your grandfather's Cloister any more! I spent Christmas at The Cloister with my sister and her husband. This was my second trip to the resort. The first one occurred many years ago before it was turned back into a 5 start resort and I would not have returned based on that experience. However, I had heard wonderful things about the place in recent years and decided to give it another go. We could not have had a better time. We stayed in a two-bedroom suite at The Beach Club that was exceptional. The staff was very accommodating and the food in the 3 restaurants we visited (Southern Tide, River Bar and the Georgian Room) was superb. The entire resort was beautifully decorated for the season. And the spa was first-rate.

While the property appears to be spread out, it is an easy walk between the Beach Club, the Spa and the main Cloister building. That said, you can always ask for a shuttle to cart you from place to place. However, during a busy season such as Christmas, the wait could be more than you bargained for, so walking back and forth was really the answer for us.

If you are not a golfer (I am but sis and her hubby are not) and it's not beach-sitting weather (which it was not), there is not a whole lot to do. (Meaning that 5 days was plenty of time to spend there.) However, the little town just before you get to the entrance to the resort has some very good restaurants and shopping and a trip down to the beach town on St. Simon's (where the lighthouse is) is a fun thing to do. There is also a movie theatre nearby. We saw Lincoln - probably the best movie I have ever seen!

The one caveat here, which is a double-edged sword depending upon your inclination, is that it is a family-friendly resort. There were more children there than we had anticipated. However, the resort had scheduled numerous activities for kids and because of the size of the resort, we did not feel "overrun" with the little tykes.

Finally, this resort is not for the faint-of-pocketbook. It's pretty expensive but we felt we received good value for our money, which is all you can really ask for. All in all, it was a great experience and I highly recommend it.

The Cloisters Resort on Sea Island is a very nice, upscale resort good for relaxing on the beach and several good golf courses nearby. Our four bedroom house from Exclusive Resorts was very well appointed, as usual, and close to the resort facilities. Of the three nearby courses, Seaside at Sea Island was by far the best and most challenging. At sunset they have a bag pipe ceremony which is worth waiting for with an after round cocktail.

We rented bikes for the week and used them to tour both Sea Island and Saint Simon. Biking on Sea Island was fun viewing all the beautiful homes in a very relaxed way. Biking on St. Simon required getting across the causeway but now that they've put in a bike trail it's pretty easy. Once on St. Simon head to Fort Frederica. It was a nice ride and the Fort was very interesting.

Golf at King and Prince was not so great. Course was only OK and club rental was a joke, 11 clubs and five different brands. I brought this up at the turn and the reaction was, "check in the cart barn"