From oceanfront accommodations and award-winning dining to spa treatments, golf and Lowcountry adventures, Wild Dunes Resort on Isle of Palms offers a memorable South Carolina beach getaway in every season. 

On the Isle of Palms, South Carolina, past the Clyde Moultrie Dangerfield Highway Bridge arching over winding estuaries of the Lowcountry, lies the Wild Dunes Resort. Here, under the summer sun, this vibrant resort painted with ocean pastels teems with a stubborn energy beckoning all to give in.  Whether it’s the classic Southern Hospitality friendliness or laid-back island mood, both inspiring a unique blend of island and Southern comfort food, the boundless activities along the rolling dunes or grassy marshlands, or the soothing beachscape where all worries aptly sink away, the Wild Dunes Resort offers an uplifting liveliness for summer months and beyond.

Classically Carolina

Thankfully, among the dunes, there are no brutalist or modern blocky buildings towering above the seascape to fit as many guests as possible onto an ocean-facing front. Instead, the sprawling resort chooses character over quantity, fittingly paying respect to the area’s Carolina coastal architecture of 18th-century colonial style houses with wrapped-around porches, tiered-piazzas, and candy colors.

Famously, the iconic Boardwalk path behind the Boardwalk Inn and adult pool offers a picturesque moment on the way to the Isle of Palms Beach, where two-story houses flank the way, offering both shade and color on this short walk to a pristine Atlantic oceanfront.

Birds flying over the beach. Video Martin Ramirez

The energy is rightfully a buzz throughout the day at Wild Dunes. It starts with the morning, where joggers and walkers soaking in the early warmth as aromas of coffee from Hudson’s Café or breakfast at Oyster Catcher fill the air. The beach, too, radiates with a certain calmness as only a few early risers make their way here to behold uninterrupted views of the ocean where waves crash relentlessly, perpetually, and gulls cry above.

Wild Dunes offers the best ocean view in town with The Front Row Collection Beach Chair Rentals, offering shaded comfort and uninterrupted access to the beachfront.

The Boardwalk Inn

Guests have several options for accommodations, and each is tailored to a wide range of traveler needs. Vacation rentals range from oceanfront villas to family friendly cottages, each spacious and equipped with convenience to your favorite amenity, whether it be the pool or beach. The Sweetgrass Inn is the cornerstone of the property, housing guests in the same building as the spa and fitness center and is just steps away from the main pool.

The Boardwalk Inn is my personal favorite. Sitting above the Coastal Provisions restaurant, overlooking the quieter adult-only pool, the Boardwalk Inn offers a more relaxing escape that is comfortably refined.

Neutral sand and sea tones set a calming vibe inside as views of wind-swaying palms and the glimmering ocean await on the private balcony. It’s quiet, which, when you stay at such an active resort, is needed at night once you retreat to the comforts of your room.

Coastal Provisions

Coastal Provisions, inside the lobby of the Boardwalk Inn, awaits all guests and visitors looking for a refined take on coastal dining. With an elegantly designed interior of dark woods and ocean blue accents and bright walls, this nautically inspired restaurant brings an elevated yet approachable menu of food and drink.

The Jockey Club Old Fashioned is a unique cocktail capturing the essence of Wild Dunes. The bright and full-bodied notes combine a perfect blend of High West Double Rye and Rainwater Madeira Demerara, which tastes like the love child of an Old Fashion and lemonade tea.

Start with the She Crab Soup, a local delicacy. Using amontillado sherry, olio verde, chives, and garnished with a crostini, this savory and buttery app finishes light with lingering notes of succulent crab.

The market fish, which for me was delicately pan seared scallops seared to a golden brown, worked wonderfully over risotto galette, red pepper cream sauce, asparagus ribbons, citrus, and fresh herbs.

Explore the South Carolina Lowcountry

A shuttle service is available to transport guests to the Isle of Palms Marina, where peaceful channels of the Carolina Lowcountry lullingly carry paddle boarders through the intracoastal waterway, past boat docks and out into the grassy marshlands, or salt marshes, where winding tidal creeks sprout golden cordgrass. Plan for two hours for this excursion. The Marina offers guests and visitors several other services to experience IOP culture, such as fishing charters and an expansive list of rentals including kayaks, skiffs, pontoons, and many others.

Oystercatcher

After working up an appetite paddling on the Lowcountry channels, return to Wild Dunes for another sophisticated take on the local cuisine. Located in the bright and welcoming lobby of The Sweetgrass Inn, Oyster Catcher offers a sustainable menu of globally inspired dishes. For breakfast, the Open Face Smoked Salmon Sammy, featuring hickory-smoked salmon, cucumber, pickled red onion, cream cheese, and crushed avocado, atop a toasted sourdough, is rich and light to reenergize for the day. Dinner options offer sharable plates like Skirt Steak or Grilled Branzino, while desserts like the Honey Crème Brulee or Peanut Butter Pie might be harder to share; willingly that is.

Other dining options include more casual eateries like the Laughing Gull Bar & Grill, situated by the main pool, Coastal Crust, the Nest Rooftop Bar, or Beachside Burgers & Bar.

Spa

At every step, the Wild Dunes Resort proves to be one of the most thoughtfully designed and service-forward stays. The Spa at Sweetgrass takes it a step further with 14 treatment rooms, infused showers, and even a serene spa garden with a heated plunge pool. The Sacred Healing Swedish Massage is a must.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 Cover Photo courtesy Wild Dunes Resort. 

 Martin Ramirez is a brisket-eating, Shiner-loving, road-tripping enthusiast of all things Texas. This Dallas-born writer / adventurer is ready to take his ‘78 El Camino to find the best in food, fun, and fitness throughout the Lone Star State.