Palmetto Bluff is twenty thousand acres outside Bluffton. Thirty-two miles of that is riverfront. Three rivers touch it — the May on the north, the Cooper on the east, the New on the south.
You come in under live oaks and everything stays low. The inn is white clapboard on a lawn that runs down to the water. Cottages sit back in the trees. Nothing is tall and nothing is loud.
Two days is enough. Here is how they go.
| Where | What it is | Rated | Call |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montage Palmetto Bluff | The inn and cottages | 4.7 | (843) 706-6500 |
| May River Golf Club | Jack Nicklaus course | 4.8 | (843) 706-5473 |
| Canoe Club | Dinner on the river | 4.8 | (843) 706-5460 |
| Spa Montage | Spa | 4.7 | (843) 836-6270 |
| Octagon | Bar | 4.6 | (843) 836-6210 |
477 Mt Pelia Road, Bluffton SC 29910. Rooms and booking on our Montage Palmetto Bluff page.
The inn
- Bluffton, on the May River
- 4.7 from 1,054 reviews
- (843) 706-6500
- Village shops on foot
Rooms are in the main inn or in cottages through the village. Ask for one facing the water.
The porches are why people come back. Screened, deep enough for real furniture, pointed at the river. Somebody is on one of them at every hour of the day.
The village holds the restaurants, the shops and the chapel, all within a few minutes on foot. Most people park on Friday and do not touch the car again.
The river
- Mornings, before the wind
- Wilson Landing Marina
- Kayak, boat or fish
Go out early. The water is flat before the wind gets up and the marsh is full of birds.
Kayaks and paddleboards launch from the dock. Boats and fishing run out of Wilson Landing Marina. Gear comes from Palmetto Bluff Outfitters in the village.
The trails are good at the same hour. A conservancy on the property does real ecological research here, and that is why it still looks like forest and not landscaping.
May River Golf Club
- Jack Nicklaus design
- 4.8
- (843) 706-5473
- Book with the room
Jack Nicklaus built it through maritime forest. Live oaks and Spanish moss frame the holes. It rates 4.8, it walks well, and it goes quiet in the middle of the day.
Tee times run through the resort. Book the round when you book the room. This is the one thing here that fills up.
The Canoe Club
- Dinner on the river
- 4.8
- (843) 706-5460
- On the water
Dinner is at the Canoe Club. Tall windows, palmettos, the water right there. The kitchen works off what comes out of the river.
It is the table people book first. The Octagon handles the drink before or after.
Spa Montage
- 4.7
- (843) 836-6270
- Book ahead for a weekend
The spa is sized for a much bigger resort. Treat it as an afternoon, not an hour. Weekend slots go early, so put it on the same phone call as the tee time.
Two days
Friday: get in with enough light to walk the village.
Saturday: water in the morning, golf or the spa after lunch, Canoe Club for dinner.
Sunday: the porch, and a slow start.
Bluffton is about 30 minutes from Hilton Head, 45 from Savannah and a little under two hours from Charleston. Book the room, the tee time and the spa in one call. The rest you can decide that morning.