Plan Your Meetings

Brunswick & the Golden Isles: Islands of opportunity

Brunswick & the Golden Isles: Historic seaside venues and laid-back luxury

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Watch for (Jekyll Island):

  • Jekyll Island Club Hotel completed a $4.2 million renovation of all 134 guest rooms in the Main Clubhouse, Annex and Sans Souci areas. The hotel is now smoke-free and has additional meeting space.
  • Some villas at the Jekyll Oceanfront Resort are being converted to condominium units. LEED-certified construction is underway on a replacement 180-room hotel project.
  • A 65-acre parcel of beachfront land is being developed into a mixed-use beach village, to include residential and hotel accommodations, dining, parks, trails, a convention center and a new Environmental Discovery Center; construction is LEED-certified and has EarthCraft Communities certification.
  • The Canopy Bluff development on the former site of the Buccaneer Beach Resort will include a 300-room hotel, a 120-unit condo-hotel, a 15,000-sq. ft. convention center, an event garden, a spa, two pools and on-site dining; construction is LEED-certified.

Want eco-friendly events?

The secluded Lodge on Little St. Simons Island received the Green Globe Award for excelling in leadership and activities that foster environmental stewardship by protecting the environment, managing natural resources and benefiting the community. Groups of up to 30 can take over the 10,000-acre island. Amenities include indoor/outdoor event space, including a beach pavilion, a hunting lodge, and the 440-sq. ft. the River Lodge and Cedar House.

Want to team-build?

The Sea Palms Golf & Tennis Resort offers golf packages, and group golf and tennis lessons; meeting facilities accommodate groups of up to 400. Brunswick and the Golden Isles are on the Coastal Georgia Golf Trail — a great amenity for planners looking to arrange golf tournaments. Epworth By the Sea on St. Simons has an outdoor Adventure Challenge ropes course.

Want group activities?

Explore primeval maritime forests on horseback, or ride horses along the beach. Arrange for a naturalist to lead an eco-tour or a canoe/kayak expedition through the barrier island’s tidal creeks.

Want to meet in a place with history?

The Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation Historic Site is a historic plantation with a house museum, nature and birding trails, and a picnic area. Millionaires’ “cottages” in the Jekyll Island Club National Historic Landmark District make stunning backdrops for private events and banquets; the historic Jekyll Island Club Hotel also has meeting venues.

Want to shake up a meal function?

Take attendees shrimping with the U.S. Coast Guard-approved crew aboard the Lady Jane. Then, enjoy an on-board shrimp boil while watching dolphins, or head back to Spanky’s Marshside restaurant for lunch or dinner. Dinner and casino cruises depart from Brunswick. Throughout the Golden Isles there are multiple outdoor venues for Lowcountry boils and oyster roasts.

Want to pamper attendees?

Sea Island Resorts, home of The Cloister and The Lodge, was selected the country’s top resort for business meetings and golf by USA Today and Golf Digest, respectively. The Lodge at Sea Island and the Cloister Hotel’s Georgian Room restaurant also were awarded Mobil Travel Guide Five-Star Awards. In addition to the hotel and lodge rooms, accommodations are available in private cottages. Island guests have access to resort amenities, including a full-service spa, 54 holes of top-ranked golf, golf instruction, casual and fine-dining restaurants, and meeting and fitness facilities. Other amenities include the Georgia Sea Island Singers, stables, a shooting school, a cooking school, business etiquette classes, boating, fishing and nature programs.

Want to meet in unusual settings?

The St. Simons Island Casino has a covered atrium, bandstand, veranda, 182-seat theater, multipurpose kitchen and three meeting rooms. Also on St. Simons are the three-story oceanfront Beach House and the historic St. Simons Lighthouse, which has a new heritage center with 10,000 square feet of exhibit, meeting and classroom space. Brunswick’s Old City Hall has elegant Queen Anne-period event, meeting and banquet space. The Brunswick Manor, built in 1886, has bed-and-breakfast accommodations in addition to a small ballroom.

Want group dining?

The Village Inn & Pub on St. Simons is known for its Wild Orchid Martinis. Christie’s in Brunswick has a banquet room for up to 80 people, seated, or 100+ for receptions. Also in Brunswick, 10 minutes from St. Simons or Jekyll Island, is Cargo Portside Grill, an acclaimed seafood bistro helmed by Chef Alix Kenagy. Blue Dolphin Restaurant is the only oceanfront restaurant on St. Simons and is known for its views. Go high-end at the Cloister’s Georgian Room, which has a wine cellar (capacity 14) and an intimate dining room (capacity 12) in addition to its main dining room. Or, if you’re looking for ultra-casual, reserve outdoor seating at the Rah Bar on the old Jekyll Island Wharf, where your group can watch shrimp boats sail by.

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What you should know

Brunswick, a historic port city, has the greatest variety of convention hotels in the area, two conference centers and a convention center. St. Simons Island has golf and tennis resorts, oceanfront properties and a conference center with 36,000-sq. ft. of meeting space. Sea Island is home to the Cloisters, an upscale resort with 14,000+ square feet of meeting and event space. Small groups and retreats can take over Little St. Simons Island, which has 15 double-occupancy rooms at its lodge. Jekyll Island has a convention center with 55,000 square feet of meeting space and seven hotels, including the historic Jekyll Island Club Hotel. If you want to look at meeting room schematics, they are available at ComeCoastAwhile.com.

What will surprise you

The face of Jekyll Island will change dramatically over the next 10 years. A total of $620 million is being invested in creating more than 2,000 new hotel/condo units, renovating existing properties and enhancing island amenities. But, because only 35 percent of the island can be developed, new projects primarily are replacing old properties. Jekyll Island construction sites are removed from where existing meeting facilities are, so they should not disrupt events.

The 411
  • • 55,000 square feet of space in Jekyll Island Convention Center
  • • 36,000 square feet of space in Epworth by the Sea
  • •2,800+ hotel rooms in Brunswick
  • • 215 holes of golf in the area
  • • Average group size: 100-400
  • • Best values in January and early February