Getaway to Jekyll Island with Jekyll Island Club Hotel

Thank you to Jekyll Island Club Hotel for sponsoring this post. As always, all thoughts and words are my own.

I am almost afraid to share this post with you all! I feel like I am giving up a hidden gem or exposing one of my best kept secrets. Since I love my readers, I will share this secret with you…if you haven’t been to Jekyll Island, Georgia, you MUST go. We had the amazing opportunity to getaway to Jekyll Island recently and it was the best beach trip we have taken in a long time! This was our first trip to Jekyll Island, and it certainly won’t be our last.

[Tweet theme=”tweet-box-normal-blue”]I will share this secret with you…if you haven’t been to Jekyll Island, Georgia, you MUST go. [/Tweet]

The Location

Jekyll  Island is about a 7 hour drive from our house. We drove down on Friday afternoon and arrived to Jekyll Island Club Hotel around 11 p.m. Upon arriving on the island we came to the gated entrance area. You have to pay $6 to enter the island for 24 hours (rates are cheaper for weekly/yearly). I knew this ahead of time from reading about the island and pre-paid our entrance fee. Although the bar code I had printed with the pre-paid entrance fee didn’t work, we simply pressed a button for help and they opened the gate-easy! At first, I wasn’t sure about paying to get on the island, but then we realize that those fees go to various project around the area to keep the island clean and beautiful-not a big deal at all!

Tip: Make sure you are prepared to pay your entrance fee to the island. Cash and cards are accepted. You can also pre-pay online.

The Island itself is so gorgeous! Saturday morning we woke up bright and early, ready to explore. My hubby wanted to do some surf fishing and I just wanted to relax on the beach with the baby. We headed over to Jekyll Island Club Hotel’s private beach pavilion and walked down on the beach. It was around 8 am and when I tell you there was no one on the beach, I mean NO one! We had the beach to ourselves. It was so gorgeous and peaceful! About an hour or so later, we started seeing some people walking up and down the beach and other hotel guests started to come visit the beach as well. Shortly after, I was greeted by a member of the hotel staff who offered us chairs, towels, an umbrella and cold bottled water. You will read more about our experience at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel below, but I just have to say, this kind of service and hospitality are the reason we will be returning to the hotel!

We spent the morning on the beach and it was glorious! My hubby caught a few fish and stingrays and had a blast, little man took a nap on the beach and this momma got to relax (which doesn’t happen often).

Tip: If you plan to fish on the island you can purchase your fishing license online through Georgia’s wildlife website. This will save you some time. 

Jekyll Island is one of the most gorgeous beach locations that we have visited. It is clean, quiet and family oriented. There are a few restaurants and shops on the island, but they aren’t overwhelming. While you are driving around the island, you aren’t bombarded with billboards and fast food restaurants, you instead are greeted by gorgeous views and scenery. While we were on the island we even saw several deer! There are bike paths all throughout the island, a pier over the inter coastal waterway, a beautiful historic area and some of the nicest people you will ever meet in your life. Everyone that we interacted with from the gas station staff to people on the beach were friendly and relaxed.

[Tweet theme=”tweet-box-normal-blue”]Jekyll Island is one of the most gorgeous beach locations that we have visited. [/Tweet]

Tip: Visit the Jekyll Market if you get a chance, it is a fun and unique store, my favorite on the island! 

Sunday my hubby spent a few hours fishing from the pier while little man and I relaxed in the room (it was nice to sleep in!). We then visited the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, I am a lover of all things sea turtles, so this was so fun for me. The center does education and rehabilitation of sea turtles in the area and across the U.S. 

What a fun place! I can’t wait to share the details of our Jekyll Island trip on the blog soon! #georgiaseaturtlecenter #georgiaseaturtles #seaturtle #jekyllisland #jekyllimage #momblog #motherhood #blogginglife

A photo posted by Loving.Living.Lancaster. (@lovinglivinglancaster) on Sep 11, 2016 at 8:04pm PDT

 

The Hotel

When we arrived at the hotel, it was super late. I honestly didn’t expect anyone to be waiting on us, but as soon as we arrived, the hotel valet came down the steps with a huge smile on his face and welcomed us to Jekyll Island Club Hotel. When we walked in to the front desk to check in, the front desk clerk greeted us in the same way- “Welcome to Jekyll Island Club Hotel, we’ve been waiting for you”. How nice is that? Southern hospitality at its best. The valet helped us to unload everything from the car and took our luggage to our room. The same valet was at the hotel on Saturday and even knew my husband and son by name (he also asked me my name and called me by my name each time he saw me-so impressive).

The hotel grounds are some of the most gorgeous grounds I have seen. I love that the hotel has preserved the history of the hotel, but also updated and added modern amenities. The furniture in the room was one of my favorite features-it is gorgeous wood and just feels like ‘real’ furniture-not the cheap stuff you see at most hotels. The Jekyll Island Club Hotel drips with southern charm and hospitality. There are rocking chairs on the hotel’s wraparound porch, big ferns hanging from the porch and an air of relaxation as soon as you step out of your car.

The hotel boasts amenities and activities for everyone in the family, including: bike rentals, on-site dining, a swimming pool, golf, spa and much more.

We had an amazing experience at the Jekyll Island Club hotel and can’t wait to return. We are even thinking about returning next year for our anniversary!

[Tweet theme=”tweet-box-normal-blue”]We had an amazing experience at the Jekyll Island Club hotel and can’t wait to return.[/Tweet]

 

 Have you ever been to Jekyll Island?