Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
On South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island, the beaches are public, and most of the major resorts front the Atlantic Ocean on the island’s eastern edge. Hilton Head resorts “are really dedicated to ensuring products and offerings are updated and fresh,” said Charlie Clark, vice president of communications at the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce.
The 5,000-acre oceanfront Sea Pines Resort put millions of dollars into its 20,000 square feet of indoor event space. The newer Sea Pines Beach Club is a two-story beachfront venue with nearly 2,000 square feet of function space, including the Atlantic Room with a covered outdoor deck.
The Harbour Town Clubhouse and its 10,000 square feet of function space overlooks the ninth hole of the resort’s famed Harbour Town Golf Links. Sea Pines’ Plantation Golf Club has more than 6,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space, including the Magnolia Room, with floor-to-ceiling windows delivering golf views.
In January, the beachfront Hilton Head Marriott Resort and Spa in Palmetto Dunes Resort unveiled a renovation that reworked the lobby, refreshed its 46,000 square feet of meeting space and added the new Blue Restaurant and Lounge. The 15,000-square-foot Basshead Oceanfront Deck can seat 800 for dinner.
Though Hilton Head is still widely known for its golf courses, it’s increasingly becoming known for its cuisine, Clark said. Groups can arrange oyster roasts and low-country boils on the beach or go out on a shrimp boat to catch dinner. At the Skull Creek Dockside Restaurant, groups of 150 can use the entire second floor that overlooks Skull Creek and has an outdoor deck “with one of the best sunsets on the island,” she said.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
One of the biggest draws in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is its classic, all-American boardwalk, and development along that boardwalk is booming.
Construction is underway at the new Hilton Ocean 16 hotel, which is slated to open in 2019 with 330 oceanfront guest units. The hotel will connect by boardwalk to the new 55,000-square-foot Oceanfront Beach Club Entertainment Complex, which will feature several new restaurants, retail stores and a live-music venue.
The Marriott Resort and Spa at Grande Dunes wrapped up a $14 million renovation of its 405 guest rooms last year and has 45,000 square feet of on-site meeting space in 15 meeting rooms. Plans are underway to demolish two beachfront Breakers Resort hotels to make way for a new 17-story Residence Inn Marriott, a project that would include public space and two mixed-use areas with retail, restaurants and entertainment.
South Bay Inn and Suites will be another new oceanfront resort that will have 242 guest rooms, a full-service restaurant and bar, and an indoor water park when it opens this summer.
The city’s largest meeting venue is the 250,000-square-foot Myrtle Beach Convention Center, which connects to the 400-guest-room Sheraton. The Embassy Suites at Kingston Plantation is another major conference hotel, with 70,000 square feet of event space, 29 meeting rooms and two on-site restaurants.
Groups can golf at nearly 100 different courses or get on the water, either the Atlantic Ocean or the Intracoastal Waterway, for any number of water activities and boat cruises.
