Serving Southern charm and chops, Jessamine – named after South Carolina’s state flower – is one of Montage Palmetto Bluff’s newest restaurants. Embracing the South’s iconic and warm hospitality, Jessamine offers all-day dining options including breakfast classics with views of the sunrise over picturesque landscapes in the morning, bolder flavors and creative steakhouse twists for lunch, and dinner. Considered the heart of dining on the Bluff, Jessamine offers daily dining and intimate indoor and outdoor seating on the Jessamine Veranda, as well as the well-appointed private dining room, “Vine.”

Nestled between the Lobby Lounge and Jessamine, the Octagon Bar & Gathering Place welcomes guests to a lively gathering place where tales are told, laughter lingers in the air, and nothing is taken too seriously. Cocktails, food and life are shared in this social hub. A namesake to the “Octagon House,” one of the first plantation homes that stood on the Bluff in years prior to the Wilson era, Octagon Bar features sharable bites, classic cocktails with a creative twist, locally crafted beers and our Signature barrel-aged Artillery Punch.

SPA
Set beside serene waterways and moss laden oak trees, Spa Montage will lull you into a peaceful state of mind, body and heart. The spa draws its inspiration from nature to create an indigenous spa experience. Incorporating elements of the Palmetto Bluff environment into the treatments provides a greater sense of place. 

FITNESS
Wellness at Montage Palmetto Bluff is centered around regaining your connection – to the earth, to others and most importantly, to yourself. Here you are surrounded by an abundance of natural opportunities to engage in activity through walking, biking or paddling and all of these opportunities are complimentary. If your idea of wellness is more structured, the resort's fitness facilities allow you to work out with state-of-the-art equipment while taking in serene views of the pools and nature. The Movement Studio offers yoga, pilates, spin and cardio classes to encourage you to break a sweat.

GOLF
Take in the majesty of century-old live oaks and serene native landscapes as you linger on the scenic, 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Course. Woven throughout the May River Forest are 7,171 yards, with several holes on the banks of the river. Plus, enhance your game in the world-class practice facility. Treat yourself to the ultimate golf paradise. Designed to challenge golfers of all skill levels, the 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Course meanders through the May River Forest and features wide, inviting fairways with strategic bunkers and natural waste areas. Champions Bermuda greens, well guarded by white-sand bunkers, test your nerves, while gently undulating slopes challenge your putting skills. All tee boxes and fairways feature Paspalum, the newest eco-friendly turf. Caddie service is required with each round, and you are encouraged to walk the course so you can best appreciate the beautiful native landscape.


YACHTING
Explore the waters of the May River aboard the decks of one of the two exquisite yachts. GRACE, sets sail on weekly scenic cruises, wine cruises and a Saturday brunch cruise and can also be reserved for private charters. PALMETTO BLUFF, a Hinckley Picnic Boat plays host to private charters and smaller group excursions on the river. 


ON THE WATER
Whether you’re looking for a reel good time or just a scenic ride through the Coastal Carolina marshlands, you’ll be out on the water early and often at Palmetto Bluff. For anglers, the options are as delightful as a Friday night fish fry – casting for largemouth bass in the freshwater ponds, fly-fishing for redfish in the salt marsh flats, trolling for trophies in the depths of the Atlantic. Whether you catch and release or cook up a perfect shore lunch, you’ll be thrilled to experience an array of fishing at its finest. Of course, the smooth and scenic waterways provide plenty of entertainment for those who aren’t inclined to bait the hook. You’ve never truly experienced a Lowcountry sunrise or sunset until you’ve seen one from a kayak or canoe, and the miles of water trails make for a paddler’s paradise. Palmetto Bluff offers plenty of group watercraft adventure and private charters, including the meticulously restored 1913 yacht Grace – a truly amazing way to experience the Carolina waters.
These are just a few of the activities that can be experienced on the waters in and around Palmetto Bluff:
- Boat tours to historic Daufuskie Island
- Boat tours to private beaches
- Full and half days on the water tubing and skiing
- Scenic dolphin tours
- Salt-water fishing
- Fresh-water fishing
- Paddleboarding


WILSON LAWN AND RACQUET CLUB
This expansive club facility includes eight Har-Tru tennis courts, two bocce courts, four courtside shelters and a well-equipped pro shop and pavilion. Healthy populations of pine and live oak provide shade and ambiance, while two lighted, exhibition-size courts are home to plenty of excitement, day and night. Clinics, lessons and tournaments complete the experience, so your whole family can look forward to the next big court appearance when playing tennis at Palmetto Bluff.


PALMETTO BLUFF SHOOTING CLUB
Hunting and the shooting sports have been a long-standing tradition on Palmetto Bluff for years (if not centuries). The Palmetto Bluff Shooting Club features 13 sporting clays stations winding through an expansive 40-acre forest. An elevated and covered 5-stand station, plus a wobble deck field make for a total of 15 shooting sites. The course is designed to be subordinate to the landscape while providing a fun and challenging recreational shooting environment for the novice through advanced shooter, regardless of age, ability, or experience.


BOUNDARY BOWLING AND GAME ROOM
The social hub of Moreland Village, the Boundary features a four-lane, state of the art bowling alley and game room equipped with pool tables, a foosball and shuffleboard table, board games and card tables. 


PALMETTO BLUFF CONSERVANCY
The Palmetto Bluff Conservancy is dedicated to increasing an understanding of the natural and cultural environment of the Lowcountry. From biological and archaeological studies by PhD-level scientists to the “citizen science” bluebird survey, the Conservancy team is actively involved in a number of research initiatives at the Bluff. Current projects include surveys of alligator, turtle, white-tailed deer and bird populations, monitoring of bald eagle nests, a study of cavity-nest use and correlation with habitat, and the analysis of artifacts from antebellum Pettigrew Plantation. Guests may participate in research, tour with the Conservancy or attend monthly lectures.


TRADITIONS
The South is an area rooted in tradition. Discover a place where bicycles are a main mode of transportation, afternoons are spent “porching” – socializing while sipping sweet tea, early evening sampling of Culinary Heirlooms – roasted oysters, shrimp and grits, frogmore stew or Hoppin’ Johns  – and nightfall reflections on the day’s events while roasting s’mores.


EQUESTRIAN
Longfield Stables’ 173-acre farm, boarding and training facility stands out among the best in the country. The Stables include a covered arena, an FEI regulation outdoor dressage arena, a 5-acre turf event field available for schooling horses and special events, main barn and receiving barn, both featuring oversized stalls.


HOLIDAYS
Holidays bring a wealth of activity to the resort. Friends and family gather year after year celebrating with classic traditions and creating new ones. Property-wide team scavenger hunts across the twenty thousand acres, themed parades along the Village Green, 5k runs, poolside celebrations and so many more activities are a part of the experience of Palmetto Bluff.



ART & CULTURE

PALMETTO BLUFF HISTORY
The oldest artifacts found at Palmetto Bluff, stone tools made by Paleoindians, date to 10,000 B.C. Following these early visitors, generations of Native Americans came to Palmetto Bluff to harvest oysters and fish in the rivers, and to hunt and gather in the forests. Today, archaeologists find oyster shells, bones, and fragments of clay pots and stone tools as evidence of the prehistoric people. However, by 1562, when Jean Ribaut arrived at Parris Island, the land of Palmetto Bluff appeared to have been uninhabited. In 1730, British naval officer Admiral George Lord Anson purchased the property. However, Anson never lived here. Instead, after sailing around the globe and capturing Spanish galleons, he returned to England to enjoy his fame and fortune. In 1757, Anson divided his May River estate into parcels that were sold as individual plantations. In the antebellum era, Palmetto Bluff was comprised of 21 plantations. One of the plantation owners was Thomas Fenwick Drayton, commander of the Confederate soldiers at Fort Walker on Hilton Head Island during the Battle of Port Royal. In this battle, General Drayton faced his own brother, Captain Percival Drayton, commander of a Federal gunboat. The Union navy easily defeated the Confederate forces and General Drayton was forced to order a retreat.

WILSON VILLAGE RUINS
Contributing to the rich history of Palmetto Bluff, the ruins that grace the Village Green are all that remains of R.T. Wilson, Jr.’s “Palmetto Lodge.” Shortly after the turn of the twentieth century, R.T. Wilson, Jr. entertained lavishly in his magnificent 72-room home, complete with grand ballroom. The Palmetto Bluff estate was designed with guests in mind. Visitors arrived at the estate by way of a Savannah Line steamship, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, or the Seaboard Airline train. The social pages of the New York Times listed the comings and goings of the New York elite with frequent mention of individuals “leaving today to visit Mr. and Mrs. R.T. Wilson of Palmetto Bluff, S.C.” Guests would stay for weeks, enjoying Mrs. Wilson’s lavish parties. One can only imagine the elegance and bounty of the meals served there, with the freshest of ingredients harvested from the surrounding waters and woods, and the produce of Wilson’s extensive farms. The Wilsons’ pastoral winters at Palmetto Bluff came to a sudden and tragic halt in 1926 when, during their occupancy, a fire broke out in the attic of their mansion that could not be controlled. The destruction of the 14-year-old mansion was heartbreaking to Richard Wilson Jr., who is reported to have wept profusely at the loss and had to be twice carried from the burning building. In ill health, with liver and other problems, he made no attempt to rebuild the mansion and sold the entire property, including the sawmill and other business properties, to the Varn Turpentine and Cattle Company in 1926.


CONSERVANCY ARTS
The art of the Carolina Lowcountry has evolved as a distillate of the history and geography which make Palmetto Bluff – and this region – unique in the world. It ranges in style from the primitive folk art of the Sea Islands to the exquisite and sophisticated “naïve” paintings of Jonathon Green – from the Charleston etchings of Hutty and Verner, to the stunning landscapes of Ray Ellis and Wes Fraser. The quality of light in the Lowcountry, in all seasons, has been compared to that of Provence, and this may help to explain why the region has been a magnet to artists all over the world for many years. But the most compelling draw is the stunning natural beauty of the rivers, marshes and maritime forst, as well as the hope, optimism and warm good nature of the people which characterize this rare and mystical place.

GULLAH CULTURE
The Gullah are descendants of enslaved Africans who lived in the Lowcountry region. The Gullah culture is rich in heritage particularly on the Hilton Head and Daufuskie Islands, stemming from the slave descendants who stayed and made the area their home. Their culture arose from slaves brought to South Carolina and Georgia from countries like Sierra Leone and Angola to work the rice, cotton and indigo plantations thriving in the region. The owners left their plantations in the capable hands of African overseers, a practice they kept up well into the American Civil War. Both of these circumstances provided opportunities for the Sea Island slaves to keep their African traditions alive with a richer quality than inland cities and states had. Gullah people continued to practice their traditional culture with little influence from the outside world well into the 20th century. Historians, linguists, and anthropologists have flocked to study their culture. The Gullah preserve their unique way of life and have developed local museums, exhibits, festivals and raised awareness of their culture. Just over the bridge on Hilton Head and across the waters to Daufuskie are back roads still unpaved, with homes built by freed slaves and the Gullah still practicing their native trades of ship building, shrimping, basket weaving, and oyster harvesting.



DESTINATION

PALMETTO BLUFF
Situated along the coast of South Carolina between Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia, Palmetto Bluff is a 20,000-acre development encompassing an extensive nature preserve; walking trails; a vibrant Village center complete with river access, an array of land activities and a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course. The Inn at Palmetto Bluff, a AAA Five Diamond resort and Spa managed by Montage Hotels and Resorts rests within the Village of Wilson at Palmetto Bluff. Wilson Village is a place rooted in time, a picture-perfect small town village, resting along the May River, from the very best of the good old days. An expansive village green, charming restaurants, boutiques, and a genuine sense of good old-fashioned community, it’s the very ideal of a simple, memorable place where you enjoy everyone you meet and everything you do. Every day here brings something new and refreshing. A breakfast at Buffalos, and an afternoon treasure hunt in the local boutiques. An enriching family tour of the History Center, a kayak adventure from Wilson’s Landing, then a quick trip to RT’s Market for dinner fixings. It’s the rare place where life is what you make it, nothing more, nothing less – the perfect place at the perfect pace for your perfect vacation.

BLUFFTON
Located just beyond Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton, is a quaint, charming, coastal town whose name refers to its location atop a scenic bluff along the May River. Antebellum homes, historic churches and unique shops rest along the oak-lined streets of Bluffton’s downtown historic district, offering a taste of Lowcountry living. The feeling in town, often referred to as, “A Bluffton State of Mind,” is apparent as you explore unique artisan shops, galleries, restaurants and boutiques.

HILTON HEAD
A mere 30 minutes away, on Hilton Head Island, are some of the region’s most pristine beaches, a wealth of restaurants, world-class golf courses and tennis. The ideal day excursion, the island can be visited in one of the resort's complimentary Mercedes or via a daily boat trip over to Harbour Town.

BEAUFORT
Tucked into narrow interlocking streets and adorned by natural foliage and centuries-old, moss-draped live oak trees, downtown Beaufort is one of the gems of the region. The city’s historic district can be explored with a professional guide, either walking, by horse-drawn carriage, or touring van. Its downtown area has an eclectic array of shops and art galleries. Fine homes from the Civil War era can be found in the eastern portion of town, many with unrivaled water views.

SAVANNAH
Just 30 minutes south of Palmetto Bluff is the historic port-city of Savannah. Savannah’s Historic District, is one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the United States, with 22 park squares, historic buildings and the oldest antebellum rail facility in America. Home to Savannah College of Art and Design, one of the nation’s premier art institutes, the city abounds with art in a variety of forms. Its cobblestone streets welcome visitors to explore the architecture, beauty, history and shops independently or through one of the many guided tours.