Montage Palmetto Bluff

The Inn at Palmetto Bluff may be the first East Coast hotel from the California-based Montage Resorts, but it would take a keen eye indeed to notice much Laguna Beach influence here — this place, though brand new, is absolutely authentic, its fifty clapboard cottages built in the local Low Country style of the South Carolina coast. This is the old South, make no mistake: you're midway between Hilton Head and Savannah, Georgia, and that famed Southern hospitality is on display from the moment you check in.

The decidedly upscale accommodations blur the lines between indoor and outdoor luxury. Interiors boast pine floors, fireplaces, massive plush beds, and palatial bathrooms with separate steam showers and bathtubs, while the screened, furnished terraces and balconies afford unparalleled views of the surrounding forest and lagoon.

What’s there to do here, besides just disappear? The wellness spa is a perennial favorite, demonstrating the aforementioned hospitality with a wide suite of treatments and a private pool. The May River Golf Club is one of the region’s finest, featuring a Jack Nicklaus signature course. And the natural setting of the Low Country is an attraction unto itself — options include yachting, kayaking, nature walks, and trips to the hotel’s beach club on Daufuski Island.