03-05-2025
SC Has One of 10 Best New Resorts in the US, Travel + Leisure Says. See Where the Others Are
By Lyn Riddle
The State
A South Carolina coastal resort has been named by Travel + Leisure magazine among the top 10 new resorts in the United States.
The Dunlin, an Auberge Resorts Collection hotel named for a shorebird, opened this past summer along the marshlands of the Kiawah River on John's Island.
It is 20 miles south of Charleston.
Elizabeth Rhodes, a Travel + Leisure associate digital editor and native South Carolinian, called the 2,000-acre resort 'a love letter to laid-back Lowcountry living.'
The Dunlin, named for a shorebird, opened less than a year ago along the marshlands of the Kiawah River on John's Island. It was named by Travel + Leisure magazine among the top 10 new resorts in the United States.
The Dunlin, Auberge Resorts Collection/TNS
She said the 72 guest rooms and suites spread across several buildings 'feel more like a group of Southern homes.'
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There are three restaurants. Linnette's, the signature restaurant, is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and includes all the Lowcountry favorites from shrimp and grits to fried chicken as well as a 45-day dry aged New York Strip.
Catch of the day and vegetables from local farms change with the season.
The lobby bar is called Willet Room. 'This is where to sit if you'd like a light lunch, to try a rare whiskey, or to linger in the early evening with close friends over wood fire-grilled oysters and a Charleston Swizzle,' the resort says.
The Cove is a riverfront pool with cocktails and private cabanas. The pool is also lined with 1950s-inspired umbrellas and loungers.
'I'm well-versed in the magic of the Lowcountry,' Rhodes wrote. 'I checked into The Dunlin this past fall with my sister (a Charleston local) for a girls getaway.'
They watched the sun set with Charleston swizzles on the porch, dined on caviar-topped fried oysters at Linnette's, and swam in the marshfront pool.
'But the most exciting moment of our stay happened during our Into the Salt Marsh excursion, when more than a dozen dolphins jumped and swam all around our boat in the Kiawah River,' she said.
The resort also features a number of experiences, including crabbing, sunrise yoga, and a trek with a naturalist.
The Dunlin includes Aster spa, which the resort says is inspired by French skincare traditions that uses 'skincare products with the healing properties of local Aster honey.'
Rhodes reports the cost to stay begins at $749 for doubles.
The Dunlin opened this past summer along the marshlands of the Kiawah River on John's Island.
The Dunlin, Auberge Resorts Collection/TNS
Other resorts on the list are:
The Brant, Nantucket, Massachusetts
Casa Loma Beach Hotel, Laguna Beach, California
The Dunes on the Waterfront, Ogunquit, Maine
Grand Hyatt Deer Valley, Utah
Hotel Saint Augustine, Houston
Palm House, Palm Beach, Florida
Pendry Natirar, Peapack, New Jersey
Regent Santa Monica Beach, California
Terra Palm Springs, California
Copyright 2025 The State. Visit Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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