The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort

A 1935 oceanfront resort on St. Simons Island, Georgia — 199 rooms, on the National Register, family-owned, with a stretch of beach in front and a golf course on St. Simons. The King and Prince has been the Georgia coast family-vacation booking since FDR's first term. Over four decades and three renovations, the property has stayed in the same family.

In a Sea Islands lodging market that includes the Cloister at Sea Island (the famously expensive private-club resort) and a handful of other oceanfront properties, the King and Prince is the multi-generational-family middle.

The setting

The resort sits on Arnold Road in St. Simons Island's east-side oceanfront. The 199-room main building anchors the property; villas and townhomes are spread across the parcel. The property's beach is at the front. Walking distance to the East Beach pier and the Coast Guard Station — 5 minutes south. The St. Simons village (with the lighthouse, the bookshop, the restaurants) is 5–10 minutes by car.

The drive in from Jacksonville is 90 minutes north on I-95; from Savannah, 75 minutes south. Brunswick is the mainland city — the Sidney Lanier Bridge gets you onto the island.

The building

The original 1935 main building — Mediterranean-Mission-style, with stucco walls, red-tile roofs, and the kind of late-Depression-era resort architecture the Georgia coast built when the railroads first turned the islands into vacation destinations. Materials are clapboard, stone, and the Spanish-Mission-leaning detail. Public spaces include the lobby, the multiple restaurants, the pool decks, and the beach.

Family-owned through generations. The continuity is the differentiator.

The rooms

199 rooms across the main building, the cabanas, and the villa/townhome categories. From around $425 in shoulder seasons; peak summer (July–August) rates run higher. Layouts include standard rooms, oceanfront kings, suites, cabanas, and full villas with kitchens. Bathrooms have been updated; the main-building rooms are smaller and more historic, the cabanas and villas are larger and more contemporary.

Food & drink

ECHO is the destination on-property restaurant — Coastal Georgia and Lowcountry-leaning, dinner most nights, plus breakfast and lunch. The Lobby Bar runs the cocktail program; Tabby's Beach Pavilion runs the casual oceanfront lunch and afternoon menu in season. All open to non-guests.

On the property

A real full-resort program:

• Heated outdoor pool, oceanfront cabana pool
• Direct beach access
• Spa
• Hampton Club golf course (a few minutes by car, on the north end of St. Simons)
• ECHO and Tabby's restaurants
• Concierge for Jekyll Island day-trips, Sapelo Island, and Cumberland Island
• Open year-round

Who it's for

• Multi-generational family vacations on the Georgia coast
• Repeat Sea Islands visitors who like family-owned resorts
• Couples doing an oceanfront long weekend
• Golfers — the Hampton Club is a regular play

Who it's not for

• Travelers wanting a small intimate inn — King and Prince is full-resort scale
• Anyone wanting the Cloister at Sea Island private-club experience — different category and price tier
• Light-amenity guests on a tight budget

Nearby

The St. Simons Lighthouse (1872) and the village's restaurants and shops (Halyards, the Crab Trap, Barbara Jean's) are 10 minutes by car. The Hampton Club golf course is on the north end of St. Simons. Jekyll Island (the millionaire's-club-turned-state-park) is 30 minutes south. Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve (the historic Geechee community) is 90 minutes north by ferry. Cumberland Island National Seashore (with the wild horses and the Carnegie estate ruins) is 90 minutes south by ferry from St. Marys. Brunswick's historic district is 20 minutes northwest.