The Lodge on Little St. Simons Island
A 10,000-acre private barrier island — 16 rooms, fully inclusive, no day-trippers.
A 16-room lodge on a 10,000-acre privately owned barrier island off the Georgia coast, accessible only by the property's own ferry. Little St. Simons Island has no day-trippers. Sixteen rooms is the entire capacity of the lodge, and reservations include all meals, all activities, and the boat over from St. Simons. The island is owned by a single family and run as a small ecotourism property.
It is the rare American luxury property where the unit of luxury is genuine privacy. There is no other commerce on the 10,000 acres.
The setting
Little St. Simons sits east of St. Simons Island, in Georgia's Golden Isles. The lodge is reached by a 15-minute boat ride from the Hampton River dock on St. Simons; cars stay on the mainland. Once on the island, you're on 10,000 acres of maritime forest, salt marsh, beach, and tidal creek, with seven miles of undeveloped Atlantic beach on the eastern shore. The drive from Brunswick or the Jacksonville airport (JAX) is roughly 90 minutes; the boat is 15.
Sea turtles nest on the beach in summer. Black bears occasionally swim across from the mainland. The island's been continuously protected since the 1800s.
The building
The original Hunting Lodge (built 1917 by the Berolzheimer family, who at the time owned the entire island) and a few outbuildings — a dining hall, a cottage cluster, the Bay House — make up the property. Materials run to stone, hand-hewn timber, pine paneling, and wool. Interiors are working-lodge — bookcases full of Audubon prints, a fireplace nobody redecorates, the kind of comfortable that fifty years of use produces. Pet artifact: a serious natural-history library.
The rooms
Sixteen rooms across the Hunting Lodge, the Bay House, the Cedar House, the River Lodge, and a few cottages. Beds are kings or queens; bathrooms are simple, well-kept. Wi-Fi is available in the main lodge but not consistently in rooms. From-rates open around $1,295 per person per night in season, fully inclusive of meals, activities, and the boat. Maximum capacity for the entire island at one time is 32 guests.
Food & drink
The dining room — open to overnight guests only — runs three meals with the kind of menu that pulls from the property's own waters and gardens (red drum, marsh oysters, local produce). The wine list is solid; the bar pours late. Wine is included for guests. Non-guests cannot book.
On the property
A heated outdoor pool, fishing (fly and conventional), kayaking and paddleboarding on the tidal creeks, biking on miles of forest trails, daily naturalist programs, beach cookouts, sunrise and sunset birding. Seven miles of undeveloped Atlantic beach. The naturalist staff is the property's signature program.
- Heated outdoor pool
- Bicycles, kayaks, fishing gear (all included)
- Daily naturalist programs
- Seven miles of private Atlantic beach
- All meals and wine included
- Open year-round
Who it's for
- Travelers comparing the Lodge with Cumberland Island's Greyfield, with the same logic
- Birders, naturalists, and serious fishermen
- Couples on a milestone trip who want true privacy
- Anyone for whom "no day-trippers, anywhere on 10,000 acres" is the deciding factor
Who it's not for
- Travelers wanting fast, polished resort service — this is a working lodge, not a Forbes Five-Star
- Anyone who needs constant cell service or full-property Wi-Fi
- Pet owners (no pets allowed)
Nearby
There is no nearby. The 10,000 acres are the property; the next inhabited island is St. Simons, fifteen minutes by ferry. On St. Simons proper, the village has Halyards Restaurant, ECHO, and Tramici. Sapelo Island, just north, is reachable as a separate day trip. Cumberland Island, three islands south, is the comparable Georgia barrier-island experience.
