KIAWAH ISLAND, SC – Kiawah Island Golf Resort today confirmed that it is in the initial planning stages to determine the economic viability of constructing up to a 150-room hotel on the West side of the island on the site of the former Kiawah Island Inn. The resort is also studying the feasibility of constructing a number of four-bedroom golf cottages adjacent to The Ocean Course.
According to Roger Warren, president of Kiawah Island Golf Resort, the resort has engaged three architectural firms to present style concepts and site plans for redeveloping both sites, the West Beach area of Kiawah Island, and the East side of the island near The Ocean Course.
The West Beach facilities would provide a value oriented resort experience including boutique accommodations, pools, retail space, meeting space, restaurants, and a new clubhouse for the Cougar Point Golf Course.
The cottages near The Ocean Course, Warren explains, “would be designed to enhance the experience of golf groups who come to Kiawah Island to be totally immersed in the golf experience.”
Warren said that the concepts would be presented to the resort’s ownership board for review. “Based on the estimated costs of the project and the projected health of the resort vacation market, they will determine if the economic environment warrants moving forward with the construction.”
The proposed projects are in keeping with the quality that the current owners have been committed to and have demonstrated over the last two decades. Since acquiring the resort in 1993, the owners have invested and upgraded most of the resort facilities and amenities. Some of the improvements include; The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, an oceanfront hotel and spa, built in 2004; a clubhouse at The Ocean Course, site of this year’s PGA Championship opened in 2007; two new “water park” style pools built this year; three new golf clubhouses at Osprey Point, Turtle Point and Oak Point and improvements to the Roy Barth Tennis Center at East Beach.
Located along 10 miles of pristine beach just south of Charleston, South Carolina, Kiawah Island Golf Resort was recently named the No. 1 golf resort on the U.S. Mainland by readers of the prestigious Conde Nast Traveler magazine. The publication also named Kiawah as the No. 3 overall resort on the U.S. Mainland. TennisResortsOnline.com named it the No. 1 tennis resort in the in the world for six of the last seven years. Kiawah Island is also known as one of the top eco-friendly resorts in the U.S., and its beach was named one of the 10 best beaches in America by famed “beachologist,” Dr. Stephen Leatherman, aka Dr. Beach. In addition to Forbes Five Star/AAA Five Diamond Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, the resort’s 255-room oceanfront hotel and spa, the resort manages 509 private villas and luxury homes, nine restaurants, two tennis centers, a renowned recreation and nature program and has five championship golf courses, including The Ocean Course, host of the 1991 Ryder Cup and this year’s 2012 PGA Championship.
For more information on the resort, visit www.kiawahresort.com or call 800-654-2924. Visit www.kiawahgreen.com to learn more about Kiawah Island Golf Resort’s environmental commitment.
