KIAWAH ISLAND, SC— A $120 million lodging investment in South Carolina’s premier industry— tourism— is on track here at this island resort destination, where developers are bringing the 255-room hotel, The Sanctuary, out of the ground. Slated to open in March 2004, the four-story luxury oceanfront property, sited on 50 acres, will complement the existing Kiawah Island Golf Resort, which encompasses the 150-room Kiawah Island Inn, 600 villas and residences, conference center, two championship tennis centers, five championship golf courses and restaurants. The property is owned by William Goodwin, a principal in Historic Hotels Nashville, LLC, which also owns The Hermitage Hotel, Nashville, TN, and The Jefferson Hotel, Richmond, VA, as well as the Kiawah Island Golf Resort, which he purchased in 1993. According to Prem Devadas, managing director for the ownership group and part owner of The Hermitage, “unlike almost any other development project of this type that’s been done in the last few years, this is not built upon an end-goal financial model…in purchasing Kiawah we determined that our goal would be to try and develop it into the finest oceanfront resort on the East Coast. We recognized in order to achieve that— in addition to investing in all the existing amenities— we would need to develop a luxury hotel.” Originally the plan was to transform the Kiawah Island Inn, doubling its room inventory to 300. However, after 18 months that strategy was abandoned and the development focus became a 50-acre parcel of oceanfront land, which already was zoned for a luxury hotel. After working through some environmental “challenges”— there were wetlands on the parcel that needed to be filled to develop the hotel— The Sanctuary was able to get under way. “It was a year and an half of trying to get a permit to fill and we were ultimately successful. It was a win-win for everybody in the end because we recreated over three acres of wetlands on the site, but away from the ocean and we had a cash donation [$300,000] to the Nature Conservancy, which they in turn used to purchase a piece of wetlands they wanted to protect,” said Devadas, noting the move was in keeping with the island’s award-winning approach to the environment. The recreated wetlands also will become a part of the hotel’s nature walk offerings when it opens. The property also will reflect the heritage of neighboring Charleston in its construction. “We worked very hard on the architecture,” said Devadas. The first floor of the hotel is made of oversize brick secured by “old-style” mortaring, while the upper floors have lightly scored hand-applied stucco. The roof is slate with copper accents, while columns and ironwork are in abundance, as are small gardens, throughout the property. “It leaves you with this real historic feel,” he added. One significant bow in that direction by ownership has been the transplantation of 75 live oaks with a minimum height of 50 feet that will ultimately line the entranceway to The Sanctuary and frame it as well. Presently held in a tree bank, the effort cost $1 million. In addition, $1.5 million worth of dirt was brought in to elevate the first floor of the hotel from eight feet to 20 feet so ocean views predominate from every public room. Such touches, however, are in keeping with the vision to make The Sanctuary a Five-Star/Five-Diamond property and to attract that market’s matching clientele, with an ultimate 50/50 mix of business and leisure. There is a private concierge level and 18,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 1,728-square foot executive boardroom suite. “Maybe it sounds a little bit like dreaming, but on the business side of it, we do believe that if we create something that is truly superior to anything else out there that the ultra-luxury traveler will pay whatever rate is appropriate in order to stay there. We also conversely believe if you just build a luxury property that is equivalent or falls slightly
The Sanctuary