The Lodge at Sea Island

Our first visit to Sea Island will absolutely be our last. There was a massive cockroach in the suite, and the pool staff were unbelievably rude. They told the kids off for whooping as they went down the pool slide. I've traveled around the world and stayed at five- and six-star resorts. Never again.

The Lodge at Sea Island is undeniably beautiful, with manicured grounds and sweeping coastal views. But this was our first family vacation with our four-month-old daughter, and the stay left us exhausted and disappointed. We expected five-star service and amenities after reading the glowing reviews, but the experience was stressful from the first night. Around 5 a.m., fire alarms went off and startled us out of bed. Our baby screamed in terror. We got her calm and back to sleep nearly two hours later, then the alarm sounded again around 6 and once more around 8. Sleep was over, and our day started badly. No one at the front desk or in management acknowledged the frightening disruption. There was no apology, explanation, or check-in, despite knowing we had a baby. For a five-star property, that lack of communication and accountability was inexcusable. The next day, a leak had buckets catching drips all through the front lobby. Staff knocked and entered our room, saying it was the source and they needed access all day. I hurriedly packed our belongings and took the baby out so she could nap and settle. It was too hot to be outdoors with an infant, so I spent much of the time walking laps around the Beach Club lobby to keep her calm and out of the sun. Hours later, my husband got a text saying, “Oops, wrong room,” and they no longer needed access. By then we'd rearranged our whole day, and I was far away with a baby and all her things. Again, nobody apologized or offered to make up for the inconvenience. On checkout morning, we woke at 4 a.m. to prepare for a long travel day and found there was no running water in our room. No water for brushing our teeth, showering, or using the toilet. We had to rinse off and get ready with bottled water. Once again, there was no apology, explanation, or offer to make up for the failure of basic services. Even the little touches missed the mark. The nightly milk and cookies service sounds lovely, but the cookies were cold rather than the warm treat you'd expect. The food overall was underwhelming, and service felt detached and inconsistent. We left without any compensation or even a sincere “we're sorry.” This was meant to be a special memory-making trip with our daughter, but instead we got disruption and a lack of care. We won't return to The Lodge at Sea Island. On paper it may have five stars, but our stay was far from luxurious. We'll look elsewhere for future family trips and hope others have better luck.

We stayed at Cloister, so I can't say anything about the rooms. The food was awful, though. I don't know how this place gets five stars. They should make their chef eat what they cook, maybe then it'll improve.

The people, food, service, and accommodations were all amazing. Nothing to complain about, excellent stay!