St. Regis Resort-Topsail Island, NC

Old Feb 20th, 2004, 05:46 PM
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em
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St. Regis Resort-Topsail Island, NC

We are considering staying for our annual beach vacation at St. Regis Resort, Topsail Island in August 2004. Has anyone stayed here and know how the accomadations are for 2 weeks of stay? We have a neighbor that has stayed for several years there in the same unit, but it is not avail. the weeks we will be there. Any info. would be helpful. Thanks !!
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Old Mar 9th, 2004, 12:52 PM
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St. Regis is on the north end of Topsail Island. It has a pool and a very good Italian Restaurant, Pallotti's, on the grounds. Pallotti's is one of my favorite places to dine on Topsail. Seafood Marinara, delish. St. Regis is on the beach but I'm not sure how nice as I've never stayed there. My advice might be to rent a cottage, however, as the rents at St. Regis are as high as the average Oceanfront cottage on Topsail. The best places to rent from on Topsail are Ward's, Bryson's and Century 21. Stay away from Topsail Realty.
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Old Mar 11th, 2004, 05:49 PM
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Pallotti's is at the Villa Capriani Resort, Shane.

St. Regis is located further north on the island than the Villa and is showing age. The St. Regis is about 15-18 years old, and has not been very well maintained, imho. All units are privately owned, so each unit will vary widely in condition and decor.

The resort itself consists of three buildings, each about 8 stories high. The exterior is stucco, and is usually colored with mildew in the shady areas. Count on having sand/water in the elevators at all times, waiting for the elevators at all times, and having to get up early to get a deck chair by the pool.

The beach itself is fine - wide and sandy, but you have to tote your own chairs/umbrellas down and up.

We have stayed at the Regis occasionally before, but we now vacation at the Villa Capriani. The location on the island is better, there are more pool choices, and the overall condition is much better.
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Old Mar 12th, 2004, 04:42 AM
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Thank you for the correction, Sugar Plum. The old noggin' must have been fogged when I confused Villa Capriani with St. Regis. Villa Capriani is much more pleasant on the eyes than St. Regis. I believe the restaurants attempted at St. Regis routinely fail and are second rate. When one considers that restaurants of the caliber of Soundside or Beauchaine's II are a ten minute drive south and Latitude 34 is a twenty minute drive south, it is no wonder that St. Regis does not attract interesting dining. As an a humorous aside, I proposed to my future wife in 1990 at whatever restaurant was at St. Regis at the time and she told me to ask her at a more romantically appealing restaurant. The restaurant where I did propose to my wife would be swept away in the 1996 hurricane. However, the marriage would not be as ephemeral.
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Old Mar 17th, 2004, 12:40 PM
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How true, Shane. We tried the last restaurant iteration at the Regis (methinks it was called The Palms) during the summer/fall of 2002, and I'm not surprised it failed. Mediocre food and out of the way location. We visit Topsail about 6 times a year, and Soundside and Beauchaine's never fail to produce excellent food and good service.

Which restaurant fell victim to the hurricane? We have vacationed at Topsail since 1995, so it may have vanished prior to us being able to try it.
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Old Mar 17th, 2004, 01:10 PM
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The Rusty Scupper, which I believe is a mini-chain but locally owned and managed. Also, Barnacle Bill's was a very nice place for a good piece of tuna or swordfish. That said, let me suggest that you give Latitude 34 a try. As an aside, don't tell too many people about what a jewel Topsail is.
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Old Mar 27th, 2004, 04:19 PM
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em, Shane, and Sugar Plum,

I own at the St. Regis. Sugar Plum's criticisms are not without merit. In the past the place has not been maintained as it should be. That is changing.

A major renovation is in the late planning stages, but work will be limited to one building at a time in the off season so it shouldn't disrupt your stay. The outdoor pool is in very good shape (a resurfacing of the deck is underway). The indoor pool recently received a new heating system and a general sprucing up. The exercise room has new equipment. What used to be the Palm Court Restaurant will be reopening under in a few weeks under a new name, Atlantis, and the current owner has done a marvellous job -- the restaurant scores very high with owners. St. Regis also has an informal Italian Restaurant called Pepperoni's and a very nice general store with surprisingly good prices. St. Regis's rents are very competitive...they would certainly be higher were it not for the past problems Sugar Plum described.

If you want an outdoor pool, indoor pool, fitness center, an on-site grocery, two restaurants, fantastic views, good parking, and a great uncrowded beach, the St. Regis is pretty hard to beat. And it will only get better.

Units are individually owned (that is also true at the Villa Capriani) so it pays to ask about furnishings, rules of the house, beach equipment, etc.

Good luck, em. If you decide on the St. Regis, please let me know how you enjoy your stay.

Incidentally, Shane, Il Beauchaine's is moving onto the island. Hope they don't lose that special touch...it is my favorite. My wife prefers Soundside. Both are very, very good.
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Old Mar 27th, 2004, 05:58 PM
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I second the Latitude 34 recommendation. I loved Topsail -- we spent a weekend there recently, at the Sea Vista Motel (actually, it's a "motelminium," where the rooms are all privately owned). The Sea Vista is right across the street from Latitude 34. The proprietors were incredibly friendly and helpful to us during our stay, and it was RIGHT on the beach. Our room (303) was very cute, but I believe the rooms vary quite a bit -- ours was apparently one of the best. Just FYI!
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Old Mar 29th, 2004, 08:54 AM
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Glad to hear the St. Regis is sprucing up. I might give the new restaurant a try this year. Please post, the gillons, if you eat there so we might get an idea of whether the food is good there. Incidentally, both Soundside and Beauchaine's once inhabited the premises of where Latitude 34 is located (sharing quarters with the old Topsail Sound Pier and convenience store, Kips). Soundside started there in 1982 until they built their own place about 1990 in Surf City. The long-gone Sunsets had about 3 years there and then was replaced by Beauchaine's. In my experience, women tend to like Soundside best due to atmosphere but I prefer Latitude 34 and Beauchaine's. I've had a couple mediocre meals at Soundside over the last few years so I eat there at best every othger year.
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Old Apr 14th, 2004, 09:20 AM
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Where did Beauchaine's II re-locate to?
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Old May 2nd, 2004, 12:05 PM
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We too are considering a trip to Topsail Island and would like to know if the St. Regis an appropriate place for an 8 year old who loves to fish - too crowded? If so, would anyone have a suggestion for a more secluded place at this same beach? We have never stayed there before and are looking for something different. Thanks.
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Old May 5th, 2004, 05:00 AM
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If your boy likes to fish in proximity to a pier, I would suggest the Jolly Roger which has a fairly modern motel with a large beach and has a pier attached. Better yet would be to rent a house for a week. Ward's, Bryson's and Century 21 are the best rental places on the island. All three are on the 'net. Surf fishing at St. Regis might be constraining due to so many people inhabiting so small a space. By renting a house on the ocean, you will be able to claim much more space for ocean casting.
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Old May 5th, 2004, 06:42 PM
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Thanks, Shane. Even though I'm a NC native, I can only remember one day trip to Topsail. We just want to get away from the crowds and let our son have time on the beach. I figured the St. Regis might be too crowded, especially after I saw on the web that there were three multi-story buildings. I will try the rental companies you suggested - Do you know if they rent for less than a week at a time?
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Old May 6th, 2004, 04:43 AM
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Negotiating for less than a week for an oceanfront cottage will be extremely difficult in August before the schools re-open. You might have a better chance to rent at one of the oceanfront motels-the Sea Vista Motel, the Topsail Motel and the Jolly Roger Motel come to mind but a reservation in August for less than a week may be difficult as well.
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