Where to stay in South Carolina?
 

2 couples from the UK will have spent 10 exhausting days in Chicago, Nashville and New Orleans and are looking to rent a beach front villa/condo for 1 week r&r before heading home. The area should have a great beach, a variety of restaurants and golf.

We have been looking at Kiawah Island, Isle of Palms, Folly Beach and Seabrook Island and would welcome comments on the suitability of these or any other alternative areas we should be considering. Thanks.

I recommend Hilton Head fitting all your requirements. Look at Sea Pines as an alternative to Folly. Marriott has several condo properties on the island that are fine.

Agreed. For "a great beach, a variety or restaurants and golf" Hilton Head matches up well. Of the ones you listed, I'd put Kiawah second on the list.

I agree. I would put Kiawah at the top of the list except for your "variety of restaurants" requirement. Hilton Head, specifically in the Sea Pines area, would be great.

I'm going to break from the pack and recommend Isle of Palms. The beach there is lovely, except for a part at the north end.

It's a 20-30 minute drive into Charleston. There are so many excellent restaurants there it's hard to choose. There are some nice lunch spots on the island itself.

Kiawah is about 45 minutes from Charleston. It is a beautiful island. It's gated, if that matters to you.

Check with Island Realty or VRBO.

The main issue against Folly Beach, and really, Isle of Palms is the golf requirement. Kiawah and Hilton Head excel in that category, whereas the options near Folly and IOP are quite limited.

IOP has Wild Dunes.

http://www.wilddunes.com/south-carol...lf-courses.php

We used homeaway to find an apartment several years ago on Kiawah Island. Loved our stay there. I highly recommend it. A great place for a little r&r at the end of a busy trip. The Sanctuary has both golf and good food available. Enjoy

Thanks to everyone for their input.

Go further up the coast to Litchfield by the Sea or Pawley's Island. The beach is better and less crowded, there are the best seafood restaurants on the coast, there are untold golf courses, and the area is prettier that Hilton Head.
Or go to any of the beaches recommended around Charleston except Hilton Head for a much more relaxing and lovely place to remember.
there are good things about HH, but "charm" is not among them. It is a HUGE real estate resort development with no "texture"--all the same.

It's incomprehensible that anyone who has visited both would prefer HH over Kiawah. If you can afford the additional cost Kiawah is an incredible testament to what huge amounts of money can do with a natural environment. It is shocking perfect in its upkeep and design.

It's also close to Charleston which had a world class local food scene.

Since everyone is putting some "minutes to the food", I'll go back to Litchfield. You can be 10 minutes from Frank's (a truly fine dining restaurant)or the Chive Blossom, and any number of others or you can be 15 minutes from Murrell's Inlet with the choice of at least 15 prime seafood restarants.
Golf courses within 5 to 25 minutes, including TPC.
But if they have not been to Charleston, then that would be a great choice for really hitting the high spots in the South on their whole trip.

Take a look.
http://www.litchfieldbeach.com/