The Georgia Island Where the Rockefellers Wintered Is Now Public, and This Resort Has 3 Ways to Stay

Today, Jekyll Island is one of Georgia’s Golden Isles, a chain of barrier islands along the state’s southeastern coast, that’s protected by state law from overdevelopment. (Developed land is capped at 35 percent of the island’s total acreage.) The island is accessible to anyone willing to make the drive down the Downing Musgrove Causeway from Brunswick for a $10 parking fee.

The Jekyll Island Club Resort occupies two properties on the island. The main clubhouse is located within the 240-acre Jekyll Island National Landmark Historic District, while the Ocean Club sits on the island’s beach side. I stayed at both, and I spent time exploring the resort’s historic cottages along the way. Each one had a different pull: The Club is best for travelers who appreciate history, the Ocean Club appeals to those who want beach access and modern comforts, and the cottages feel like someplace you’d want to have your wedding.

Jekyll Island Club

Photos: Tammy McCracken

The Jekyll Island Club originally opened in 1888 as a retreat for wealthy families like the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts. Now the centerpiece of the Jekyll Island Club Resort, it sits among oak-lined paths, restored cottages, and open green spaces draped with Spanish moss. Rooms are spread out across the main clubhouse and surrounding wings. From the verandas and balconies, views look out over the Jekyll Creek riverfront, the pool deck, or the croquet lawns. My deluxe guest room came with a charcuterie board and a bottle of branded Jekyll Island wine.

My visit began in the Alexander Bar and Boar’s Head Lounge in the Riverfront Movie. The bar started as a movie set: Robert Redford’s production team built it for The Legend of Bagger Vance, filmed at the Jekyll Island Club Resort in 2000, and then packed it into storage in Savannah when shooting wrapped. The Club brought it back and kept it.

What made the full breadth of the property’s history land for me was a tour with Kiara James, who works on the resort’s concierge team. She told my group about the secret 1910 meeting that helped shape the Federal Reserve. The financiers and government officials who attended arrived on the island an hour apart so no two were seen together, used first names only, and told anyone who asked that they were headed south to hunt ducks. They gathered at a dining table beneath one of the clubhouse’s stained-glass windows to sketch out the framework for what would become the US central banking system. The leaded art glass is still there throughout the clubhouse, catching light differently by the hour.

Five years later, Jekyll Island found itself at the center of another milestone. AT&T President Theodore Vail was supposed to be in New York for the ceremonial first transcontinental telephone call. Instead, a broken leg left him stranded on Jekyll Island. Rather than postpone the event, AT&T engineers rushed to connect the island to the long-distance network. On January 25, 1915, Vail spoke from Jekyll Island while Alexander Graham Bell participated from New York, Thomas Watson (Bell’s assistant) answered from San Francisco, and President Woodrow Wilson joined from Washington, DC.

For another glimpse into the property’s history, Three Oaks Farm runs horse-drawn carriage rides that depart from the resort and pass historic cottages like Crane (more on that later).

Photos: Tammy McCracken

Playing croquet was one of my favorite activities during my stay. Though the Club was rehabilitating the croquet lawn when my group visited, they opened it up to my group for a lesson a few weeks before its official reopening. Charlie Stovall, our instructor for the afternoon, was a patient teacher. I spent the session with a Noble Sunset cocktail (Grey Goose orange, Aperol, grapefruit, lemon juice, and sparkling wine) in one hand and impossibly blue skies overhead, and I left with a new skill in my back pocket.

The Wharf restaurant gave me a peek at a more relaxed side of the Club. I ate on the deck over weathered boards, looking out toward Jekyll Creek and waiting for the marsh grass to turn gold with the setting sun. Two dolphins moved right off the dock with the tide. The shrimp tacos there cracked my top 10, which is no small thing for someone on an unofficial quest to find the perfect taco. There was also a corn appetizer served in a way that made me realize you can, in fact, eat corn on the cob, once quartered and seasoned, like a rib. Dessert was caramel banana pudding layered with Nilla wafers, burnt sugar caramel, and fresh whipped cream.

In the morning, the Grand Dining Room was quiet and full of soft light, with big river-facing windows. I started where any reasonable person would start: at the custom omelet station. It was perfectly made, and I thought that would be the thing I remembered. Then I moved on to the yogurt with berries and currants. It was bright, creamy, tart, sweet, and so much better than it had any right to be.

Island Cottages

Photo: Tammy McCracken

Not far from the main clubhouse, the resort’s Island Cottages sit tucked into the historic district, their entrances opening onto quiet paths and courtyards that were once part of the original Club grounds. I didn’t stay in one, but I spent time walking through several, including Cherokee, Crane, Sans Souci, and Hollybourne. They completely shifted how I understood the resort.

The cottages were built between the 1890s and 1920s by the same families who founded the Club, each one a private estate on the grounds they already owned. Walking the grounds felt like wandering through a European estate, with river views, fountained courtyards, and enough history in the walls to make the place feel more layered and personal than a typical luxury stay.

What struck me first was how lived-in they still feel. The wood floors creak, and there’s a faint spa-meets-salt quality in the air. Guests staying in the cottages have access to the same amenities as those in the Club and the Ocean Club: the pool, dining, croquet lawn, and other activities, all with the added layer of more private, residential-style space.

Crane and Cherokee feel like gathering spaces. Built in 1917 as one of the island’s grandest private homes, Crane is a popular choice for weddings and celebrations, with a Northern Italian-villa quality that fits surprisingly naturally into the coastal Southern landscape. Cherokee was built in 1904 and feels more intimate with only 10 guest rooms. A wide veranda pulls you outside while a large central great room pulls you right back in. Both Crane and Cherokee give you the sense of being off-grid while still staying close to the Club.

Sans Souci, which translates to “without care” in French, was built in 1896 and was once owned in part by J.P. Morgan. It’s considered one of the first condominiums in the country. Hollybourne was built in 1890 by a bridge builder, and it shows. The rooms are wide and open, and instead of relying on columns, the weight is carried in ways you don’t immediately see. Upstairs, a section of the truss system supporting the upper floor is exposed.

The three cottages operated by the resort— Crane, Cherokee, and Sans Souci — are available for overnight stays, with rooms bookable individually or as full buyouts for groups. Hollybourne, the most architecturally singular of the four, completed a long-running restoration in 2025 and is now open for tours and private events through the Jekyll Island Authority.

Jekyll Ocean Club

Photos: Tammy McCracken

The Jekyll Ocean Club is the most recent addition to the resort, opened in 2017. A short drive from the historic district, it trade the Club’s history and ritual for light, salt air, and direct beach access. Every suite faces the ocean, and the balconies feel bigger and more open than what you get at the Club. The all-suite layout makes a difference, too. The bedroom is separated from the living space, so the room feel expansive instead of just large. At sunset, my balcony view shifted from cabana-blue pool water to reds, oranges, and purples settling into the sky. By morning, coffee in hand, I could see the dunes and the long grass moving near the beach. I took off for the water’s edge and meandered so completely that I forgot I had my camera.

I also spent some time in one of the Ocean Club’s poolside cabanas, which quickly became one of my favorite places to land after a long bicycle ride along the coast. The cabana had deep seating, just enough shade, and a small refrigerator, though drinks also arrived right at the edge of the water, perfectly mixed. I ordered the nachos, fully shareable, followed by truffle fries that paired well with the spicy margarita that the cabana steward recommended.

Dinner at Eighty Ocean Kitchen and Bar deserves more than a passing mention. Chef Matthew Raiford came out to talk with our group, excited to share what he had planned. He grows much of what he serves and talks about the Lowcountry not like a concept but like a place he knows and loves. His food had that same personality: colorful, layered, fresh, and true to the region without feeling forced. I ordered the fruits of the sea wood-fired pizza as an appetizer, which was loaded with locally sourced seafood, garlic, and just enough heat. I didn’t stop there. The Lowcountry shrimp perloo (a rice dish similar to jambalaya that’s popular in coastal Georgia) was just as good, rich with Carolina Gold rice, smoked sausage, crab, peppers, and herbs.

At night, the fire pits and sea air made the whole place feel even more relaxed. Because the island keeps lighting low to protect sea turtles, the pool picked up an eerie red glow at first. Then it stopped feeling eerie and started feeling beautiful. The hotel delivered a s’mores kit with all the expected pieces, plus a peppermint patty and a Reese’s peanut butter cup.

With a clear sky full of stars, I walked towards the dunes just off the property, a short walk from the pool, past the last bits of light. I stood there under the kind of sky you forget exists when you live near cities. The long grass along the dunes moved in the breeze in step with the rhythm of the waves, and for a moment, it was just that: the air, the sound, and the sky.

Exploring Jekyll Island

Photo: Tammy McCracken

Home to miles of marsh, stretches of maritime forest, and long roads, Jekyll Island is managed by the Jekyll Island Authority in a way that keeps its self-sustaining, with funds from leases, tolls, and tourism going back to the land. The historic district is preserved instead of reimagined. Even the lighting at night is kept to a minimum to protect sea turtles.

The Georgia Sea Turtle Center surprised me because it was not just polished and visitor-friendly but also a working hospital. Sick and injured sea turtles come here to recover, and the center also treats local reptiles and other coastal species that share the island with them. Through large panes of glass, I watched staff performing a procedure on a snake.

While exploring the island, rent a bike if you can. Jekyll has more than 20 miles of bike paths. I rode my bike to Driftwood Beach for sunrise, and for a while it was just waves, birds, pale light, and weathered trees reaching across the sand.

My days on Jekyll Island settled into bike rides beneath trees draped with moss, walks along nearly empty beaches, and mornings on the balcony watching the marsh wake up. There was nowhere I needed to be and nothing I felt compelled to check. Just a sunrise over the Atlantic, a few more stars than I expected, and the rare feeling that, for a little while, the world could wait.

Getting to Jekyll Island

Photo: Tammy McCracken

Jekyll Island sits off the southern Georgia coast, about 90 miles south of Savannah and 65 miles north of Jacksonville. Both Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV) and Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) are roughly equidistant. Jacksonville tends to have more direct flight options. Rent a bike when you arrive to move between the historic district, the coast, and the quieter stretches of the island.

Check the calendar before you choose your dates. Braderie South, held each August on the resort grounds, draws antique dealers, fine art, collector cars, and heritage makers from across the country. The name comes from a centuries-old European street fair tradition, and the format suits Jekyll. The opening night kicks off on the croquet lawn with Champagne, caviar, and dinner stations under the sky. Alternatively, plan for a winter visit to experience Holly Jolly Jekyll, which fills the historic district with more than a million lights.