Georgia on your mind? The Cloister at Sea Island is dedicated to providing a rarefied environment that's infused with plenty of old-school Southern hospitality. Formal, traditional, and very comfortable resting on its laurels, Sea Island is a perennial favorite in the luxury and spa categories. And with good reason.

Stretched between the Atlantic Ocean and the Black Banks River, Sea Island is a land unto itself. For more than 80 years the resort has been wowing guests with its energetic mix of tradition and trailblazing. Body wraps or bodysurfing? Facials or family swim time? Sea Island understands these competing needs and desires, and they've geared up to meet them with aplomb.

Sea Island schedules activities galore. From fishing and biking to tennis and horseback riding, the list seems endless. You'll find dance classes, wine cellar tours, and even a refresher course on etiquette. There are three swimming pools, several nature trails, and five miles

Georgia on your mind? The Cloister at Sea Island is dedicated to providing a rarefied environment that's infused with plenty of old-school Southern hospitality. Formal, traditional, and very comfortable resting on its laurels, Sea Island is a perennial favorite in the luxury and spa categories. And with good reason.

Stretched between the Atlantic Ocean and the Black Banks River, Sea Island is a land unto itself. For more than 80 years the resort has been wowing guests with its energetic mix of tradition and trailblazing. Body wraps or bodysurfing? Facials or family swim time? Sea Island understands these competing needs and desires, and they've geared up to meet them with aplomb.

Sea Island schedules activities galore. From fishing and biking to tennis and horseback riding, the list seems endless. You'll find dance classes, wine cellar tours, and even a refresher course on etiquette. There are three swimming pools, several nature trails, and five miles of Atlantic coastline at your disposal. Children can easily fold into many of the day's activities or register for child-only events, including cooking, riding, golf, tennis, fishing, scavenger hunts, and ocean kayaking.

The Cloister Spa offers equal parts fitness and pampering, and even here the architectural cohesiveness of the resort doesn't waiver. The fountains and palm trees give the palatial spa an even more regal air, including treadmills and elliptical cross-trainers that are neatly arrayed beneath chandeliers and elegant archways. Traditional but not too restrained, the spa offers popular Japanese "basu" and Turkish "hamam" baths as well as reflexology and innovative sport-specific treatments, Reiki, and CranioSacral massage to best meet the needs of its guests.

Once you finally make it back to your room, you'll find sumptuous décor featuring yards of floral fabrics, handmade Turkish rugs, and handsome furniture. The original Cloister was built in 1928, but was torn down and rebuilt from the ground up in 2006. This means your accommodations are essentially new, updated and thoroughly modern. Still very Southern in style, the rooms are a mélange of formal frill and restrained ruffle, a successful balance sure to appeal to both women and men. And it's this element of harmonious co-existence that turns out to be the hallmark of Sea Island, bolstered by an indefatigable and time-tested attention to detail.

has been writing about the best places to stay in North America since the day after graduating college in 1984. Since then she has written over 35 guidebooks and for countless websites and print publications. She is also the editorial director of a forthcoming website on the best places to stay and the travel acquisitions editor for Countryman Press.