Palmetto Dunes Plantation is without a doubt one of Hilton Head’s premier resorts and residential communities. Located at the geographic center of Hilton Head Island, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the east and Broad Creek on the west, Palmetto Dunes was Greenwood Development Corporation’s first major development acquisition. In November of 1979, Greenwood Development transformed the 2,000-acre oceanfront property to include three championship golf courses, an award-winning tennis center, two world-class hotels (Hilton
Oceanfront Resort and The
Marriott Beach & Golf Resort), an array of sophisticated shops and restaurants, and a full spectrum of living choices that cater to both visitors and permanent residents.
Ken Oliver, real estate specialist for Dunes Marketing Group and 26-year resident of Palmetto Dunes, asks, “If people from all over the world are vacationing here, why go anywhere else?”
Oliver embraced the opportunity to begin his real estate purchases with the development’s earliest condos, Queens Grant. Then Ken and his wife moved to Abbington, becoming the first property owners in Leamington.
Leamington is the private beach and golf neighborhood section of Palmetto Dunes. In time, the Olivers purchased a lot across from a spring-fed lake, built a house and lived there for fourteen years. As the family grew, the Olivers built a bigger home across the same lake because as he stated, “It doesn’t get any better than this!”
In fact, there are five different ways to own property in Palmetto Dunes: a week of timeshare, quarter ownership timeshare (13 weeks), condo or villa, building lot, or custom built home. Greenwood Development has just begun construction on the area’s final waterfront community,‑MainSail, where villa residents will enjoy panoramic views of the Shelter Cove Harbour, the island’s entertainment mecca.
Palmetto Dunes has won numerous prestigious awards from Conde Nast Traveler, Golf Magazine, Links Magazine, Tennis Magazine, Successful Meetings Magazine, and most recently from the upscale family travel magazine, Travel and Leisure, as the highest ranking family resort in the publication’s 2003 “World’s Best Awards” Reader’s Poll. The community’s master plan to centralize accommodations and amenities convenient to the beach, shopping, dining, and entertainment could be the reason Palmetto Dunes is admired throughout the world.
Directly across Hwy. 278, Shelter Cove is both a major tourist attraction and favorite scenic retreat for locals. The resort’s 170-slip marina and 15.5-acre deep-water harbor built around a Mediterranean-style village is a magnet for people of all ages and interests. Every conceivable water sport is available at the marina including deep-sea and inshore fishing charters, sport crabbing, sail and power-boat rentals, sightseeing and nature excursions and dinner cruises. The Harbour is a temporary haven for many impressive yachts, surrounded by several fine restaurants, art galleries, elegant shops, and the site for many of the island’s signature events.
Such annual festivities include Harbourfest, a summer-long Tuesday night celebration known for its fabulous fireworks displays, WineFest, the largest outdoor, tented wine-tasting event on the East Coast, and other scrumptious hometown cooking contests. Shelter Cove has 665 high-rise villas for rent and sale overlooking the eye-catching marina. Because of that, many islanders first came under the influence of Hilton Head’s ether as a visitor shortly after viewing a gorgeous sunset at Shelter Cove while family entertainer Shannon Tanner performed.
The Shelter Cove Mall and Plaza are also within walking distance of the marina, further guaranteeing that the area is replete with activities for people of all ages. For added convenience and to lessen traffic woes, residents and visitors on the Palmetto Dunes side of Hwy. 278 can bike or walk to Shelter Cove via a pathway that goes underneath the highway. Additionally, the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina is nearby and accessible.
Palmetto Dunes can boast that it is the only resort with all three of its golf courses rated in the top 50 golf courses in the Southeast. Arthur Hills, Robert Trent Jones and George Fazio designed the courses to accommodate players of all levels, from novice to seasoned pro. A three-million-dollar, nine-month renovation project made the Robert Trent Jones Course easier to maintain and more playable. Originally built in 1969, it stood largely unchanged until architect Roger Rulewich, a member of the original design team, oversaw the sweeping renovation. A year after the refinements were finished, the course was recognized by the S.C. Golf Course Owners Association as Golf Course of the Year.
For tennis fans, the award-winning Palmetto Dunes Tennis Center has twenty-three clay and two hard courts, eight of which are lighted for night play. Private, semi-private lessons and tennis clinics are offered year round. Residents and visitors alike can unwind on an excursion in a canoe or paddleboat within the plantation’s11 miles of lagoons.
Undoubtedly, there is a lot to enjoy in Palmetto Dunes. The polls have been taken and the awards given. This community has received the distinct honor it deserves.
