The South Carolina resort community of Wild Dunes draws you in the same way a beautiful landscape painting at a museum pulls you to it. With each step closer, more and richer color, texture and detail are revealed – the pastels of the vacation homes and condos given contrast by green layers of hedges and the leafy canopies of the hardwoods, the sun and shade playing off each other to create mysterious crevices and sweeps of light glinting off the water beyond.

This 1,600-acre refuge strewn across the Isle of Palms, a barrier island cossetted by marsh estuaries and the waters of the Intercoastal and Atlantic Ocean, feels like pure escape – a pristine and safe harbor amidst a workaday world that has become littered with bad news headlined by a pandemic.

The area is famous for its beaches and nesting sea turtles, country club setting and stretches of quiet road unwinding through the coastal community. Accommodations vary across a spectrum of lodging options – condos, villas, cottages, inn – all with one thing in common: the view. Whether ocean, golf course, sand dunes, swimming pool or stands of palm trees, it is exactly what vacation vistas should be. Even better, many of the units have screened-in porches for getting even closer to the coveted scenery (without the annoyance of South Carolina mosquitoes).

Multigenerational groups traveling together find units with enough bedrooms to accommodate everyone on the trip, many with fireplaces, double balconies and wall-to-wall windows, among other amenities like gleaming, well-equipped kitchens, and all open and airy and beautifully furnished. Depending on the desired location, units are within a quick stroll to a private community swimming pool or to the beach, nearer the sports courts or the Grand Pavilion with its twin pools.

With its location right on the beach, Wild Dunes fulfills those daydreams of wriggling toes into warm sand while shaded by an umbrella and gazing at lazy waves lapping the shoreline. When you see the line of umbrellas spaced and scattered along water's edge just over the rise of the sand dunes you really won't want to be anywhere else. Except perhaps on the seat of a bicycle, cruising the smooth streets weaving in and around the property. Guests traveling together can explore as they like and at their own pace, without running into crowds.

When hunger strikes, Wild Dunes offers up a menu of nine different dining options, from Duney's Ice Cream Shop to Beachside Burgers & Bar, Billy G's Smokehouse, the Salty Goat and other eateries. Hudson's Market offers a selection of groceries and wine and beer as well as breakfast items and deli sandwiches, logoed clothing and souvenirs. Upscale eatery Coastal Provisions plates meals inspired by local and sustainable seafood, meat and seasonal veggies that are locally and regionally sourced.

Then there is Dinner Delivered, a foodie experience irresistible to those fully given over to vacation mode, who relish the idea of having a mouthwatering gourmet meal brought right to the front door – everything included, right down to the salt and pepper packets. Choose among three sumptuous spreads: the Famous Lowcountry Boil, complete with fresh shrimp, smoked sausage, corn on the cob and red bliss potatoes simmered in spicy seafood broth; Wild Dunes' Southern Fried Chicken, accompanied by buttermilk biscuits; and the Lowcountry Smoked BBQ Pork, featuring in-house hickory smoked pulled pork and house-made Carolina sauce.

Each multi-course meal can serve up to ten people and comes with chef-selected sides, like creamy coleslaw and Charleston red rice for the fried chicken. Each concludes with homemade dessert – triple chocolate cupcakes, fire-roasted mini apple pies or mini pecan pies, depending on the meal selected. Disposable dinnerware and condiments are also part of the package. (Order at least 72 hours before you would like your choice of dinner delivered.)

With the variety of accommodations, activities and eateries found at Wild Dunes Resort, this is one seaside idyll that can fulfill many vacation daydreams.

PLAN YOUR TRAVELS

Wild Dunes Resort is located about 30 minutes northeast of Charleston, S.C. For more information about planning a trip, visit www.destinationhotels.com/wild-dunes.

Beach chair and umbrella rentals are available but do sell out fast. They can be booked online (and it is recommended to do so as far in advance as possible) and picked up at the beach adjacent to the Grand Pavilion. Bicycle rentals are also available, currently for walk-up rental only.

The Sand and Sea Spa is open by appointment, its full menu of services is available, including facials, massages and manis and pedis, but excluding lash services.

The Links and Harbor Courses are open and follow PGA of America COVID-19 guidelines, which include six feet social distancing rules and supplying individual golf carts as available, among others. Tee time prepayment is required and scorecards, tees, pencils and water are available with contact-free self-service.

Like everything other aspect of life, the pandemic has precipitated changes in the way we vacation. As a World of Hyatt member, Wild Dunes is following the enhanced safety and cleanliness protocols of Hyatt's Global Care & Cleanliness Commitment. Among other measures, contact-free check-in options for guestrooms are available; groups over three may not gather on the beach unless they are from the same household; and as of July 1, face coverings are required in Isle of Palms retail and food service establishments and outdoor areas when six feet social distancing is not possible. Wild Dunes has facemasks available if needed.

(Author and travel and lifestyle writer Kathy Witt feels you should never get to the end of your bucket list; there's just too much to see and do in the world. Contact her at KathyWitt24@gmail.com, @KathyWitt.)

(c)2020 Kathy Witt

Visit Kathy Witt at www.kathywitt.com

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