Are you a King? Perhaps a Prince!

It does not matter if you are wearing flip flops, J Crew, or LV, all guests are treated like royalty at the King and Prince Beach and Golf Resort, St. Simons Island, Georgia.

Location: St. Simons, Georgia

The landmarked King and Prince Beach and Golf Resort is located on a small slip of land bounded by sand and sea on one side and endless vistas of trees and open space on the other. This property is a rare find: a professionally-run hotel in a fabulous destination that is easily reached by a short Jet Blue flight from NYC or Delta Airlines out of Atlanta.

The Place for History Hounds

St. Simons is approximately twelve miles long and nearly three miles wide at its broadest stretch (roughly the size of Manhattan Island, New York). The first inhabitants were the Indians. As the Spanish, French, and English looked to turn the Indians into Christians and colonize the country, St. Simons became a viable place to stage a coup. The soil was rich, there was an abundance of animals and sea life for hunting and fishing, the weather was excellent, naturally every invader wanted to plant his flag on this small piece of the country.

As the area was colonized (fast forward through history), plantation owners, seeking fresh and rich soil to maintain their lifestyles found the land of St. Simons perfect for the cultivation of cotton, especially with the seeds from Anguilla and the availability of slaves. It was the Civil War (1861) that ended the lucrative plantation period. The Confederate troops of St. Simon retreated as the Union troops moved in among the newly-freed slaves.

Come for the Beach, Stay for the Golf

Prosperity returned to St. Simons at the end of the 19th century with the redevelopment of the timber industry, and by 1872 tourism began to build, and nearby residents headed to St. Simons as a summer retreat to be followed, a few years later, by northern travelers who coveted the hotels and amusements.

In 1926 automotive pioneer Howard Coffin, the Father of Automotive Standardization, introduced a golf course, yacht club, paved roads, and a residential subdivision. World War II brought more people to St. Simons, and the military from Camp Stewart took weekend holidays here. The King and Prince Hotel welcomed the Big Band sound of the Glen Miller orchestra and Sammy Kay. Guests dressed up on Saturday nights to dance, and the hotel was considered to be the top-of-the-line. By the early part of the 20th century, St. Simons evolved from being a summer retreat to a full-time residential locale.

Priority Destination

Having recently returned from St. Simons I can attest to the fact that St. Simons is a fabulous place to live, and were I not committed to life in NYC, I would be on the next flight to Georgia and immediately engaged in a conversation with a real estate broker.

For those of us not fortunate enough to live in St. Simons, we can sample the St. Simons lifestyle by doing the following:

Sleeping/Swimming/Dining/Chilling

The place to stay while discovering St. Simons is the King and Prince Hotel and Resort. This historic hotel was built in 1935 as a dance club by Frank Horn and Morgan Wynne. Their motivation? They were kicked out of another property because they were drunk. They were more than mad – they wanted to get even and built a competing property. What to name this new establishment? One of the guys was tall and heavy set, while the other was short and skinny; they were referred to as the “king and prince” when seen together – hence the name (or so goes one of the legends).

It was transformed from a dance hall to a hotel in 1941. Closed for six years for use by the US Coast Guard, it finally reopened to the public in 1947. It has gone through many architectural transformations since the early days but remains historically significant. In 1996 it was placed on the list for Historic Hotels of America.

Today it is the only St. Simons hotel on the oceanfront and boasts swimming pools, tennis courts, and a beautiful but challenging golf course designed by John Lee. Recently updated via a US$3.6 million investment, the golf course offers classes to guests and their children throughout the year. The club is a wonderful place to dine and perfect for corporate meetings.

Currently the property is owned and managed by MMI Hotel Group (Mississippi Management Inc.). Started in 1996 by Mike Sturdivant, J.C. Wilbourne, and Earle Jones, MMI opened their first property – a Holiday Inn. Currently on the MMI to-do list is an upgrade of the public space of the King and Prince to be followed with room renovations.

The Executive Team

While the location is terrific (maybe wonderful), and the hotel is getting buffed and polished for new and returning guests, it is the people who work at the King and Prince that make it a destination property.

Johnson started on his career path wanting to be part of law enforcement and majored in Criminal Justice at the University of Miami. He even spent time with NOAH and the Coast Guard enforcing laws that focused on dumping and fishing violations. Clearly driven to stay near a beach in a warm climate, his subsequent ventures brought him to Sea Island, Georgia (The Cloister Hotel); Palm Coast, Florida (The Sheraton Palm Coast); Orlando, Florida (The Villas at Grand Cypress); Long Boat Key, Florida (Long Boat Key Club); and Ponte Verde Beach, Florida (Sawgrass Resort).

As the Vice President of Operations for the King and Prince he has the enormous responsibility for developing and nurturing the property as it enters its 78th year of operation. Thanks to his stewardship the hotel that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and holds an important position on the National Register of Historic Places, recently opened new swimming pools (now boasting six – including an indoor pool and hot tub) and will soon begin renovation of the lobby and public spaces. The next step will focus on room renovations.

Not content to supervise the operations of the 197-air conditioned guestrooms plus condo units, Johnson is the current Chair of the Brunswick-Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce, serves on the Board of the Brunswick-Golden Isles CVB, is on the Board of Trustees of the College of Coastal George, and is a member of the International Association of Travel Research Marketing Professionals.

Foodie Destination

Food may be more important to travelers than the bed they sleep in or the thread count of their sheets. Because of this predilection of current travelers, the role of the Executive Chef has become a key ingredient for a successful hotel. Recognizing the change in guest demands, the King and Prince recently brought Jeff Kaplan on board to bring his magic, imagination, management skills, and “iron chef” approach to a kitchen to add sparkle to a dining experience fit for royalty. In reality, when a traveler thinks about a gourmet destination, St. Simons Island and Georgia do not make either the A or B list. Fortunately the mantel for the challenge of making the King and Prince a destination for foodies has been handed to Kaplan, for if there was ever a chef ready for the challenge – he is it!

He learned his art and his craft from a family of restaurateurs and has worked his way through each and every kitchen station. There is no job that he has skipped – which makes him not only a knowledgeable chef, but a fabulous teacher, and he devotes time and effort to encouraging the hotel employees to learn and experiment with new recipes and creative presentations.

Kaplan has worked alongside Chef Joe Eisenbuchner (think Le Cirque, NYC), and developed new programs and projects at The Inn a Great Neck (Long Island) where he mastered the fine art of bar mitzvahs, weddings, and anniversaries along with meeting the incredible demands of making Long Island corporate executives, doctors and lawyers, happy campers. He also spent time within the challenging up-market resort town of Nantucket (The White Elephant Resort) and catered to the whims and wishes of the high-end guests at the Sawgrass Marriot Golf Resort and Spa (Ponte Vedra Beach).

Kaplan is happiest when he is in the kitchen, saying “All I want to do is cook.” The rest of us will also be at our happiest when we know that Kaplan has planned the menu for our extended stay at the King and Prince.

What is a nice Italian guy from Rhode Island doing at a resort in Georgia? From what I was able to determine, he and Jeff Kaplan are bound and determined to turn King and Prince Hotel guests onto food experiences that will have them returning again and again. The return reservations will not be for the beach or pool (and they are quite nice), but – primarily for the gourmet-level cuisine and the artistry of the wine and spirits that are being offered thanks to the passions of Kaplan and D’Agostino.

D’Agnostino started on his food journey via Johnson and Wales in Providence, Rhode Island, and Miami Beach, Florida. His passion for wines and spirits motivated his membership to the Court of Master Sommelier Association. Not a novice at running fine restaurants, even his own, his Bradstreet Craftshouse in Minneapolis, won him accolades from Bon Appetit Magazine as one of the “Top 10 Best New Restaurants in America” and Food and Wine Magazine determined that he was running one of the “Top 100 Bars in America.”

From Dreams to Reality. Plan it Yourself

Following in the growing trend of using locally-grown or harvested ingredients, D’Agostino is determined that (whenever possible) the ingredients used in the preparation of the King and Prince menu are from local farmers and fishermen.

Although the menu at the hotel is interesting (even enterprising), the best way to really understand the abilities of Kaplan and D’Agostino is to plan your own party or corporate event. These guys are foodies and artists at their core, and you (and your privileged BFFs) will get to experience their incredible ability when you sit with them (face-to-face), describe your most lavish and extravagant food wishes and dreams, and allow this team to bring them to your plate.

Getting to St. Simons

1. Make a Jet Blue reservation via CheapO Air. I looked through Kayak, Orbitz, Expedia, and scanned the Delta and Jet Blue websites… finding the best ticket at CheapO.

2. Make a car service reservation at the Jacksonville, Florida, airport for transit to the King and Prince

3. Take the Super Shuttle van from home/office/hotel to JFK. Amazingly the message said that the arrival would be in less than two minutes… and I timed it. Absolutely correct! In less than two minutes the van pulled up in front of my building, and I climbed in. Since it was an obscene hour in the morning, there was no traffic, so the trip from the Upper Eastside of Manhattan to JFK took about one hour.

4. The Jacksonville, Florida, airport is easy. It is but a short stroll from the tarmac to the car service departure window located outside the airport. The drive time to the King and Prince is approximately one hour (there is very little traffic).

5. Have an interesting chat with the car service driver! Fortunately my driver was an underemployed engineer, so we had a lovely chat about the struggling Georgia economy and the lack of insight and creativity among local government officials who were unable to find ways to bring new development and jobs to the area.

A Jewel

It is really quite sad that the St. Simons CVB does not understand the wonderful destination they represent. This is not the first time that I have come across CVB executives that are totally out of touch with their locale. The only piece of good news about this marketing gap is that the destination is not flooded with tourists, giving the rest of us easy access to historical sites, trendy and/or quaint restaurants, sparsely-populated beaches and swimming pools, plus town shopping squares where local merchants are actually delighted to see you.

Make some reservations ASAP and have a wonderful time.

PHOTO: Upper Left – Vice President, Operations, Michael Johnson
Operations Management; Lower Left – Executive Chef, Jeff Kaplan; Right – Food and Beverage Director, Vinny D’Agostino