BUNKER BLUES - A player hits out of the sand at the famed Peter Dye Ocean Course, famous for hosting the 1991 Ryder Cup. CNS Photo courtesy of Kiawah Island Golf Resort. Opened last August, the island haven serves up elegance with impeccable lowcountry hospitality - traditions that have lingered like low-hanging moss along the South Carolina coast for generations. Old South warmth and wealth greets your first step onto the reclaimed walnut floors in the main lobby salon. Carved limestone fireplaces, antique Italian crystal chandeliers hanging from the soaring ceiling and elegant portraits above the mantels in the ladies and gents sitting rooms embellish the scene. Grand staircases to either side of the lobby suggest that Scarlet, Rhett or their impersonators might appear any moment. Outside, Atlantic surf laps at pristine sands that define this lowcountry coast. If The Sanctuary calls to mind imposing seaside mansions from the Gilded Age, such as The Breakers in Newport, R.I., that's no accident. It is the opulent ($125 million) dream of owner William H. Goodwin, a Richmond, Va., real estate mogul who spared no expense in the details, even to the extensive original art and antique collection, and custom forged-iron doors that lead to the mahogany and white cloth interior of The Ocean Room restaurant. Should owners and staff realize their objective to create another five-star, five-diamond grand southern hotel, The Sanctuary soon will join its sister properties - The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond and The Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, Tenn. - as a recognized hospitality triumph. SOUTHERN CHARM - The Sanctuary, the new beachside hotel at Kiawah Island in South Carolina, resembles a commanding 19th century seaside mansion. CNS Photo courtesy of Kiawah Island Golf Resort. When Goodwin and fellow investors bought the Kiawah Island Golf Resort in 1993 with its several miles of beach, dunes, marshes and tidal creeks, maritime forests, ponds and lagoons, they were intent on protecting the ecology that supports a variety of plant and animal life. So even the live oak trees and palmettos around the new hotel come with a story of reclamation. When The Sanctuary site was cleared for building, 150 mature trees and other plants got transplanted and tended until they could be returned to frame the hotel entrance and driveway. Because Kiawah is truly a destination island resort, many guests of The Sanctuary come to simply luxuriate within its many oceanfront rooms and suites and on its private beach. Four bars, three restaurants and an ice cream shop encourage the lingering, as does a natural garden and southern porch-themed spa and treatment enclave. Takers feel as if they've stepped through a Charleston tableau of brick, trickling water and indigenous plants to reach any of the treatment rooms, where high, domed ceilings, original artwork and plantation shutters perpetuate the theme of a real sanctuary. Related Article Sanctuary for orphaned chimpanzees charms Western travelers Natasha stood by the wire fence and waved her right arm at the keeper who was tossing carrots, jackfruit and mango pieces to a group of fellow chimpanzees. Some made one-armed catches, some scrambled after a banana, and then there was Megan, who loped around picking up carrots and carried her hoard to the bas .... Finding or Changing Paralegal Jobs Finding or changing jobs is one of the most important decisions you'll ever have to make. Your job is more than just a source of income or the place where you spend as much as one third of your life. It's part of who you are and who you're becoming. It's an education, a source of satisfaction and self- esteem .... Finding a Work/Life Balance Yes, indeed. The eternal question. The oft-asked inquiry of young and old attorneys alike: How do I find a work/life balance? Whether you are a first-year associate or a ninth-year, it is likely that you have posed this question to yourself, your mentor, your law school career center, your recruiter, and your .... Parents have no problem getting in quiet time while the kids - from toddlers to teens - are occupied with one of the resort's nature or recreation programs inside The Sanctuary or elsewhere on the island. SEEING THE SIGHTS - Visitors enjoy the relaxed pace of a horse-drawn carriage tour of Charleston, S.C., a 30-minute drive from Kiawah Island. Most Kiawah guests include visits to the city synonymous with low-country heritage and preservation. CNS Photo courtesy of the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau. Leisure guests and business groups residing in The Sanctuary will find multiple recreation choices on Kiawah Island. Golf is king here, and the famed Peter Dye Ocean Course is famous for hosting the 1991 Ryder Cup. The island tennis program has high industry ranking, and visitors of all ages enjoy naturalist-led walks. Marsh creek canoe trips, sea kayaking, birding walks, night beach walks and bike tours for all ages are also in the mix. Because Charleston is only a 30-minute drive from The Sanctuary, many Kiawah guests include visits and tours to the city that is synonymous with lowcountry heritage and preservation. Charm Central may sound trite, but Charleston comes as close as any city. Local lowcountry drawls and a slower pace sometimes seduce first-timers into thinking they've arrived somewhere in the city's nearly 400 previous years, but there's plenty about the destination to bring them back into the 21st century. Walking tours, horse and carriage tours, religious tours, nature tours, war tours, ghost tours and antebellum plantation tours can acquaint a visitor with the Charleston region's authentic and always southern colorful sides. LOCAL LEGENDS - In Charleston, a regional trademark is the sweetgrass baskets, woven with a technique brought to the low-country by enslaved blacks from West Africa. CNS Photo courtesy of the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau. And there's the regional cuisine. Just as Creole dishes have put New Orleans on the food map, country specialties like she-crab soup, shrimp dishes and grits have done the same for Rhett Butler's old hometown. One of the best restaurants to sample lowcountry fare is High Cotton Maverick Bar & Grill. Its thick old brick walls, ancient heart pine floors and slowly rotating palm fans set the mood for Chef Jason Schulz's steaks, chops, game and fish creations. Another is Southern Living magazine's favorite, 82 Queen Street, a restaurant that sets the bar for she-crab soup and other specialties. Shopping for indigenous arts and crafts is a favorite Charleston visitor activity as well. A regional trademark is the sweetgrass baskets, which are woven with a technique brought to the lowcountry by enslaved blacks from West Africa. The City Market at the corner of Meeting and Broad Streets and some roadside stands along Highway 17 North are good places to acquire the domestic craft, which has gained significant art value during recent decades. Silver-plated rice spoons recall the long-handled spoons hostesses in Charleston have used to serve the grain since the 18th century, and they are available in the Historic Charleston Foundation Gift Shop on Meeting Street. Charleston has also gained a contemporary reputation as a fine arts destination, and visitors can see for themselves as they stroll the historic district. Visual artists open gallery shows of new work almost weekly in the city and poets read in bars on "open-mic" nights. Concerts from blues and bluegrass to classical and rock are presented in venues large and small throughout the city. Charleston was the first city in the nation to enact laws to preserve its glorious past through architecture, formal gardens, plantations and streets from previous eras, so nearly any city experience comes down to the heritage. So if city sojourners sample the city's history and some contemporary facets as well, then return to their quarters in The Sanctuary, they'll be returning to the heritage, in a lux contemporary setting. IF YOU GO Kiawah Island Resort, (843) 768-6000, kiawahresort.com. The Sanctuary, (877) 683-1234, thesanctuary.com. Call (800) 774-0006 or visit charlestoncvb.com for Charleston visitor information.

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