Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / United States / Johns Island / The Dunlin, Auberge Collection
The Dunlin, Auberge Collection
Johns Island, South Carolina, United States · Auberge Resorts · High Luxury
Amanda Lindroth imagined a 1920s Lowcountry summer house here: whitewash, honey oak, mint green, and porches looking over the Kiawah River marsh. Robert Glazier's cottage architecture holds seventy-two rooms on Johns Island, where The Dunlin opened in 2024, about thirty minutes from Charleston; Linnette's brings Lowcountry seafood to the table.
- 72 rooms
- Opened 2024
- Neighborhood: Kiawah River
- Architect: Robert Glazier
- Interiors: Amanda Lindroth
About The Dunlin, Auberge Collection
- Interior designer Amanda Lindroth aimed for a 1920s Lowcountry summer house, with Farrow and Ball Breakfast Room Green on the walls.
- Architect Robert Glazier set cottage rooms and porches into the Kiawah River marsh on Johns Island.
- The hotel takes its name from the dunlin, a small shorebird that winters on the South Carolina marshes.
History
Johns Island sits in the South Carolina Lowcountry south of Charleston, a landscape defined by the tidal salt marshes, creek systems, and barrier-island ecosystems that give the region its distinctive character. The island is among the largest in South Carolina by area and has maintained its rural character more completely than many parts of the Lowcountry that have been swallowed by coastal development. The Kiawah River, which borders part of the island, drains through an extraordinarily intact marsh system — one of the most biologically productive ecosystems on the Atlantic Coast, supporting shorebirds, wading birds, and the full complement of estuarine species that salt-marsh habitats protect.
The Dunlin opened in 2024 as a new-build resort on the Kiawah River marshes of Johns Island, thirty minutes from Charleston by road. Auberge Resorts selected the site as the foundation for an entirely new type of property — one designed from the beginning around the physical character of the Lowcountry rather than adapting an existing building to hospitality use. The seventy-two rooms are distributed across cottage-style structures set within the marsh landscape, their architecture referencing the vernacular building traditions of the Carolina coast — low profiles, deep porches, and materials that weather into their surroundings. The hotel's name honors the dunlin, a small shorebird of the sandpiper family that is native to the Atlantic coast and winters in large numbers along the South Carolina marshes.
Linnette's, the resort's signature restaurant, anchors the food-and-beverage program with Lowcountry seafood and the agricultural traditions of the surrounding sea-island landscape. The property's programming is built around the Kiawah River itself — paddling, birding, guided marsh walks, and the kind of active engagement with a coastal ecosystem that characterizes the best Lowcountry resorts. For Charlestonians and their guests seeking a wilderness escape that feels genuinely rooted in the landscape rather than merely adjacent to it, the Dunlin has arrived as the most compelling new coastal address south of the city.
The setting
Johns Island, SC, on the Kiawah River barrier island marsh ecosystem.
Restaurants and bars
- Linnette's — Restaurant · Seafood
- The Willet Room — Restaurant
- The Cove — Restaurant
Experiences
- Guided water and boat excursions — Guided kayaking, paddleboarding, fly fishing and oyster shucking across 20 miles of waterfront, plus boat excursions.
- Nature trails for hiking, biking and naturalist walks — 20 miles of nature trails for hiking, biking and naturalist walks.
- Coastal Safari — Birdwatching on the tidal flats, casting for local game fish, and feeding friendly goats at the farm.
- Paddle & Picnic — Paddling on the water alongside dolphins and sea turtles.
- Visit a family farmstead — Visit a family farmstead, including feeding friendly goats at the farm.
- Epicurean dining with riverside oyster roasts and farm dinners — Riverside oyster roasts and farm dinners built on Southern cuisine and farm-fresh ingredients.
Amenities
- Spa
- Pool
- Kayaking
- Fishing
- Sauna
- Hot tub
- Fitness center
- Kids' club
- Tennis
- Pet-friendly
Awards
- AAA Four Diamond (2026)
- MICHELIN One Key (2026)
Open The Dunlin, Auberge Collection in the atlas for live weekend rates, photos, and the full folio.
More Auberge Resorts hotels
- Auberge du Soleil — Rutherford, United States · Apex Luxury
- The Lodge at Blue Sky — Wanship, United States · Apex Luxury
- Bowie House — Fort Worth, United States · Grand Luxury
- Commodore Perry Estate — Austin, United States · Grand Luxury
- Hotel Jerome — Aspen, United States · Grand Luxury
- Primland Resort — Meadows of Dan, United States · Grand Luxury
Auberge Resorts in The Maison: the brand's idea, history and every house on the atlas.