Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / United States / Greensboro / The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee
The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee
Greensboro, Georgia, United States · Ritz-Carlton · Grand Luxury
Lake Oconee is artificial: a 19,000-acre reservoir created in 1979 when Georgia Power's Wallace Dam flooded farmland and family cemeteries along the Oconee River. Seventy-five miles east of Atlanta, The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds sits beside it with five championship courses by Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, Rees Jones and Bob Cupp, and its Linger Longer Steakhouse takes its name from a 1940s lake camp that stood here before any of it.
- 257 rooms
- Opened 2002
- Neighborhood: Lake Oconee Trail
- Architect: Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart & Stewart
About The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee
- The resort's Linger Longer Steakhouse takes its name from a 1940s lake camp that stood on the property decades before the reservoir or the master-planned community existed.
- Lake Oconee itself is artificial: a 19,000-acre reservoir created in 1979 when Georgia Power's Wallace Dam flooded farmland and family cemeteries along the Oconee River.
History
Lake Oconee is a created body of water — a 19,000-acre reservoir impounded by Georgia Power's Wallace Dam in 1979 on the Oconee River in the Piedmont region of Putnam and Greene counties, about seventy-five miles east of Atlanta. The impoundment flooded farmland, family cemeteries, and the remnants of small communities that had occupied the river valley for generations, the kind of transformation that Georgia Power's dam-building program repeated across the state's major river systems during the middle decades of the twentieth century. The resulting lake, long and irregular, with hundreds of miles of forested shoreline, became one of the most sought-after second-home markets in the Southeast almost immediately.
The Reynolds Lake Oconee community grew out of that real-estate demand, eventually accumulating 19,000 acres of planned residential development around the lake's upper reaches — one of the largest private golf communities in the United States. The name Linger Longer, which the resort's flagship steakhouse now carries, references an original 1940s lake camp on the property, a detail that situates the contemporary resort in an older tradition of Southern lakeside leisure that predates the dam and the master-planned community alike.
The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee opened in 2002, positioned within the Reynolds community as its hospitality anchor. The resort's distinguishing feature is the scale and caliber of its golf program: six championship courses — with designs by Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, Jim Engh, Rees Jones, and Bob Cupp — representing ninety holes of play that Golf Digest has consistently ranked among the top courses in Georgia. The Nicklaus course and the Fazio-designed Great Waters course are the best known, with Great Waters running along the lake's edge in a way that places water in play on nearly every hole and produces some of the most photographed fairways in Southern golf.
The Linger Longer Steakhouse, operated by executive chef Dennis Vanterpool, anchors the dining program with the restaurant's name functioning as a quiet historical gesture toward the camp that preceded all of this. Georgia's, the all-day Southern fare restaurant on the main lodge veranda, serves a more straightforward role: feeding guests who want the view without the formality. The resort has held AAA Five Diamond designation continuously since 2022, a recognition that places it among the small number of golf destination resorts in the United States operating at the highest certified standard of luxury and service.
The setting
Sits on Lake Oconee, a 19,000-acre Georgia Power reservoir impounded in 1979, in Putnam and Greene counties of the Oconee National Forest region.
Restaurants and bars
- Linger Longer Steakhouse — Restaurant · Steakhouse · Chef Dennis Vanterpool
- Georgia's — Restaurant · Southern
- Oconee Cove — Restaurant · Small plates
- Amore del Lago — Restaurant · Italian
- Gaby's by the Lake — Restaurant · Casual American (salads, sandwiches, grilled dishes)
- The Coffee Shop — Café · Coffee house
- Splash Shack — Poolside · Casual, Greek-inspired poolside fare
- The Sand Bar — Bar
Experiences
- Golf on five championship courses at Reynolds Lake Oconee — Five championship courses, practice facilities and lessons are available at Reynolds Lake Oconee.
- Falconry encounter — Hands-on falconry encounter with birds of prey.
- Aerial Adventure Course — Course with 18 obstacles and a zip line ride through the treetops.
- Boat rides and fishing on Lake Oconee — Fishing, boating and scenic boat rides across Lake Oconee.
- Private fire pit on patio — Fireside rooms and suites include a private patio with fire pit overlooking Lake Oconee.
- Spa — Transformed spa offering a diverse menu of treatments.
Amenities
- 26,000 sq ft full-service spa
- 6 championship golf courses
- Lake Oconee boating and watersports
- Marina
- Tennis and pickleball
- Kids program and fishing
- 63,546 sq ft event space
- Indoor pool
- Sauna
- Hot tub
- Fitness center
- Pet-friendly
- EV charging
Awards
- AAA Five Diamond (2026)
- Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star (2026)
- MICHELIN One Key (2026)
Open The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee in the atlas for live weekend rates, photos, and the full folio.
More Ritz-Carlton hotels
- The Ritz-Carlton Naples — Naples, United States · Grand Luxury
- The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park — New York City, United States · Grand Luxury
- The Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad — New York City, United States · Grand Luxury
- The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes — Orlando, United States · Grand Luxury
- The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas — Dallas, United States · Grand Luxury
- The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain — Marana, United States · Grand Luxury
Ritz-Carlton in The Maison: the brand's idea, history and every house on the atlas.