Today is Monday, January 26, 2026 and Steve “DOS” and I drove up from our home in Orlando to Jekyll Island. We were just here the week of Christmas, and I wrote a detailed post about our wonderful week-long stay here. Unlike the Christmas week, however, just a mere month later, the weather has turned into frigid cold, although as always we’re glad to be back.
This trip we are staying in the Governor’s Suite (one of two, both on the first floor) in Sans Souci, which were rumored to be the first condominiums, circa 1895. Sans Souci, which translates from French to “Without Care” was originally built as 6 units, in this massive building across from the Jekyll Club House, and adjacent to the to Indian Mound, the Rockefeller’s massive “cottage”.
We debated staying in the Presidential Suite at the Jekyll Club Hotel once again, however we haven’t stayed in the Governor’s Suite here in Sans Souci, which is actually much larger, although lacks the iconic and signature Turret, the symbol of the Jekyll Club.
After our leisurely 4 hour drive to Jekyll Island (where we stopped once to recharge our Tesla and had a nice lunch at Five Guys Burgers in Jacksonville, Florida) we arrived at Jekyll Island around 3pm. Upon walking in our Suite, room 4104, we were amazed at how nice it was, and immediately preferred this room over the Presidential Suite in the main Clubhouse!
We have stayed in the Presidential Suite many times over the years, however during Covid it was remodeled to make it more modern, and some of our favorite touches such as the huge soaking jacuzzi tub were taken out, in lieu of a “claw”-type standalone tub, which is not only unattractive, but impractical as well. The room is actually smaller as well, but above all, it doesn’t have the historic “feel” to it like this suite in Sans Souci. As we explored the Sans Souci suite, we noticed the room retained many of the original doors, stained glass windows, closets, 12 foot ceilings, fireplaces (no longer operational) and floorpan, although the original furniture (like many of the Jekyll Island “cottages”) was unfortunately pilfered after the Club closed in 1942 by scavengers to the island, which was not secured at that point.
When walking into our room at Sans Souci however, I literally felt like we were imposing on someone’s home, just by walking inside, as it was so well kept, and truly felt like the previous owners had lived here for years, and finally moved out, leaving wonderful memories behind. Indeed Sans Souci, was the former winter occupancy of millionaires such as J.P. Morgan and others. The room we have, 4104, occupies the front two rooms on the first floor left side of the building, as you’re facing forward towards it. The Sans Souci complex has been subdivided into 24 rentable rooms now, vs the original 6 rooms, as the rear facing bedrooms and baths are rented as single rooms instead of suites. Although I don’t know who specifically owned our room, I felt like I was walking into J.P. Morgans personal apartment with its stained glass windows and fireplaces in the living room and bedroom, although the fireplaces are no longer operational unfortunately. (I found out J.P. Morgan resided in a similar room on the third floor.)
There are four separate doors leading to the hallway, which in it’s day would have lead to the other bedrooms across the hall, all part of the unit, but are now sub-divided into other accommodations. Our suite on the first floor also has 2 separate doors leading to the huge outdoor deck, complete with rocking chairs and small tables. I love to “rock” and only wish it wasn’t so cold this trip or I’d spend more time outside admiring the views; i.e. The Clubhouse on the right, and Rockefeller’s Cottage on the left!
Tonight we went to Corridor Z for dinner, which is a short mile and a half away, in the shopping complex across from the Westin, near where we stayed (at the Jekyll OCEAN Club, sister hotel of the Jekyll Club) over Christmas. Both the bartender and our server remembered us as “The Steve’s” from Christmas, and we are good friends with Larson and Michelle, whom we are meeting tomorrow night for the FOJI Formal Dinner.
After dinner, we stopped by the main Jekyll Club Hotel for a nightcap in the bar, which quickly became packed with some a group of about 30 men attending a small sales conference at the hotel. I felt bad for the sole bartender as he was really rushing to serve everyone, but he did fine, and it was actually fun watching the crowds interact with each other, and slowly getting drunk with their open group tab! I remember those conference days myself in my working days, and the after parties, WOW – I told DOS!
Now it’s nearly midnight and I’m heading to bed, after a quick shower. We have to be at breakfast by 10am tomorrow, which is next door at the Jekyll Club House. Really fun first day at Jekyll! Good night for now.
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Continued on January 30, 2026
O.K. So we’re back home now (actually in the Brightline Train Station at MCO Airport) as I write this. We had a fun-filled three days at Jekyll Island, and drove back home yesterday (Thursday), arriving home around 3pm yesterday afternoon. We here home a total of 21 hours, before heading off for our next trip to Miami, where we’ll board the RCL Icon of the Seas tomorrow.
But for now, back to our Jekyll stay. As I said, we had a great time . . . But! Unfortunately we did not get much sleep as it was so cold in the Suite. As I finished the post for the night above, I headed to bed, after first verifying the settings on the two different heater/AC controls. The temperature was only 65F which was chilly, but Steve (DOS) and I figured it would warm up thru the night, as I set it to 68F for sleeping. I don’t like it too hot at it dries out my sinuses, but 65 is pushing the limit for comfort.
DOS ended up getting some of the large bath towels and put on our beds, along with our coats to keep us warmer. It helped some, but we were both surprised the Suite did not include robes or even blankets allowing for extra warmth on this soon to be frigid night (the outside temperature was going down to the high thirties.
Although we got little sleep during the night due to the cold, we were awakened at 5:30am for our unscheduled “wake up” call, courtesy of the bedside power adapter, which evidently doubles as an alarm clock and had been set by the previous guests we presumed. Who gets up at 5:30am on vacation? I could see setting it that early at an airport hotel, but they should have turned the alarm off before they checked out.
Anyway at 5:30am I was too startled at that early hour on how to turn off the alarm in the dark room, plus I had my CPAP mask on as well which limited my movement over to the bedside table. I finally managed to hit the only button on the adapter clock and it snoozed for 10 minutes. This snooze repeated three times in 10 minute intervals, at which point DOS got out of bed and unplugged the unit. There were no apparent on/off buttons, time set, alarm set etc so we just left it unplugged. Really annoying, but not nearly as annoying as how cold it was in the room! We awoke to a 56 degree F room, down from 65F when we went to bed!
We had called the front desk the night before around 11:15pm, but the desk clerk didn’t know how to adjust the thermostat and said maintenance left at 11pm. She said she could send Security, but as we were already in bed for the night, we declined. Looking back, I should have asked them to deliver some blankets. The shower was also either scalding or freezing and operated by a single nozzle, which we had been warned by another guest we had met at the bar earlier.
Reluctantly we got out of bed later as it was so cold, and went to breakfast, stopping at the front desk on the way. We wanted to speak to the General Manager, but she was out sick that day, so we asked for the assistant manager. She said she was the assistant manager, but didn’t have the power to adjust rates, upgrade etc. I told her nicely that the room was exceptional, however that Sans Souci building should be shut down when the temperatures dip to near freezing temperatures. (The maintenance man did come by in the morning, and was quite nice, admitting the historic building’s central air and heating is not sized adequately for extreme temperatures. He said Spring and Fall are the best times to stay there, implying it was cold in the winter and hot in the summer!)
I asked the assistant manager for a suite comparable to what we had, knowing there are only big suites for the Presidential in the Main Clubhouse , and the Bridal/Groom suites in Cherokee Cottage and Crane Cottage. She didn’t offer any of these as options, and quite frankly if the other historic buildings had similar heating issues to Sans Souci Cottage we didn’t want to stay there this trip either.
Unfortunately for us, the Main Jekyll Island Club had issues with hot water, which ruled out the Presidential Suite in that building. Finally after searching she got us a “deluxe” room with a half patio (enclosed) in the Club Annex, next to and connected via walkways to the main Club House. Considering we were having a Formal event that evening in the Club House, we begrudgingly accepted the downgraded room. When we asked for a price adjustment she actually said they were the same price, which was obviously not correct, and even if it was, she should have comped our first night’s stay. We told her we’d discuss that later, but we just wanted to get moved to the other building which had heat AND hot water!
It was quite disappointing having to move to the tiny downgraded room, which not only was not a suite, but the porch was tiny and there were only two chairs, not that you would want to sit outside anyway in the cold. The room had two double beds, and one of them was located directly next to the entrance door leading to the hallway, making for a noisy and much less private feeling type of room compared to the awesome suite we had just moved from at Sans Souci. We had planned to entertain some local “Island friends” that evening before and possibly after the FOJI (Friends Of Jekyll Island) event like we had done in previous years, but this was not an option for us now that we were in this tiny room.
Anyway, we got our things moved with the help of Mike, whom we casually knew as he had been there for years, formerly as a lead Bellman at the hotel. He was actually an ally for us, as he knew how much we had stayed there over the years, normally in the Presidential Suite. He had been promoted to Guest Service Manager, and was a liaison to the Corporate Office owners. He asked us about any issues we had (over and above this downgraded room), and I mentioned a couple things such as the lack of robes and blankets, and sometimes the staff under shortage, especially at the Bellstand.
Unlike most hotels, the Jekyll Club Hotel would not meet modern ADA requirements (presumably they are “Grandfathered in” due to the historic building) as it’s still not practical for guests with mobility issues. While there are two elevators in the main building, and one in the Annex, both building require you to go up and down steps to reach the building itself. There is one single tiny open-air half lift (meaning its not covered and requires manual intervention from the Bell Staff to use it), but it’s used mostly for the bellman bringing heavy luggage up the initial flight of stairs to the main lobby. The main Club House and other historic buildings were built up a bit from the ground due to it’s location near the river, but think there should either (preferably) be a ramp in the front of the building added, as well as the back parking entrance, and/or a buzzer guests can press indicating they need assistance if no one is there. This happens frequently as the Bellmen are tasked delivering luggage to the main and other buildings, not to mention valet parking. I noticed this especially prior to my knee surgery last year as I couldn’t navigate steps, and needed the lift. Also, the San Souci building does not have any elevators, requiring guests to walk upstairs to the top two floors, and even on the ground floor there are 3 or 4 steps as well.
Anyway, enough about our switched building misfortune; we still had a wonderful stay, and I’ll stay positive for the rest of this post!
After stopping by the front desk, we had lunch at the Cafe at the main Club House, which is a small but busy establishment, offering primarily sandwiches and salads. Sticking to my New Year’s Keto Diet, I had a Turkey Club sandwich, but didn’t eat the bread. It was quite good, and perfect for a late 2pm lunch.
Steve (DOS) and I then relaxed a bit in our new room, forgoing our usual walk in the Historic Village, due to the cold temperatures outside. We took a short nap, before getting ready for the big night’s Formal Event. The pre-dinner cocktail hour started at 5:30pm in the Grand Dining Room, followed by the Dinner at 6:30pm. We met our island friends Michelle and Larson at the Main Lobby Bar around 5pm, as well as Tom and Anne, and met a few other people as well.
DOS and I both wore black tuxes, as almost all of the men did as well. It was Formal optional, but as this even is only held once a year, it gives everyone a chance to dress up among their friends. The Friends of Jekyll Island is a charity group that does many things for Jekyll, from providing seminars to members, various events, and assisting others with restoring some of the cottages.
This fundraising event for the FOJI dinner will help to raise funds for the Gould Casino, which is located in the Historic District and has fallen into disarray over the years, although our Jekyll Island friend, Larson, and others are currently restoring it. The Gould’s were formerly members during the Club’s “Millionaire Era” from 1888 – 1942, and built the casino for multiple purposes, including a playhouse for kids, which included a bowling alley, shooting range, tennis courts, game rooms etc, and contrary to the name, was not used for gambling in any sense.
During the FOJI Dinner in fact, “Sandra Gould” was an invited guest in the Main Dining Room, appearing in retro attire of the day of the “Millionaire’s Era”. Mrs. Gould, or “Sally” as she prefers, performed doing a solo act in character of what it was like living on Jekyll Island, back in the day. Sandra Gould of course is long gone, and one of the diners portrayed her, but she did a great job, providing a bit of insight to living during the era, and what the original casino was being used for.
For the dinner, DOS and I sat at Table 10, which was a large round table for 10 people in the back of the dining room next to the (now) gas fireplace. We both have the Beef Braised Ribs along with the shrimp appetizer, salad, and dessert, plus complimentary wine thorough the meal.
It was quite a fun night and here are a few photos of us, and our friends who attended, some new and some old.
After the FOJI dinner, complete with raffles for door prizes, many of the diner stayed for awhile and congregated in one of the main level public rooms for a bit more of the afterparty and socializing.
DOS and I stayed for awhile while downstairs before heading back to our tiny room in the Club Annex (I joked with people at dinner I thought we were placed in the Servant’s quarters LOL!!), but fortunately that night we had both Hot Water AND Heat!
The next day, Thursday was our last day, and we slept in a bit, but still made it to breakfast at 10am. Again we didn’t walk around outside as it was so cold, and really had a lazy day sitting by the fire for a while in the Main Lobby, and later taking a long nap before meeting our friends at the Westin Hotel for dinner.
We had a nice diner, complete with one of our favorite waiters at the Westin, and stayed for a while at the Westin Bar before heading back to our hotel and saying bye to our friends.
The next day, yesterday, Thursday, we checked out of the hotel after breakfast. No adjustment had been made to our bill, but we didn’t have time to wait around for awhile as there were other people leaving. We had to get back home for the one night, to unpack, and repack for our cruise, which we were leaving for the next day. The Hotel staff said they would email us an updated correction to our bill; will wait until we get back from our cruise in a week to worry about it.
For now, I’m writing this on the Brightline Train from Orlando to Miami, with quick stops in West Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, and ultimately Miami. Princess Cruises must sponsor this in some way, and I know they have pickup and drop off service in Ft. Lauderdale, one of their big departure points, but unfortunately not Miami.
We are heading on to the end of the line in Miami, however, but it’s a short uber ride to our hotel tonight, the Hyatt Regency downtown Miami. Have been about an hour into the journey, and DOS and I are both seated in the Premium Cabin (first car) which is nice, with 2 X 1 seating, and complimentary meals, drinks, and first checked bag free.
So, so long for now! We love Jekyll Island and had a great quick visit in spite of our accommodation issues. Until next time! Cheers!