An aerial view of Port Royal Plantation, which covers the heel of Hilton Head Island.
When observing Hilton Head Island from an airplane, a drone photo, or a map, the island’s shape distinctively resembles a tennis shoe with the toe being the southernmost point and the heel further north where the Atlantic Ocean mingles waters with the Port Royal Sound. It is here, covering the heel of the island, where Port Royal Plantation—one of the island’s most desirable neighborhoods—was established. Residents enjoy a private, luxury community with direct beach access to the Port Royal Sound and the Atlantic Ocean, where no commercial development or short-term rentals are allowed.
Port Royal Plantation features freshwater lagoons, fantastic wildlife, an arboretum, saltwater estuaries, and three historical sites. First-class amenities include a swimming pool, beach house, six pickleball courts, two tennis courts, miles of leisure paths, beaches, and access to great golf courses.
Lea Smith, associate broker with RE/MAX Island Realty, has been selling real estate in the Hilton Head area for 37 years. She has sold many properties in Port Royal Plantation and speaks highly of the neighborhood.
“There is so much to love within Port Royal Plantation,” Smith said. “This residential community has fewer than 1,000 home sites within 1,200 acres of tranquil, natural beauty, with only about 90 percent of those sites developed. This low density gives the neighborhood a quiet atmosphere versus the higher-density resort areas. Home sites range from a quarter of an acre to more than an acre, with views of the Atlantic Ocean, pristine golf courses, freshwater lagoons, saltwater estuaries and the Port Royal Sound. Home styles range from waterfront bungalows to larger estates, so you’re sure to find the layout that fits all your family’s must-have list.”
The six pickleball courts and two tennis courts stay busy rear round with the active residents of this gated community.
According to Smith, inventory is extremely limited and in high demand in Port Royal Plantation. “Currently, there are only six homes on the market,” she said, “priced from $750,000 for an 1,800-square-foot home, up to $6,250,000 for a stately 5,000-square-foot oceanfront home. Three homes are under contract now, ranging in price from $1,400,000 to $2,299,000.”
Port Royal Plantation is known for its history and charm, but one of the best features of this luxury community is the close to three miles of quiet, white sand beaches. Residents and their guests can take an early morning jog on the sand or a leisurely stroll along the miles of nature paths.
“When you live in Port Royal Plantation, you are residing in a premier private oceanfront residential community on beautiful Hilton Head Island, with 24/7 security,” said Andrew Boyles, communication administration assistant for Port Royal Plantation Community Association. “In Port Royal, there are 21 beach access points, seven of which include boardwalks, so it makes the beach easily accessible for our homeowners no matter where they are in the community. The community’s beaches face both the Atlantic Ocean and the Port Royal Sound.”
One of the more popular beach access points is the community’s beach house. This amenity includes a boardwalk to the beach and features an Olympic-sized pool, a large back deck, a screened porch, and a community room where members can enjoy planned social gatherings, as well as booking opportunities to host private events, such as weddings, receptions, and more.
The beach house is not the only attractive amenity the neighborhood has to offer. The six pickleball courts and two tennis courts stay busy year round. For nature lovers, Port Royal has the arboretum, a peaceful nature area for residents to walk through and enjoy, as well as miles of leisure paths, providing beautiful scenery all around the community. For the historians, Port Royal Plantation is home to the original landing site of William Hilton, the explorer the island is named after. There are also historical sites dating back to the Civil War and Spanish-American War era located within Port Royal such as Fort Walker, Fort Sherman, and Steam Gun.
The community’s new beach house features a large screened porch overlooking Port Royal Sound.
In this residential community, because there are no short-term rentals, homeowners become very familiar with their neighbors.
Laurence and Stefano Zenezini visited Hilton Head Island from their previous home in Cincinnati for the first time in July 2020 and fell in love with the island. Three weeks later, they bought their home in Port Royal Plantation.
“We believe we didn’t choose Port Royal Plantation, but it chose us,” Stefano Zenezini said. “We felt at home immediately because this is a community where people meet, laugh, support and care for each other and their environment.”
A key aspect of Port Royal living is the residents’ connections with one another. “There are more than 20 homeowner groups that meet regularly,” Boyles said. “Some groups are designated to meet to play games such as Mahjongg, some to create art, and some to simply enjoy each other’s company over a cup of coffee. Monthly, the homeowners get together to host a potluck.”
Most of these groups meet at the beach house, but other clubs, like pickleball, meet at the courts to play based on experience level. There is even a community garden called “Fish Haul Farm” near the tennis and pickleball courts where landowners can have their own plots in the garden.
“Playing pickleball or tennis, practicing yoga at the beach house, or watching the sun rise at the beach, we are grateful for every moment we get to spend in Port Royal Plantation and on the island,” Laurence Zenezini said.
When you buy a home in Port Royal Plantation, you can also opt to become a member of the Port Royal Plantation Club (PRPC). “Port Royal Plantation is unique in that residents have access to golf community amenities if desired without a requirement for golf club membership as a condition of property ownership,” Smith explained. “The semi-private Port Royal Golf and Racquet Club, located adjacent to—but outside the gates of—the private residential area, offers three membership levels (Sports, Golf, Social) to accommodate residents’ varying lifestyles.”
The Heritage Golf Group owns both 18-hole golf courses in Port Royal: The Barony Course and The Robbers Row Course. The PRPC gives access to the golf courses as well as the Heritage-owned pickleball and tennis courts. The PRPC is also an active group that meets at the beach house for social events.
A beach access boardwalk leads away from the community beach house, which features an Olympic-sized pool and a community room where members can enjoy planned social gatherings.
Fred Ricer, a Port Royal homeowner who moved to Hilton Head from Charlotte, North Carolina, initially bought a two-bedroom condominium overlooking the Calibogue Sound on the south end of the island in the Sea Pines Resort. The first time he visited Port Royal Plantation, however, he and his wife began searching for a home within the gates.
“Port Royal is truly a special place to live,” Ricer said. “From its beautiful beaches—the best on the island—to the majestic oaks draped with Spanish moss and towering pine trees, to its leisure paths and arboretum, Port Royal is full of attractive amenities. My wife and I hosted our wedding reception at the beach house, and it couldn’t have been more perfect. However, what makes Port Royal a great place to live is the residents. Perhaps because there are no short-term rentals (and thus no short-term neighbors), the homeowners build a sense of community like no other. On our street, we gather twice a year, in spring and at Christmas, for potluck dinners. Some of our neighbors have lived in Port Royal for more than 30 years.”
Port Royal Plantation is a private, gated community and a great place to live if you want to be near the beach.
The neighbors care not only for their own community but for the Lowcountry in general as the landowner-organized Port Royal Community Charitable Fund (PRCCF) continues to raise thousands of dollars to benefit charity. Renee Roth is the PRCCF board chair.
“Together Helping Others’ represents the vision that led a group of Port Royal friends to establish a community charitable fund for our neighborhood,” Roth said. “Little did we know just how fervently our residents would take that to heart. One year later, thanks to the generosity of Port Royal residents who truly care about our community, the PRCCF awarded our first $20,000 in grants, well ahead of our formal grant cycle.”
In addition, the PRCCF supported the Boys & Girls Club bike ride, hosted a food drive to help local pantries, and conducted a diaper drive to help local parents who are struggling to provide even the necessities for their children.
Recipients of these first grant awards were: Antioch Educational Center, Born to Read, Family Promise of Beaufort County, Deep Well Project, Safe Harbour, Hopeful Horizons, Meals on Wheels, NAMI Lowcountry, Neighborhood Outreach Connection, Operation Patriots Forward Operating Base, Real Champions, Sandalwood Community Food Pantry, Hunger Coalition of the Lowcountry/Backpack Buddies, and Volunteers in Medicine, HHI.
“In June 2023, we will be awarding grants of $80,000 to go toward other community nonprofits,” Roth said.
Port Royal Plantation is a totally private, oceanfront, gated community, and an awesome place to live if you want to be near the beach with access to the luxury amenities people come to the island to enjoy, while keeping a desirable degree of separation from the tourist trade.
“If you are looking for a beautiful place to live with a true sense of community,” Boyles said, “look no further than Port Royal Plantation.”
