Chef Lewie

Chef Lewie Mashburn Executive Sou Chef gives a great tip for leftovers  Store any sauce or rub in an airtight container and it can be used for your next summer cookout. All the acid in the sauce helps preserve it for future use. Be careful not to contaminate your batch by using the original container to rub your meat. Make sure to pour a little at a time into a dish you are reaching your hands into.

Join us on Jekyll Island for the annual Wild Georgia Shrimp and Grits Festival. Click here to learn about enjoying our package. For more information about this years festival visit http://www.shrimpandgritsfestival.com/

Join us on Jekyll Island for the annual Wild Georgia Shrimp and Grits Festival. Click here to learn about enjoying our package. For more information about this years festival visit http://www.shrimpandgritsfestival.com/

Join us on Jekyll Island for the annual Wild Georgia Shrimp and Grits Festival. Click here to learn about enjoying our package. For more information about this years festival visit http://www.shrimpandgritsfestival.com/

Mark your calendars the Jekyll Island Club Hotel will host a Pinterest Pin to Win Summer Giveaway for 6 weeks starting Friday May 17th. The rules are pretty simple with a short 3 step process for a chance to win a Landmark Vacation for 4 including a 4 night stay at our Historic Hotel along with tickets for the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, Summer Waves Waterpark, and Bicycle Rentals. This is an $1800 value vacation! For a copy of the official rules click here. You can enter contest through our Facebook app by clicking here. Be sure to like us on Facebook and Pinterest to gain access to this promotion. Take a look at our “Pin to Win Summer Giveaway” board to start picking your favorite pins. Contest opens May 17th.

Good luck to all entrants we will announce the random winner on June 24th. Be sure to email a link of your board to pr@jekyllclub.com. Each entrant will be e-mailed a coupon* for their participation that can be used on their next stay at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel. These e-mails will be sent after the winner has been announced.

*Not valid with existing reservations. Some blackout dates may apply. Not valid on holidays.

Gatsby Glamour Down South

Last week, I moderated a talk about the power of branding alongside the talented ladies of Leapfrog Public Relations Co. and Stitch Design Co. at the Southern C Summit, held at the Jekyll Island Club in Jekyll Island, Georgia (photo below).

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I was blown away by the architecture and history of the original hotel and its surrounding buildings and cottages, most of which date to the turn-of-the-century through the early twenties, when the Morgans, Rockefellers, and Vanderbilts wintered there.

Maybe it’s because Baz Luhrmann’s much-hyped take on The Great Gatsby hits the silver screen in four days, but all I could think about the whole time I was there was how much the entire compound embodied that era of excess.

And I found a few old photos to prove it.

Here is the original dining room:

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And members leading a life of leisure:

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And a snap of J.P. Morgan’s yacht:

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Which brings me to yet another Southern connection to Gatsby: Daisy Buchanan, Fitzgerald’s iconic Southern belle. Like many of his female characters, Daisy was loosely inspired by his real-life, Alabama-born wife, Zelda (photo below).

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If you haven’t read Vogue’s piece about Carey Mulligan, the actress set to play Daisy, do (photo from the story below).

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It prompted me to revisit an idea I’ve always found fascinating about both Daisy and Zelda: there are often very dark things hidden behind masks of beauty and liquored-up-lightness.

Is it Friday yet? I can’t wait!

Getting married in 2013 or 2014? The Jekyll Island Club Hotel has announced our “Spectacular Weddings at Fabulous Prices” as we continue the tradition of unforgettable Jekyll Island weddings! The Hotel’s sales and catering staff has put together special discounts to assist you in making lasting memories at the resort on your special day.

2013 Dates:

• All weekends in August
• All weekends in November
• December 20-22
• December 27-29, 2013

***Package and site fee discounts are available on 9/20/13-9/22/13. Sleeping room discounts are not available.

2014 Dates:

• All weekends in January
• January 31-February 2
• February 21-23
• February 28-March 2
• March 7-9
• All Weekends in August
• November 14-16
• November 21-23
• November 28-30
• December 12-14
• December 19-21

We are also offering 50% off site fees for all locations on a Customized Wedding & 25% off all sleeping rooms.

Enjoy discounts on our Wedding Packages:

• Elopement Package $150 discount
• Renewal of Vows Package $350 discount
• Island Wedding Package $600 discount
• Club Wedding Package $1350 discount*
• Landmark Wedding Package $2000 discount*

*And waive the surcharge for Crane Cottage and the Morgan Center and a 25% discount on all sleeping rooms!

We look forward to helping you plan your upcoming wedding. Feel free to contact our Sales and Catering Department with any questions at 800-535-9547 or email sales@jekyllclub.com

When it comes to coffee breaks, who needs coffee?

Hotels are being very creative when it comes to break time. And, what better way to offer an added benefit to planners who are looking for something different for their groups?

Swissôtel Chicago offers a Vitality Break with Swiss museli and granola in the morning or hand-rolled pretzels and vegetable crudite mid-morning. Executive chef Dan McGee says attendees love it. “The participants don’t just remember the keynote speakers and the workshops, they remember the breaks, the networking opportunities. The Vitality menu creates an additional talking point and instills a lasting memory. Not to mention, this food will keep attendees focused and engaged throughout the day.”

Many other hotels are coming up with creative breaks.

Meeting attendees at the Sebastian Vail can participate in the Popular Mixology Break where attendees are treated to delightful nibbles while learning the art of the cocktail. They can engage with a professional mixologist, prepare selected drinks, and sample them along the way.

At the Renaissance Curacao Resort and Casino, the Chocolate Fondue Break includes assorted tropical fruit, marshmallows and sponge cake for dipping.

Attention to detail is important to the folks at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel in Georgia when it comes to their refined Victorian Tea Break with scones and tea sandwiches.

At the Boca Raton Resort & Club in Florida, the liquid of choice comes from the venerable orange. The Tribute to the Orange Break (pictured above) includes fresh squeezed orange juice, Orangina or Orange Crush to accompany mini orange-ginger muffins, orange-chocolate covered cherries and apricots, and crystallized orange rings.

Boulders Resort in Carefree, Arizona breaks are on location at Promise Rock, 2,288 feet above ground level, providing extraordinary panoramic views of the valley below. Yoga is popular for breaks here. The hotel’s Organic Garden offers meeting guests a venue where they can indulge in an organic wine tasting, take tours with the Boulder’s Master Gardener, or experience a reading from the local numerologist who studies the symbolism of numbers to determine personality traits.“It’s all about the Numbers” breaks are customized with attendees choosing options–from first name analysis to birth date.

The “PM Break” at the Fairmont Orchid in Hawaii sets up a local candy store (“Crack Seed Store”) with local candy and Hawaiian shave ice, a favorite among the locals. There’s also Bananarama candy bananas, wasabi peas, Li Hing Gummy Bears and Candy Pineapple. And, if you must have coffee at your coffee break, The Orchid will set up a break including several varieties of bananas and Hawaii’s famous Kona coffee, chocolate macadamia nut bars and chocolate covered Kona coffee beans. Also included is a discussion of the Kona Coffee from Kona Coffee Growers.

Meeting guests can have an alpine-themed coffee break featuring hot cocoa, gingerbread biscotti, house-made white and dark chocolates, and banana spiced cupcakes at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe.

Attendees will no doubt will be wowed by any of these creative ideas, and planners will look like all-stars for coming up with such innovative ideas. Look for part II of Creative Coffee Breaks coming soon!

Read more great stories about the amenities other properties are offering – and make sure to stay tuned for Part II for this series.