Wild Dunes Resort, South Carolina- Isle of Palms (a Gluten Free Family Road Trip from NY to Charleston)

Published On: August 19, 20268.5 min read

My family just got back from a road trip from NY to Charleston with stops in between. On the way down south we stopped in Richmond VA. We stayed overnight at the Omni Hotel – nice and centrally located to shops and restaurants. For our Gluten Free food we stopped at Oak and Apple BBQ– great GF options and see my review in find me GF.

From Richmond we traveled south the next morning, after breakfast at Biscuits and Waffles in Richmond (Fully GF breakfast spot with the most amazing waffles and biscuit breakfast sandwiches – only open on the weekends).

Along the way we found easy spots like Chipotle, Jersey Mikes, Chick Fil A for lunch options.

We picked Charleston because of the abundance of Gluten Free Food and also the ability to have a summer beach vacation shortly outside of a city.

Wild Dunes Resort– South Carolina

  • This is a great resort about 30/35 mins outside of Charleston on the isle of palms which is a beautiful beach spot.
  • This area surrounding Charleston and also the city itself were honestly a gluten free delight all around- so much to choose from!!!!
  • Harris Teeter– large grocery store about 8 mins from the hotel, super easy to go to – they had GF chicken nuggets GF Canyon bread, GF graham crackers, GF Tortillas and so much more, this is just what we picked up- basically everything you need.

Resort and Where to stay:

Getting to Wild Dunes-make sure when you are driving in you head to the resort and not the residences (just down the road from eachother)

  • The Sweetgrass Hotel – This is what you drive up to when you arrive at Wild Dunes. A  lovely hotel that has been updated, front side has ocean views, no kitchens (so this wouldnt be ideal for a family looking to stay with a fridge/kitchen) but would be great for couples/singles. In Inside this hotel is the Oystercatcher restaurant that has breakfast and also dinner (we didnt go here for dinner) and the bar is open until 10. Tip: take a drink and check out the view from the roof deck.
  • Residences at Sweetgrass – these are I think all 2 bedrooms but there may be a few larger units. Kitchens with fridges and utensils, (note they didnt have basics like tinfoil salt/pepper etc), but an oven and cooktop and fridge and freezer and they had the basics to cook.

*GF friends- bring tinfoil so you can cook safely. No microwave but we used the oven. There are 3 buildings A, B (these buildings are on the main drag which basically is across from Coastal Crust, The Hudson Market (little store that did have some GF muffins and coffee, lots of GLUTEN breakfast options for those traveling with non GF peeps), we didn’t really go here much. Next to the market is the ice cream store. All of this is about 30 steps from the Sweetgrass hotel. Building G is a bit farther (but NOT really) and looks like it has some ocean views. There is also a parking garage under this building but not entirely sure who is entitled to these spots-  there were steps up to the front door if walking (there is an elevator from the garage), so we liked being in building A which was super continent to go back and forth to the pool. G is a little big closer to the beach but honestly all are close.

  • The Sweetgrass pool is kind of kid wonderland- focused on small kids (under 10) zero entry pool, splash pad- FYI there is NO lifeguard at this pool OR at any of the pools or the beach- The Laughing gull is adjacent to this pool so easy to grab some lunch.
  • Boardwalk Inn – closer to the beach, I didn’t;t see the rooms but this is a hotel similar to Sweetgrass, the pool in front of it is an adult only pool so I wouldn’t stay here with kids if I could choose another spot, but its very nice.

There is a small boardwalk that has townhouses next to it that leads to the Sweetgrass pavilion on the beach – This is where the Beachside Burger spot is, and also where 2 smaller pools are. The bar here I think is open until 9pm on the boardwalk, and most nights they have music 7-9 which was really amazing to sit and listen- it’s right on the beach.

Note: Wild dunes is HUGE- and there are a TON of other options outside of the central area that I am mentioning.

Activities:

  • Rent Bikes, right behind Sweetgrass buildings A and B, very quick walk to the bike rental spot, bikes for kids, they also have the bikes where you can have very little kids in the small trailer, there is a 3.5 mile loop super easy and flat to walk or jog.\
  • Next to the bike shop is the tennis center- super easy to play tennis or pickleball, there is a lot going on with classes etc, they will give you a QR code when you check in but its also easy to call or go by the tennis center. There is a small playground behind the tennis center as well. The tennis center has racquets and balls to rent.
  • Next to tennis center is the golf shop and to the left of that is a lap pool (great if you want to dedicate to real swimming of laps). There were activities going on there but we didn’t have time for them.
  • Beach – the beach is flat and shallow and awesome, if you bring your own chairs note the tide comes up pretty fast- Wild dunes has chairs and umbrellas you can reserve, its a little annoying because we had a hard time finding our chairs since they put names in the back and ours was always in a different spot- but I would do it again as its easy to not have to think about bringing.
  • The beach is an easy walk from the Sweetgrass residences and hotel, and super close to the boardwalk hotel and townhomes.
  • Beach is great, super shallow- great for kids- NO lifeguards fyi.
  • Golf – there are several golf courses, its easy to sign up and you can even rent clubs there

Celiac- Gluten Free Eating on Resort Property:

  • Breakfast at the Oystercatcher – this is the main breakfast spot located in the lobby of the Sweetgrass Hotel – there is a brunch which we did not have or try- BUT we were able to eat breakfast here safely, they had a delicious omelet, gluten free bread to make avocado toast, eggs, bacon, and were very allergy aware all around. They said their new chef really understands celiac and cross contamination now. Oystercatcher bar is open till 10
  • Laughing Gull – this is a casual lunch spot overlooking the pool- kind of like a snack bar. They had a dedicated fryer for french fries, wings that were GF and a quinoa salad that was really good. Find me GF is updated with their menu as well. They are open I think till 9pm
  • Taco Truck at pool – this may not be there every day but they did have GF chips and guacamole, and a really good bowl with quinoa, lettuce, cheese beans and guacamole and you can add steak/chicken.
  • Beachside Bar and Burgers – this is on the beach under the grand pavilion, there are 2 small pools here as well – the wild dunes beach chairs are generally set up in front of this pavilion so its an easy spot for lunch- they had Fruit, salad, hamburger with GF bread, kale salad- review also in find me GF
  • Coastal Crust – great for lunch or dinner- Gluten free pizza and salad options, we REALLY liked the pizza, it actually comes with GF flour on the bottom like real pizza, I even double checked this with the pizza chef when we got it- it was good!! We had this the first night we arrived, it was perfect.
  • Ice cream shop on site – they have GF ice creams and some candies and moose tracks, birthday cake ice cream are what we chose.

Celiac Gluten Free Eating Close by to the Resort:

  • Acme Seafood – Reviewed in FMGF (Find me GF) and also I posted the menu, this spot was amazing. Tons of seafood gluten free, shrimp, scallops, steak, surf and turf, Cheese grits (OMG these were amazing) baked potatoes, and so much more. Almost everything can be made GF- no desert here but!!!
  • Republic Ice Cream – about an 8 min drive from Acme, all the ice cream is gf and they have amazing GF waffle cones!!!
  • BURTONS!!!! OMG this place- updated in find me GF they had EVERYTHING – there is an extensive GF menu (so big honestly we had to triple check)- tons of options, deserts. We went twice we LOVED it. Great dinner spot
  • Refuge – lovely dinner spot, looks like its going to be casual but its nice inside but not fancy- they had great options, updated in find me GF with menu photo
  • Charleston – only 30 mins away, TONS of gf spots- we didn’t hit a ton of spots here but there were SO many options: we wanted to hit SNOB (nicer dinner spot in the french quarter)
  • Charleston for Teens – shopping on King Street (its right near college of Charleston) its fantastic shopping, and if you go the second sunday of the month there is a street fair called second sundays which is great, lots of vendors and street is closed for walking
  • We found a great crepe spot that made us buckwheat crepes safely called Breizh Pan Crepes (there is a parking garage around the corner form this if you are driving)
  • BARTACO – this is on king street, always an amazing spot for celiac safe (review in find me GF)- we love this place, they make it easy to eat safely and the food is delicious. Dedicated fryer for chips, tacos all gluten free, salads can be gf, basically everything.