What if you had a world-class golf facility, site of perhaps the most famous Ryder Cup of all-time, and you wanted to turn it into a world-class resort with lodging facilities worthy of the stellar courses designed by the likes of Nicklaus, Dye and Fazio? What would you do? If you're Prem Devadas, managing director of the golf-rich Kiawah Island Resort, you spearhead the construction of a $125 million ultra-luxurious oceanside resort and spa, The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island. The dramatic 255-room addition, only a hundred paces from the Atlantic Ocean surf, opened August 2004.

Kiawah Island, located 35 miles from Charleston, S.C., has never lacked for golf pedigree. It's the site of Turtle Point, one of Jack Nicklaus' highly successful early Signature designs built in 1981, 11 years after he worked on Harbour Town Golf Links with Pete Dye.

While the longstanding Kiawah Island Inn had hosted thousands of golfers, Devadas and the Kiawah owners, Bill Goodman and Virginia Investment Trusts, realized if they were going to keep Kiawah on par with the great golf resorts in North America, accommodations would have to be upgraded.

Enter the massive Sanctuary, which sits on the pristine 10-mile Kiawah Island beach, with 90 percent of the oversized rooms having an ocean view. It is also located next to the Turtle Point course with ease of access provided by the hotel shuttle service. The spa, which covers much of the second floor, offers several golfer-specific treatments, while two main restaurants, the Ocean Room and the Jasmine Porch, can fortify or replenish anyone for a day on the golf course.