Construction underway at Hilton Head’s Coligny Beach. Here’s a hint: It involves Tiki Hut
White sand and sea-grass-spotted dunes greet Coligny Beach Park visitors as they walk past outdoor showers and changing rooms. And for the next five to six months, they’ll also walk past a not-so-coastal sight: construction fences, men in hard hats and heavy equipment.
Beach House Hilton Head Island, including the iconic Tiki Hut beach bar, is getting an upgrade, changing the landscape of Coligny Beach Park’s entrance and bringing live music closer to the beach. The around $11 million in renovations started in October and are set to be completed by Spring 2024, according to Beach House general manager Jay Wiendl.
The construction comes about a year and a half after EOS Hospitality, a New York-based hospitality management company, acquired the resort in March 2022. The company has about 40 properties, mostly along the U.S. East and West Coast, in its portfolio including resorts in Myrtle Beach, Bethany Beach, Beverly Hills and Big Sur.
On Hilton Head, when Coligny Beach-goers hear music in the briny sea air, it’s likely from the Tiki Hut. Local musicians have played at the bar and on-the-beach music venue almost every day since it opened in 1977. Now, it’s undergoing its first complete renovation, although there have been small additions over the years, according to Wiendl.
“The only thing that remains the same is the Tiki vibe and our amazing crew of bartenders and servers,” Wiendl said.
Workers are expanding the Tiki Hut and moving the music stage to a private beach between the resort and the public beach, closer to the water than it was before. There will be a kitchen and restrooms, and the bar and seating area will be larger, but the thatched-roof look is staying.
There is a temporary bar on the second floor of the Beach House called the Tiki Nest while renovations are going on, and, like the Tiki Hut, it’s open to the public despite being part of the resort.
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Once construction is finished, the resort will be able to upgrade its live music features and dining experiences. Wiendl said it will offer Saturday and Sunday brunch with multiple bands on the weekends during the summer and fall.
Plans also include the addition of a covered event pavilion to replace the white-tented area, which hosted around 40 weddings last year, according to Wiendl. When it’s not being used as a wedding venue, it will be a gaming area for resort guests with cornhole and giant Connect 4.
The resort is also replacing its pool and cabanas.
If everything continues to be on schedule, Wiendl said, locals and visitors alike could be “sitting on the sand, having brunch, listening to great music and looking at the ocean” by April or May.
