How Fripp Island resort will add a little fairy tale flair with ‘Camelot’ purchase

The hospitality group that recently acquired the Fripp Island Resort has added an expansive seaside property — with a fairy tale namesake — to its real estate holdings.

California-based Seascape Hospitality Group purchased St. Helena Island’s Camelot Farms Equestrian Center for $1.9 million, according to a listing on The Jon Kohler & Associates website.

The equestrian center announced the sale Friday on its Facebook page. Seascape Hospitality group acquired the Fripp Island Golf & Beach Resort in January.

The roughly 58-acre equestrian center, located 20 minutes east of Beaufort, was first posted for sale at $3.4 million in 2021 by previous owners Anne and Mark Kennedy. The couple said they originally moved to the Lowcountry parcel in 1999 to retire before “flunking” into opening the equestrian facility.

Anne Keneddy said resort ownership plans to continue operating the property as an equestrian center, with upgrades coming to the already-impressive 14-stall barn — complete with stained glass windows and a chandelier centerpiece — and to the property’s boarding facilities.

“It took us a while to find the right person to buy Camelot, and we’re real happy it’s transpired now,” Kennedy said. “We’re really thrilled that the tradition of Camelot will continue, and the people in our area will be able to continue to enjoy the gifts of the horses.”

Kennedy said Seascape Hospitality was the right buyer in part because there were “several other inquiries” that would have transitioned the property away from its equestrian focus.

Now that the sale is finalized, Kennedy said she and her husband are beginning their retirement in earnest — about 25 years after they’d initially planned to, that is.

“In fact, after the closing, I said this is the first week that I’ve been unemployed in my life,” Kennedy said.

The property generated $348,000 in 2022, according to its listing. While the Kennedys operated the property, Anne Kennedy said seaside horse tours of Coffin Point Beach, which adjoins the property via a private trail, became the business’s “lifeblood.”

Sunrise beach rides earned the property $139,000 on their own in 2022, according to the property listing.

Aside from the kingly main barn, Camelot Farms also has a 300- by 500-foot training area, as well as obstacles on its trails, a 2,800-square-foot stucco home overlooking the island’s native marshland and a 3-bedroom guesthouse. The guesthouse earned $31,000 last year as a short-term rental.

Kennedy said the property’s main home was sold to a private individual for $1.1 million a few months before Seascape Hospitality purchased the rest of the parcel.

Resort ownership could not be immediately reached for comment.