Kiawah Island attracts celebrities and luxury houses. See who visits and the unique homes for sale

Kiawah Island, along South Carolina’s coast near Charleston, received some attention this month, when President Joe Biden and family vacationed at a home of a donor and friend.

Not to say Kiawah hasn’t been in the spotlight before, what with the PGA Championship last year being played on the Ocean Course. Or Bill and Hillary Clinton’s visits. Or Oprah, Reese Witherspoon, George Clooney.

Oh, and former South Carolina governor and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley paid $2.4 million for a 5,000-plus square foot Mediterranean-style home on a half-acre overlooking the Kiawah River..

Last year, the most expensive house sold on the barrier island was reported. An LLC paid $20.5 million for 16 acres on the waterfront and a house once owned by the Vanderhorst family, which owned most of the island for 200 years.

Realtors report sales remain brisk and property values are rising..

Here are three of the most expensive properties on Kiawah for sale now.

245 Eagle Point Road

A 6,000 square foot, four bedroom, four bath house is situated on 1.7 acres overlooking the confluence of the Stono and Kiawah Rivers. It is at the northeastern tip of Eagle Point in The Preserve. Asking price: $13,995,000

The listing says, “mahogany-clad windows frame marsh and river views from nearly every room.”

It has a cedar-shingle exterior and a slate roof, which the listing says is “reminiscent of New England’s finest seaside estates.”

The first floor features French Oak flooring, a vaulted brick ceiling in the entryway and a two-story cut-stone fireplace in the living room that overlooks the pool and the water.

There’s another fireplace in the kitchen, which includes a Wolf range, dual Miele dishwashers, twin, paneled Sub-Zero refrigerators.

This place is meant for guests with an entertainment center, full bar, wine cellar, dual washers and dryers and a professional-sized beverage refrigerator.

Yet another fireplace is located in the primary suite on the main floor. It has a stone walk-in shower, soaking tub, dual vanities, and dressing table.

There’s a library on the second floor above the primary suite, which the listing says “comprise the owners’ wing, which is completely private and secluded from the main house.”

On the second floor of the main house are three guest suites and access to a widow’s walk, from which purportedly you can see Folly Beach.

There’s a heated, saltwater infinity-edge pool, a putting green and an eight-car garage.

85 Ocean Course Drive

Directly south of the Eagle Point Road house is 25 acres for sale — i.e. no house — on Bass Creek. (To go by car is a circuitous route from Eagle Point).

The listing says the property is an island within an island, called Cougar Island.

The description: “amber marshlands, towering pines, sparkling creeks, majestic oaks.” Makes you want to plunk down the $12.5 million asking price, if you could.

“It is the largest homesite parcel in the history of Kiawah Island,” the listing says. It could be subdivided into four homesites.

The buildable piece of the 25 acres covers 3.78 acres, which has almost 360 degrees of waterway and marsh views. Two deep water docks have been approved, convenient since downtown Charleston is 45 minutes by boat.

119 Ocean Course Dr.

About a 10-minute walk from Cougar Island sits a modernist home on more than an acre of land., asking price $9,750,000

“The home carries a ‘Naturally Kiawah’ designation by the Kiawah Island Natural Habitat Conservancy, and its grounds complement the natural surroundings by incorporating indigenous grasses and native plants that provide wildlife habitat,” the listing says.

In fact, it’s sort of hard to see it.

It is an example of something many builders claim but not all completely execute: building within its environment. Trees and water are all you can see when looking outside, even from a modernistic bathroom with a large window over the sink.

An aged live oak is surrounded at the entryway by Ipe-clad decking. Marble flooring covers the foyer; antique wood-beams on the stairs. The living room has a fireplace, antique French wide plank oak floors, and wall-to-wall glass.

Three bedrooms are located in the main house, which has a copper roof, board-form concrete planks, and shingle accents.

“Floor-to-ceiling windows run corner to corner throughout the home affording panoramic marsh views from nearly every room,” the listing says.

Even the kitchen cabinets are designed so as not to obstruct the view. They are made of glass.

As with the Eagle Point house, this house has Wolf, Sub-Zero, and Miele appliances including two dishwashers, an icemaker, and refrigerated drawers.

There’s a guest wing with two rooms, an office and a sitting room with a kitchenette.

On the second floor there’s a lounge with a concrete fireplace and a glass wall that opens “onto a large screened porch among the treetops,” the listing says.

The primary suite is also on the second floor.

A guest house close by is used now as an art studio and fourth bedroom with a full bath and kitchenette.

Biden vacation

The house Biden stayed in on Flyway Drive is about 5 miles southwest of the Ocean Course properties and not for sale. It was taken off the market not too long ago. Asking price was $20 million.

It is owned by Maria Allwin, whose late husband James founded a hedge fund. It is on two acres with 200 feet of ocean frontage, nine bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, 10,000 square feet.

There is a boardwalk to the beach and a saltwater pool. The Bidens left on Wednesday.

Allwin’s primary home is in Connecticut.