Somewhere Between Low Tide and High Tea

On the historic grounds of the fabled Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, lies a place set apart by the very hand of nature. It’s a place where earth and sky, wind and water conspire to relax the body and restore the spirit. Here, somewhere between low tide and high tea, you can do as much as your heart desires, or as little as your conscience allows.

The Eastern Shore

The first recorded visitor to The Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay arrived by Spanish galleon nearly 500 years ago. Thereafter, history invited return performances—by paddle-wheel steamer, luxury automobile and private jet. Children who once reveled here are now the grandparents who return again. Through the years, otherwise sober-minded men and women have called it a Utopia. An earthly paradise. A heavenly place. But the most fortunate among them have simply called it home.

The Grand Hotel History walks the halls of this storied hotel.

Yet, today’s resort and spa is lavishly modern, with three-dozen boat slips and four-diamond accommodations. And now, new memories beckon at the hotel so legendary, it has come to be called, simply, “The Grand:” dancing under the stars on Julep Point, sailing into a white-capped bay from the yacht basin, learning the joys of child’s pose in the yoga studio.

The live oak grove on The Colony’s nature trail

Sunset dinner on the lake

The Colony at the Grand For 160 years, guests at The Grand Hotel have found it difficult to leave. Now, you don’t have to.

Introducing The Colony at the Grand—new luxury condominium residences that rival even the high standards of The Eastern Shore. On one hundred seventy-five acres, where hotel guests once enjoyed field and stream, The Colony at the Grand offers an unspoiled forest, an artesian spring, a private lake —even opportunities for membership in our legendary Lakewood Golf Club. The waters and beaches of the Gulf are forty minutes away, by boat or by land. For nature trails, birding or rowing, one need never leave the property. The sun still sets over Julep Point. Now it rises on The Colony at the Grand.

Fair Hope

Perched atop a bluff overlooking Mobile Bay, Fairhope has been called “the most cosmopolitan village in the world,” and “a magnet for remarkable people.” Southern Living said it’s a “coastal gem.” The Wall Street Journal named it one of the Top 10 places in the U.S. to retire.

It has provided inspiration for Forest Gump and Fannie Flagg. And respite for Upton Sinclair and Clarence Darrow. For the founding colonists whose economic ideals took root in Tolstoy and George, the town offered “a fair hope” of success. For residents of The Colony at the Grand, it promises to deliver on the hoped-for life, from shopping to sailing, from the polo field to the playhouse. What else would you expect from a place where the first general store stocked violin strings next to the pickle barrel?

The view from the Plaza Deck of Bayview II at The Colony

Today’s Utopian Pursuits Few areas can offer the breadth of leisure activities readily available to residents of The Colony at The Grand. The 36 holes of Lakewood Golf Club surround the property on two sides. Enjoy shopping the boutiques of downtown Fairhope or the 120 brands of Tanger Center; birding along the 50 stops of the Alabama Coastal Birding Trail; or walking your favorite stretch of the 32-mile Eastern Shore Trail. Not to mention beaching. Boating. Fishing. Polo. Or, arts and culture. In short, you will never be at a loss for something to do—except, of course, when you’d prefer to do nothing at all.

Ask us for a detailed list of activities available in the area.

The Colony’s artesian spring feeds Point Clear Creek

The Team

The Colony at the Grand is a joint venture of The Retirement Systems of Alabama and Daniel Corporation of Birmingham. The RSA provides retirement and other benefits to more than 295,000 state employees, public educators and others, with a total of more than $29 billion under its management. Daniel Corporation is an innovative, full-service real estate organization founded in 1964. In the past three decades, it has developed or acquired more than 11,000 residential units and 8.5 million square feet of office space. Most recently, Daniel has developed the critically acclaimed Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa in Birmingham for The Retirements Systems of Alabama.

Retirement Systems of Alabama