Jun. 20, 2003 -  KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C.--It's not much to look at now but if it lives up to its billing when it opens in March, The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island will be "one of the finest oceanfront resorts in America." 

"It'll grace magazine covers," Prem Devadas, managing partner of Kiawah Island Golf Resort, the hotel's owner, predicted Thursday. "It will become famous." 

A construction worker guides a chimney as it is placed atop The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island on Thursday. At an estimated construction cost of $125 million, it better be. 

At that price, The Sanctuary will be the most expensive hotel built in the state and the largest single private investment in tourism, South Carolina's largest industry, according to Kiawah officials. The average construction cost per room is $470,000. 

That, according to hotel officials, is some $200,000 more than the average cost of construction of a guest room at a Ritz-Carlton. The four-story, 255-room oceanfront hotel has been referred to by officials as the Pebble Beach of the East Coast. It'll also have prices similar to the world-famous seaside resort in Carmel, Calif. 

Room rates will run from $275-$625 a night depending on the season and the room. The going rate for the 3,100-square-foot presidential suite will be $4,500 a night. 

At those prices, Devadas doesn't expect to be sold-out any time soon. Still, demand for high-end properties is expected to be strong enough to keep the hotel busy and, eventually, profitable. 

Competition will come from resorts like Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island and the Cloisters in northern Georgia. But Devadas is confident his will be the only hotel of its kind in South Carolina.The hotel will be literally a notch above others. The ground beneath it was raised 13 feet so that guests can have unobstructed views from the lobby. Officials hauled in 250,000 tons of dirt to raise the hotel site to 20 feet. 

Resort officials held a "topping out" ceremony Thursday. The tradition dates back 1,300 years, when Scandinavian construction workers held the ritual to signal the completion of a structure. 

Though it's many months away from opening, Kiawah is already getting feelers from corporate groups wanting to book meetings there. The hotel will have about 18,000 square feet of business and convention space. 

"The bookings have met our expectations," Devadas said. "But what's really exciting is that groups that used to stay in premier places" outside of South Carolina will now have a place to hold their meetings. "Before they had to go outside of the state. They recognize how great this is going to be." 

Martin E. Couch, director of sales for Kiawah Island Golf Resort, said he's booking groups all the way into 2007. He's also getting a lot of attention from groups that are within a 500ñmile radius of Kiawah, from Atlanta to Charlotte. Some of the groups that have already booked meetings and events at the hotel include the South Carolina Bankers Association, Blue Cross Blue Shield and the Concourse Group, a technology group. 

Once complete, The Sanctuary, Devadas said, will feature a full-service day spa with a dozen treatment rooms, an indoor pool, two restaurants and views of the Atlantic Ocean from almost everywhere. 

The property will have a Charleston-like feel to it, according to officials, featuring bricks, slate and copper roofing. The road entrance to the hotel will feature an avenue of 169 mature live oaks that were transplanted to the site. 

Richmond-based Virginia Investments Trust, the parent of Kiawah Island Golf Resort, owns the property. Said Devadas: "Bill Goodwin, our owner, had a vision of creating the finest oceanfront resort in America and it is becoming a reality. This is a milestone." 

Goodwin has been planning to build the hotel for at least eight years, but design changes, permitting snags and other issues delayed construction. Work began about 12 months ago. 

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(c) 2003, The Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. MAR,