Short answer: Palmetto Hall is a gated golf community of 750 acres and 523 lots on the north end of Hilton Head Island, entered only through its gatehouse on Beach City Road. Every owner pays the Palmetto Hall Property Owners Association ($2,220 a year for a home in 2026) and must also hold a membership in the separately owned Palmetto Hall Club. Buyers pay a $3,400 capital reserve fee at closing ($1,500 for a lot), leases must run at least six months, and nearly every home is mapped in flood Zone X.
Key facts
- Size: 750 acres and 523 lots, about 85% of them developed (Palmetto Hall POA).
- Gate: one entrance, the Beach City Road gatehouse. Owner decals are free; guest passes last up to two weeks (PHPOA access policy).
- 2026 POA assessment: $2,220 a home and $1,665 a lot, billed once a year and due January 1 (PHPOA).
- At closing: a mandatory capital reserve fee of $3,400 for a home or $1,500 for unimproved property (PHPOA).
- Club: membership in the Palmetto Hall Club, owned and run by Heritage Golf Group, is required of all owners, billed separately from the POA (PHPOA).
- Leasing: written leases of at least six months, filed with the POA before move-in (Rules and Regulations, May 23, 2024).
- Flood zones: in our check of about 500 improved parcels, about 97% are in Zone X and 3% in shaded X (Town FEMA 2021 layer).
Where is Palmetto Hall?
It's on the north end of the island, next to Hilton Head Plantation, with its gate on Beach City Road. By road, the gate is about 2 miles from Hilton Head Island Airport, about 3.5 miles from the US 278 bridges and about 8.5 miles from Coligny Circle (our measurements on OpenStreetMap road data). It's inside the Town of Hilton Head Island.
The POA office is outside the gate, at 11 Palmetto Parkway, Suite 201. It's open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Wednesday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
How does the gate work?
All entry is through the Beach City Road gatehouse. A vehicle needs an owner decal, a commercial decal or a temporary guest pass. Owners get decals free at a short new-owner orientation with the POA, bringing each vehicle's registration and insurance, and set up a PIN for calling in guest passes. Guest passes can run up to two weeks and can't be used by contractors.
Contractors and delivery trucks without an annual decal pay at the gate. The POA's 2025 schedule, the latest it has posted, charges $15 a day for a four-wheel vehicle, $30 for six wheels and $50 for eight, or $230, $310 and $410 for a year. If you drive your own moving truck, there's no gate fee.
Do you have to join the Palmetto Hall Club?
Yes. The POA says membership in the Palmetto Hall Club is required of all owners, at a minimum a social membership. The club and its two 18-hole courses, designed by Arthur Hills and Robert Cupp, are owned and operated by Heritage Golf Group, which also runs the clubhouse, pool, tennis courts and playground. The club sets its own membership prices and bills separately from the POA, so ask the club for the current social and golf membership costs and any initiation fee before you make an offer.
The POA's own explanation is that the club's bylaws and the Palmetto Hall covenants were set up this way when Greenwood Development built the community. The POA handles the gate, security, roads and rights-of-way, covenant enforcement and architectural review. The club owns all but one of the lagoons, so drainage questions often go to the club.
What does the POA charge?
The 2026 assessment is $2,220 for a home and $1,665 for a lot, billed once a year and due January 1. It funds security and POA operations and a capital reserve for things like the road and gatehouse. At closing, the buyer owes a mandatory capital reserve fee of $3,400 for a home or $1,500 for unimproved property. The Town's 0.25% transfer fee is separate. See community transfer fees and use the closing cost calculator for the government fees.
How we help
For a Palmetto Hall home, we request the POA's resale documents, confirm the capital reserve fee and assessment status, and get the club's current membership terms in writing so the club cost is in your budget before you sign.
Can you rent a Palmetto Hall home?
Yes, for six months or longer. The rules require a written lease of at least six months that obligates the tenant to follow the governing documents. The POA needs a signed copy before the lease starts, and tenants don't get access until the POA has it and the renter has had an orientation. Renters can call in guest passes. Nightly and weekly rentals aren't allowed under these rules, whatever the Town's short-term rental permit would allow elsewhere.
The rules also bar certain dog breeds they define as vicious, with dogs owned as of April 1, 2018 grandfathered. If you have a dog, read that section before you buy.
What needs architectural review?
New homes, additions, pools, repainting in a new color, re-roofing and tree removal all go through the POA's Architectural Review Board. Its fee schedule (June 2022) charges new homes $50 per 100 square feet, with a $1,250 minimum, plus a $9,000 refundable compliance deposit, a $2,500 builder deposit and a $750 road impact fee. Major additions cost $600 with a $1,500 deposit ($5,000 for a pool). Repainting the same color needs no fee or deposit, but a new color needs a $250 deposit, and removing a tree needs a $400 deposit per tree.
What flood zones are in Palmetto Hall?
Nearly all of it is Zone X. Of about 500 improved parcels we checked against the Town's FEMA flood map layer (effective March 23, 2021), about 97% were in Zone X and 3% in shaded X; we found none in AE. Zone X means lenders don't require flood insurance, not that a home can't flood. The POA notes that lagoons backed up near Fort Howell Drive after Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Check the exact parcel with the Town's flood zone lookup and read is Hilton Head in a flood zone.
What's for sale here?
Single-family homes on golf course, lagoon and wooded lots, and some of the remaining vacant lots (about 15% of the 523 lots were undeveloped by the POA's count). There's no beach or deep water inside the gates; the island's beaches are a short drive away.
Questions
Is Palmetto Hall Club membership mandatory?
Yes. The POA says every owner must hold a Palmetto Hall Club membership, at least a social membership. The club is owned by Heritage Golf Group and bills separately from the POA's $2,220 annual assessment.
What does Palmetto Hall charge at closing?
A mandatory capital reserve fee of $3,400 for a home or $1,500 for unimproved property, paid to the POA. Any club initiation fee is set by the club, and the Town's 0.25% transfer fee applies too.
Does Palmetto Hall have a second gate?
No. The POA's access policy says entry is only through the Beach City Road gatehouse. The board's 2022 goals included scoping an emergency-only secondary entrance, so ask the POA whether anything has changed.
Sources
- Palmetto Hall at a glance (2026 assessment and capital reserve fee), Palmetto Hall POA (checked October 2026)
- Community administration and Palmetto Hall Club info, Palmetto Hall POA (checked October 2026)
- Rules and Regulations (May 23, 2024), Palmetto Hall POA (checked October 2026)
- 2025 gate pass fees and access policy, Palmetto Hall POA (checked October 2026)
- ARB approval and fee schedule (June 15, 2022), Palmetto Hall POA (checked October 2026)
- FEMA 2021 flood zones layer, Town of Hilton Head Island (sampled October 2026)