Grande Dunes vs. The Dunes Club:
Which Myrtle Beach Luxury Community Fits You?
Myrtle Beach Luxury Home is a boutique real estate experience serving buyers and sellers across Myrtle Beach and the surrounding areas.
The head agent, Rick Sarver, has years of real estate and business-owner experience and has lived in the Myrtle Beach area for over 15 years.
Every client works directly with Rick from first showing through closing.
Both Grande Dunes and The Dunes Club rank among the most prestigious addresses on the Grand Strand — but they are fundamentally different communities that appeal to different buyers. If you are evaluating both, the decision usually comes down to four factors: amenity preference, lot character, HOA structure, and how you want to spend your time outside the house.
Why Choose Rick?
COMMUNITY ROOTS
Rick and DeAnn Sarver have called Myrtle Beach home since 2010. They built a business here, planted a church here, and raised a family here. When Rick represents you, you're working with someone who knows this market the way only a long-term resident can — the neighborhoods, the HOAs, the flood zones, and the people.
LOCAL EXPERTISE
From oceanfront estates on the Golden Mile to gated communities in Grande Dunes and Cypress River Plantation, Rick knows the Grand Strand's luxury segment inside and out. He's tracked this market through growth cycles, inventory shifts, and post-storm re-sales. That depth means smarter pricing, sharper negotiation, and no guesswork when it's time to move.
PEOPLE FIRST
Rick returns calls. He listens before he talks. And he'll tell you the truth about a property — even when it's not what you want to hear. No assistants, no coordinators, no handoffs. Every client gets Rick directly, from first showing to closing day.
Connect with Rick
Grande Dunes: Resort Infrastructure at Scale
Grande Dunes is a master-planned community spanning over 2,200 acres between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway, with more than a dozen distinct sub-neighborhoods and a resort amenity package that no other Grand Strand community matches at scale. The Ocean Club delivers private beachfront access, oceanfront pool, dining, and full beach services. The 126-slip Marina accommodates yachts up to 120 feet. Two championship 18-hole courses anchor the golf program — the public Resort Course, named National Golf Course of the Year in 2009, and the private Members Club course designed by Nick Price and Craig Schreiner. The Tennis Center features 10 Har-Tru courts. The median sold price is currently approximately $1.36 million, with properties ranging from the mid-$400,000s for villas to over $3 million for waterway-front custom estates.
Grande Dunes is the right community for buyers who want a fully operational resort lifestyle built into their neighborhood — and who are comfortable with a master HOA structure, multiple optional membership tiers, and the density that comes with a large planned community. Sub-community HOA fees range from $200 to $600 per month, and Ocean Club, golf, and marina memberships are priced separately. Getting clarity on which fees are included in any given sub-community is essential before making an offer.
The Dunes Club:
Historic Prestige, No HOA Constraints
The Dunes Club is built around a golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones, opened in 1948 — one of the most historically significant courses on the East Coast. It hosted a U.S. Women's Open in 1962 and has earned rankings among Golf Magazine's top courses in the country. The neighborhood consists entirely of individually custom-built homes on large private lots shaded by century-old live oaks, with no two properties identical and no mandatory HOA governing fees or architectural restrictions. Active listings average near $1.6 million, with direct oceanfront properties extending well above $3 million and golf course estates running from the mid-$900,000s upward.
The Dunes Club is the right community for buyers who prioritize property autonomy, lot character, and historic prestige over a managed amenity package. The tradeoff is straightforward: you gain full control of your property with no recurring mandatory fees — but you also take on individual responsibility for all structural due diligence, since no HOA reserve fund or architectural review process exists to govern the neighborhood's overall condition.
Price, Lot Size, and What You Are Actually Buying
Both communities deliver serious luxury — but the ownership experience differs significantly. Grande Dunes buyers are purchasing into a managed resort ecosystem with infrastructure maintained at scale. The Dunes Club buyers are purchasing into an established, historically significant neighborhood where character is self-governing and organically maintained. Grande Dunes offers more entry points at lower price tiers through villa and condo inventory. The Dunes Club has no condos and no villas — every property is a standalone single-family home on a private lot, which supports stronger per-property resale floors over time.
Lot sizes favor The Dunes Club. Properties in the core neighborhood frequently exceed half an acre, with several exceeding three-quarters of an acre in Dunes Cove. Grande Dunes lots in most sub-communities are considerably smaller — a meaningful distinction for buyers who prioritize outdoor living space, privacy from neighbors, or room for a pool and landscape features.
Talk to Rick Before You Choose
Both communities reward buyers who do deep pre-contract due diligence — and penalize those who don't. Rick Sarver at Myrtle Beach Luxury Home has represented clients in both Grande Dunes and The Dunes Club since 2010 and can walk you through the specific membership economics, HOA structures, and resale dynamics of each community before you commit to a showing schedule. Contact Rick directly to discuss which community fits your goals.