Just returned from Hilton Head and Charleston Place

[threeprincesses]

Can anyone tell me how you get from the hotel to the beach house besides walking, or is that the only option. We are bringing our in-laws with us and not sure they'll be up for that in the July heat. Also, when you rent bikes, can you do that for your entire stay or for a shorter time? TIA for any responses, Julie

 

[DVCLiz]

Can anyone tell me how you get from the hotel to the beach house besides walking, or is that the only option. We are bringing our in-laws with us and not sure they'll be up for that in the July heat. Also, when you rent bikes, can you do that for your entire stay or for a shorter time? TIA for any responses, Julie

Julie - you can drive your own car to the Beach House - parking is available both under the property and in a surface parking lot. Or, there's a great shuttle that runs from one to the other all day. If it's crowded, the shuttle is a great option. You definitely DON'T have to walk a mile!!!!

Not sure about the bikes - I think you can do a weekly, rental, though. I know you can rent the beach chairs and umbrellas for your entire stay, but those are done on the beach and not by Disney, so the bikes may be different.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I found the DVC resort, while very homey and well-themed, very deceiving from the photos of the entire complex in the DVC handbook. From the photos in the handbook, you think the resort is all alone on the marsh with water and land all around you.

Well, it's not - it's crowded in with other condo complexes, malls, restaurants.

We visited the HH Resort last year for the first time.
We thought exactly as you did. The pictures make the resort look as though it's secluded, by itself in it's own corner of the world.

I was a bit shocked when I saw it almost intertwined with other condo resorts.

I'm glad we visited, but we prefer Vero for our DVC beach resort.

MG

 

[ccw]

You can bike to the Beach House...very cool path that goes UNDER the highway! My teens went over a couple of times without us and I felt like it was safe.

 

[LakeAriel]

Tell me more about Charleston! My Uncle drove me through there 29 years ago and I fell asleep! I didn't know I was pregnant at the time.
I am dying to go back, what I did see was beautiful. Do you have any pictures, links of the hotel?
Thanks!

 

[buzz5985]

I have been there in August - and never really noticed any traffic. All the traffic lights hold you up - but you don't wait more than one light cycle. My perception may be off - driving into Boston every morning with slow moving traffic for 16 miles - that to me is traffic.

We were at HH for the MA April school vacation last year. Everyone there was from MA. What a great time. We brought my 75 yo father - and he knew 3 other Grandfathers there!!!! What a small world. LOL

 

[reesecup]

We LOVE Hilton Head!!! But of course, everyone has different tastes.

Here is a list as to why we love HH so much!

1) We love the resort. Yes, there are other condos around but that just gives you more reason to get up at 6 a.m. (that would be me...who fights to get up at home every morning around 7:30). I loved riding my bike as the sun was coming up; in the peace and quiet, looking at everything; especially the yachts.

2) Our children had a blast on the pier catching crabs and fishing!!!! Most definately will be one of our cherised vacation memories. We hope to do the Dolphin Tour when we are there for Spring Break.
3) The cast members were awesome. Very nice. And my kids had a blast at the campfire.

4) Magic show is awesome as well.

5) The kids love trying to find shadow, who they thought was made up in the beginning. They got to see him/her on our last trip.

6) We love riding bikes around and feeling safe to let the kids ride some on their own around the resort. I love the bike ride to the beach and if my husband needs to drive to carry our items, I still want to ride. It's a beautiful ride.
On a side note: I think that too many people get caught up in thinking they have to go on a vacation and have something constantly to entertain them. People don't know how to entertain themselves anymore. My cherished times are my husband and I pointing out wildlife to the kids and taking pictures by the huge , gorgeous trees along the bike route. And looking for alligators in the ponds along the way to Salty Dog Cafe. I guess we are just animal people.
OK . Back to my list. This is getting long.
7) We love the beach house. There is so much to do. But we love playing volleyball. And if anyone is getting too much sun, they can go inside and play the games that are offered. I think there is a TV in there as well. (See...we didn't even notice that).
8) I know I am forgetting so much. But , when we bought into DVC, we went with BWV seeing that we had never been to Hilton Head. But now that we've gone and the kids love it as much as Disney, we hope to add on there at some point. I just hope we will love BWV in Oct. as much as we love Hilton Head!!!!!!

Oh, I forgot to mention the beach... but it is gorgeous as well!!

NOW, I CAN'T WAIT TO GO AT SPRING BREAK AND HOPE THE WEATHER IS GORGEOUS!!!!!

 

[BWVDenise]

Ahhh, I love reading HH threads. Can't wait to get back in July! My kids chose HH over WDW over and over again.

 

[Jen D]

You guys are killing me. We're hoping to go in August 2007 but I wish it were this year!

 

[Disneyaholic]

http://www.coastaldiscovery.org/

or the DVC resort has a dolphin tour too! Disney charges $35 per person. We paid $48 total for 2 adults and a 9 year old. That is a big savings. I will let everyone know if we liked the tour.

How large is the boat that Coastal Discovery uses? One of the things I love about the Disney dolphin cruise is the small boat -- maximum 6 passengers. Most times it will be just your family. (The only time we were "mixed" with others was when it was just me and DH on the cruise.) The small boat is able to get right up to the dolphins -- they used to let the kids try to touch them, but I don't think they do that any more. To me that's worth the extra money!

 

[Toby]

Wow, so many lovers of HH! I know I could spend some great downtime there, relaxing on the porch in the rocking chair, or going to the beach, but "itchy", aka my husband would be driving me nuts wanting to "do" something. Some people just can't relax I definately second the notion about asking for a top-floor room. People walking up and down those wooden stairs can be very noisy.

Now I'd like to try Vero Beach!!

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

The Charleston area is a lovely vacation. Unfortunately the Mount Pleasant side is getting built up and overrun so that isn't so lovely anymore...although I'd imagine tourists might like some aspects. There is a great outdoor mall over in M.P. The next time I have a two night trip over that way I plan to give Charleston Place a try.

 

[walter]

We have been visiting OKW/HHI for the past 4 yrs. We are OKW (10 yrs) & small VB "owners" & have stopped our visits to VB. We liked HHI so much (not for the golf, but for relaxation), that we purchased into Marriott's new Surf Watch Resort that is right at the beach.

 

[Jynohn]

I too, was disappointed with HH. The resort itself was lovely, but I found myself going out of my mind with boredom. I do have to clarify that we went in November, so it wasn't really beach weather, but the resort was almost empty and there were hardly any activities going on. The few activities we did try to sign up for were canceled due to low attendance or poor weather.

I live close to Cape Cod, so I guess I was expecting more of a fun, beachy atmosphere, and found HHI to be too "stuffy" for my taste. I also expected to see more unique shops, etc. but didn't find anything different than the local stores I could go to at home. Many of the shops and restaurants were closed for the season too, and the whole area seemed deserted and desolate. Just a bad time of year to go I guess.

DH and I were there for 4 days, and by the beginning of day two I was BEGGING him to take me to Disney instead. It just seemed so close, yet so far...

I do have say that the staff there was wonderful and I was really impressed by their friendliness and helpfulness. That said though, I doubt we'll go back to HH, unless it's on our way to WDW!

 

[Toby]

Yes, now I'm thinking we just picked a wrong time of year to go. Maybe the "season" doesn't start cranking up until April or so - but then the points would be higher

That was my major complaint - not too much activity going on at the resort, and things were closed. BUT that was my fault for visiting in the off season. Staff was prompt with requests and very friendly. Maybe that's what I missed the hubbub of a disney resort. Too quiet for me!!

 

[LakeAriel]

The Charleston area is a lovely vacation. Unfortunately the Mount Pleasant side is getting built up and overrun so that isn't so lovely anymore...although I'd imagine tourists might like some aspects. There is a great outdoor mall over in M.P. The next time I have a two night trip over that way I plan to give Charleston Place a try.

I live just outside of NYC the last thing I want to see is another mall! That's a shame! The architecture was so incredible when I was there. I do know there was damage from the hurricanes if not last year the year before. I hope it hasn't lost it's flavor. Anyone know?

 

[canda]

I miss the days back when lots of people on this board and in DVC thought that the DVC HHI resort was EVIL and the quotes of "I would never waste my points there" were plenty to be found. Now I have to book summer at 11 months out. Before 2001 I could book in July for a trip that next week.

 

[DVCDebb]

Agree the pictures are deceiving. The pool is so small. Visited there one afternoon as it is only about and hour from Charleston. Really was disappointed with the real thing compared to pictures. Rooms are nice and staff friendly as I ask if they could show me the rooms. They were more than happy to help. just spoiled with OKW and I guess living around Charleston Hilton Head is just golfers heaven. The beach house was nice and did take the shuttle over to it and back. Guess it is just to each his own.

 

[Dreamfinder2]

Tell me more about Charleston! My Uncle drove me through there 29 years ago and I fell asleep! I didn't know I was pregnant at the time.
I am dying to go back, what I did see was beautiful. Do you have any pictures, links of the hotel?
Thanks!

Charleston is one of our favorite cities. We used our points (yeah, I know it was a "bad use," but that's what we have 'em for) to stay on the concierge level at Charleston Place.

Charleston is a town for walking - full of pastel, gingerbread and history. Several plantations are a short drive away. And the hotel itself was a real treat; we were appropriately pampered. Terrific restaurants, too.

It reminds me a lot of New Orleans, which we're close to ... but much cleaner, even pre-Katrina.

The hotel itself is part of the Orient Express hotel/trains/cruise chain, so that should give you an idea of what you're getting.

Here's a link to the hotel, and you can learn more about Charleston, too:
http://www.charlestonplace.com/web/ocha/ocha_a1a_splash.jsp

 

[lenshanem]

We were thinking of going to HH for just a few nights next spring break instead of WDW since our spring break hits at Easter next year (first week of April).

Will my kids most likely be able to swim, or no? Is the pool with the slide and the one at the beach house heated?

What seems to be the best time to go down there?