2013 Hilton Head lovers thread

[Simba's Mom]

Hello! Haven't read through all the pages yet but I have some concerns you veterans can help with.

We're staying at HHI for the first time checking in Jan 17 for 3 nights using our friend's points, so she has handled all the reservation details. We just booked within the past few days.

I've been to HHI several times and usually stay in Marriotts. I'm really excited to have the DVC reservation!

My dad is coming with us and he's got some mobility issues and injuries that keep him confined to a wheelchair most of the time. He can walk when he absolutely has to, and do stairs when he absolutely has to, but it's with great difficulty. We asked about accessible units, but none were available for our stay. We put a note on our reservation for a ground floor unit (2 br) due to accessibility needs. But I see in this thread there may be steps to every unit or at least every floor. Is that true? I'm guessing there will be ramps somewhere that if we have a ground floor room that he can wheel himself to the room? I'm hoping this is the case for his independence. Otherwise he'll need assistance any time he wants to leave the unit because someone will have to take his chair up and down steps and assist him there.

I've seen some videos of the units and it seems like there is plenty of room to maneuver his wheelchair in the villa even though we are not expecting to have an accessible one. And we'll take some of our own bathroom appliances unless anyone knows if we can get them from the resort (like a bath chair).

Thanks, everyone!

I'll share some of my HHI favorites in a different message.

I'm pretty sure you're right, that there's only one totally accessible 2 BR villa at HHI, and that's the one in the main building. Otherwise, for a 2 BR in any of the other buildings, the first floor is actualy one flight of stairs up. There is one building with an elevator, the Main Building, which has that one HA 2 BR that is unfortunately not available when you go. It also has 16 of the 21 1 BRs, which are all lock-offs with studios. We always get a 1 BR, and always ask for the main building because stairs aren't my best friend. Would they let you have a lock-off 2 BR in the main building if you needed an elevator? For me, stairs are such a pain (literally). Even if it wasn't HA, your Dad would at least avoid stairs. Otherwise he'll be going up and down a flight of stairs whenever you leave.

 

[GetGlowing]

Here are some things I like in HHI and a resort question.

+ Jazz Kitchen. Adults, you must go if you like good food and good music.
+ Theater - last summer we saw a live production of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" at the playhouse there at Shelter Cove. It was really good! Going was not my idea, I was not interested, but it was a good show. So check out the live theater there sometime.
+ In Savannah, I really like the railroad museum, which is near the visitor's center. The children's museum is there, too.
+ Lighthouses on Tybee Island.
+ Couple years ago we did an afternoon nature tour by boat that was fantastic. I'll have to look up the Name of the company. It was way more than a dolphin tour.
+ Schooner sail right there at the resort. We ended up having the ship to ourselves (4 adults). My father in law was at the helm most of the time, and I even took the wheel for a while. That was intimidating. And I also felt like a pirate.

Is the resort activity schedule posted anywhere? I'd like to see what may be going on during our visit. Thanks!

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Going to be staying 5/13 - 5/17. Twice in less than a year, and... this will put our stays at HHI at more than VB.... What is happening to us?

 

[kmc33]

Were you successful? ixiedust:

I am working on backup options. I was hoping for a Sun through Sat stay. Tomorrow is the first day I can book, but already Sun and Mon are booked up. I will put it on waitlist but I am not holding out hope that it would come through, so I am looking at pushing the days back to arrive on Tues. I won't be able to book that until Sunday so I will have to hope those days don't book up in the meantime.
Thanks for asking.
I will post an update.

 

[okw2012]

Hello everyone,

Here is my monthly temperature forecast for HHI. I usually issue it at the end of each month, but was busy having fun at WDW (OKW and AKV) this December!

Jan-Mar: average
Apr-Sep: warm (above average)
Oct-Dec: average

Note that while the latest forecast calls for higher than average temperature from April to September, the signal is stronger for June and July.

These are **average** forecasted conditions for each month, (compared to typical temperature for the month). Even when the forecast is correct, weather on individual days can be quite different from the average.

More details here:

http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/produc...ason/13_seasonal_outlooks/color/churchill.php

 

[mickeyplanner]

Hello everyone,

Here is my monthly temperature forecast for HHI. I usually issue it at the end of each month, but was busy having fun at WDW (OKW and AKV) this December!

Jan-Mar: average
Apr-Sep: warm (above average)
Oct-Dec: average

Note that while the latest forecast calls for higher than average temperature from April to September, the signal is stronger for June and July.

These are **average** forecasted conditions for each month, (compared to typical temperature for the month). Even when the forecast is correct, weather on individual days can be quite different from the average.

More details here:

http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/produc...ason/13_seasonal_outlooks/color/churchill.php

Thanks for the update. How was AKV last month? We are headed to Kidani for two nights next week. It will be our first stay at AKV. Any pointers/tips for staying there?

 

[okw2012]

Thanks for the update. How was AKV last month? We are headed to Kidani for two nights next week. It will be our first stay at AKV. Any pointers/tips for staying there?

We enjoyed our savannah view much more than I thought we would! And do try the night vision goggles!

The downside of Kidani is that it can be a loooooong walk to the lobby and to the pool, depending on where your room is. I suggest requesting a room close to the pool and lobby (in that order if you're thinking of spending time at the pool).

Also, if you enjoy the spa, note that there is a 2nd one hidden behind the pool slide. It was almost always empty when we were there.

Finally, we were underwhelmed by the Boma buffet at Jambo. Tusker house for lunch is much better.

 

[mickeyplanner]

We enjoyed our savannah view much more than I thought we would! And do try the night vision goggles!

The downside of Kidani is that it can be a loooooong walk to the lobby and to the pool, depending on where your room is. I suggest requesting a room close to the pool and lobby (in that order if you're thinking of spending time at the pool).

Also, if you enjoy the spa, note that there is a 2nd one hidden behind the pool slide. It was almost always empty when we were there.

Finally, we were underwhelmed by the Boma buffet at Jambo. Tusker house for lunch is much better.

Thanks for the info, we requested to be near an elevator. I hope that was a good thing.

Where do we get the night vision goggles?

 

[okw2012]

Thanks for the info, we requested to be near an elevator. I hope that was a good thing.

Where do we get the night vision goggles?

Near an elevator is a good thing to get to your car I guess (I don't drive). But that can still be a long way from the lobby.

Night vision goggles are found at the observation deck close to the lobby. They are available until 9h30pm.

 

[chalee94]

Thanks for the info, we requested to be near an elevator. I hope that was a good thing.

Where do we get the night vision goggles?

a CM will be at a designated spot (you get an activities list with times and details when you check in) and you go there to watch animals through the goggles...

 

[luckyman_apd]

I have some HHI curiosity questions. Never been there. We vacation on the OBX of NC. We took some friends with us last year. They have WAAAAY more DVC points than we do. They were looking into HHI for this summer. They could not get a week at HHI for July at their 7 mark. I was looking at availability this morning and I found it odd that all weekdays are booked in July (1 bd) but every friday and Saturday night was available. Does nobody stay there on the weekends because the huge point difference? What are the waitlist chances of getting a full week if they book a weekend. For being owners for much longer than us, we seem to know much more than they do....just trying to help them out.

 

[okw2012]

I have some HHI curiosity questions. Never been there. We vacation on the OBX of NC. We took some friends with us last year. They have WAAAAY more DVC points than we do. They were looking into HHI for this summer. They could not get a week at HHI for July at their 7 mark. I was looking at availability this morning and I found it odd that all weekdays are booked in July (1 bd) but every friday and Saturday night was available. Does nobody stay there on the weekends because the huge point difference? What are the waitlist chances of getting a full week if they book a weekend. For being owners for much longer than us, we seem to know much more than they do....just trying to help them out.

Point difference + small number of 1BR at HHI. 2BR villas could be available for WE if they want to move there for 2 nights. They could then waitlist a 1BR.

 

[rusafee1183]

Well, it looks like I will be cancelling our HHI trip for May.

It makes me sad, but on the bright side - we found a really reasonable price for a cruise to Alaska!! So, we'll be there from May 12th - 19th instead and I think we will be rescheduling our trip tp HHI for October.

I really hope I am able to get the same room accomodations (Sat - Fri in a 1 BR) because our points expire Nov 30th this year. We'll see....

 

[chefkellyb]

We will be there July 14-22 (wait listed to add the 22nd too! - so pixie dust needed)

Our really good friends (another DVC family) will be there too! We got lucky this time that we were able to successfully book both DVC ressies for the same days. It is always so stressful at the 7 month window when we try to book our vacation at HHI but am so relieved it worked out for us this time. Now we can relax and start the countdown!

 

[kmc33]

Were you successful? ixiedust:

I think I need more pixie dust!
Not having good luck. I waitlisted my dates for Sunday thru Saturday stay. At the time only Sunday and Monday were booked , but now I have been watching the rest of the week book up as I have chased the days all week trying to be flexible with are arrival date, it seems like the arrival date keeps booking up the day before I can go into reserve it.

Has anyone had luck with a waitlist coming through for HHI?? I am thinking it is successful less often than for DvC resorts at WDW.

 

[okw2012]

I think I need more pixie dust!
Not having good luck. I waitlisted my dates for Sunday thru Saturday stay. At the time only Sunday and Monday were booked , but now I have been watching the rest of the week book up as I have chased the days all week trying to be flexible with are arrival date, it seems like the arrival date keeps booking up the day before I can go into reserve it.

Has anyone had luck with a waitlist coming through for HHI?? I am thinking it is successful less often than for DvC resorts at WDW.

Studios and 1BR are hard to book at 7mo at that time of the year. That is why I own at HHI! If you have enough points you can book or waitlist a 2BR.

It is not just the size of the resort: HHI owners don't book at 11mo with the plan of moving to another resort at 7mo like people do, say, at SSR. They book at HHI because that's where they want to stay! So there are less cancellations.

 

[kristenrice]

I have some HHI curiosity questions. Never been there. We vacation on the OBX of NC. We took some friends with us last year. They have WAAAAY more DVC points than we do. They were looking into HHI for this summer. They could not get a week at HHI for July at their 7 mark. I was looking at availability this morning and I found it odd that all weekdays are booked in July (1 bd) but every friday and Saturday night was available. Does nobody stay there on the weekends because the huge point difference? What are the waitlist chances of getting a full week if they book a weekend. For being owners for much longer than us, we seem to know much more than they do....just trying to help them out.

Along with the points cost for weekends being outrageous, the cash rate is quite reasonable. It doesn't really even make sense to use points for the weekend...maybe a reallocation is in the future. We booked a 2BR for Spring Break, arriving Saturday night and departing Friday morning. The Saturday night (March 30) would cost 35 points compared to only 25 for the weeknights. We opted to pay cash and our total cash price for that night is about $235. We could rent those 35 points for $10 each, book the room on cash and still have $100 leftover! In the summer, the cash rate is much more, but the disparity between weeknight/weekend is also greater.

 

[rusafee1183]

Studios and 1BR are hard to book at 7mo at that time of the year. That is why I own at HHI! If you have enough points you can book or waitlist a 2BR.

It is not just the size of the resort: HHI owners don't book at 11mo with the plan of moving to another resort at 7mo like people do, say, at SSR. They book at HHI because that's where they want to stay! So there are less cancellations.

How about in the fall? Is it difficult to book at 7 months in October? I'm not picky about which week, we would just like to make it down "around" that time of year.

 

[okw2012]

How about in the fall? Is it difficult to book at 7 months in October? I'm not picky about which week, we would just like to make it down "around" that time of year.

In October, there should be availability at 7 months, at least for 2 BR, but probably for 1 BR and studios as well. During the fall the only difficult period at 7 months appears to be Thanksgiving.

 

[jheltz27]

Has anyone had luck with a waitlist coming through for HHI?? I am thinking it is successful less often than for DvC resorts at WDW.

We had our waitlist for 5 days in early June for a studio come thru a few weeks after we submitted it. Had a Saturday thru Thursday booked but wanted Sunday to Friday for the points, the boil, and to give us more time driving there and it came thru. Still have one pending for the week before on same days but its not the end of the world. Check your request often as I never got an email notification that it had gone thru. I have also heard others suggest manually trying new dates several times just to see. Good luck.

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