Adding on at Hilton Head

[DisneyStarWisher]

I am pretty torn on whether or not I want to add on at HHI. Currently, we have 2 50-point contracts at HHI with a June UY. I recently retired, and the plan had been to add on at BRV to supplement our AKV contract. The pandemic definitely made me rethink things. We no longer have a desire to take as many trips to WDW. HHI has always been our first love anyway. Right now we have enough points to take the whole family every three years, but we want to also take week-long solo trips on the other years preferably during the spring. My original thought was to just rent an Airbnb, but I'm finding it hard to find a place with the amazing marsh views that the Disney resort has. We love the location, the marsh, the landscaping, and the natural feel of the Disney resort. With an Airbnb though, we would have more space since I'm not sure we can swing a 1-BR unless we go the last week of March when points are lower. I'm thinking April/May would be better weather-wise, but we could only get a studio for a week then. I'm also concerned about the expiration date of 2042 (wasn't too worried about BRV since AKV is 2057). I will be 70 when it expires and believe I will want to continue traveling to HHI, but at that point, I could rent something else. If we do decide to purchase more points, I would prefer to sell our current contracts and purchase with a March UY. Due to health issues, there is a higher chance we have to cancel suddenly, so traveling early in our UY is important to us. As you can tell, I have thought a lot about this. I would appreciate any other insight anyone can give me!

 

[Simba's Mom]

I'd say "Do It!" We recently retired and see ourselves spending more time at HHI. We thought about renting elsewhere, even thought about buying a vacation home, but we decided that part of the reason we love HHI is the resort itself.
Also, I had to laugh about you maybe having to go with a studio one trip instead of a 1 BR. Yeah, we tried that....once! I spent the entire week b***ing and whining about missing my one bedroom. First, practical reasons-no washer/dryer, no ice maker so you have to go to the ONLY one, which is in building 12, a long hike if you're down in building 28 or 30 especially. Then there's that cute little entry way with the bench and Mickey and Minnie's carvings. That entry way is very important to my trip happiness (Boy, did I remind DH of that!) Please add on.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

I'd say "Do It!" We recently retired and see ourselves spending more time at HHI. We thought about renting elsewhere, even thought about buying a vacation home, but we decided that part of the reason we love HHI is the resort itself.
Also, I had to laugh about you maybe having to go with a studio one trip instead of a 1 BR. Yeah, we tried that....once! I spent the entire week b***ing and whining about missing my one bedroom. First, practical reasons-no washer/dryer, no ice maker so you have to go to the ONLY one, which is in building 12, a long hike if you're down in building 28 or 30 especially. Then there's that cute little entry way with the bench and Mickey and Minnie's carvings. That entry way is very important to my trip happiness (Boy, did I remind DH of that!) Please add on.

Thanks for the response. We love the resort, too! My only complaint is the noise that we sometimes get from above if we aren't on the top floor and from the lock-off door if we have neighbors. But we could have that from a rental as well. We actually don't mind studios at all. We've never stayed in one for as long as seven nights though. Staying that long, I can see maybe wanting the extra room and especially the kitchen since we eat in the room at HHI much more than we do at WDW. I just don't know about going the end of March in order to get that 1-BR. Obviously, we will need to try it out first. The bad thing with a March UY is if you have to cancel, the next time you can spend the same points per room is November, but banking is October 31. I guess that's just a chance you have to take. I'm wondering if it might make sense to take a March trip in a 1-BR to see if we like it. We might realize we need warmer weather. We might realize that a studio is enough for us. I definitely think some research is needed before taking the plunge--even though your response "Do it" almost made me jump on the idea.

 

[ABE4DISNEY]

We have three stays under our belt for HHI, but only one of those actually staying at Disney's HHI Resort.
I really prefer staying at the resort over staying at an Airbnb and my number one reason why is that Beach House! I am not a beach person, but I love the convenience of having food, a pool, shade, loungers, pool tables, and especially BATHROOMS right there on the beach. (I'm assuming, of course, that your Airbnb would not be ocean front but most likely quite a walk from the beach.)
Plus, we love all the amenities of the resort and the location on the marsh is just perfect.

We are headed down in September ourselves this year. 🏖

I also say, "Go for it!" Disney's HH is truly a gem as you've already discovered. And get enough points so as you could stay in a 1 bedroom occasionally.

 

[ldo]

We really like/own DVC HHI also. If you are primarily staying there, I'd buy points there vs WDW. I agree that the marsh view is great and we just love the beach house. I am thinking of adding on another small contract there myself and eventually divesting my larger AKV contract.
End of March is usually still a bit chilly. The outdoor pools would have to be heated. The ocean is too cold to swim. It's great golfing/biking weather. But temp is variable. We've been in light jackets and also had to buy a beach umbrella and more sunscreen.
However, if you want to regularly visit and want more space, there are also many other good timeshare resorts on HHI. Marriott and HGVC are fairly $$$. But there are many other fine ones. We stayed at Waterside by Spinnaker and loved it--so much that we bought one. Do not go to timeshare sales presentations-purchase resale for a fraction of the cost--Feel free to PM me with questions. TUG2.net is a good place to ask questions about non-DVC timeshares, as well. Elaine

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

We have three stays under our belt for HHI, but only one of those actually staying at Disney's HHI Resort.
I really prefer staying at the resort over staying at an Airbnb and my number one reason why is that Beach House! I am not a beach person, but I love the convenience of having food, a pool, shade, loungers, pool tables, and especially BATHROOMS right there on the beach. (I'm assuming, of course, that your Airbnb would not be ocean front but most likely quite a walk from the beach.)
Plus, we love all the amenities of the resort and the location on the marsh is just perfect.

We are headed down in September ourselves this year. 🏖

I also say, "Go for it!" Disney's HH is truly a gem as you've already discovered. And get enough points so as you could stay in a 1 bedroom occasionally.

We really like/own DVC HHI also. If you are primarily staying there, I'd buy points there vs WDW. I agree that the marsh view is great and we just love the beach house. I am thinking of adding on another small contract there myself and eventually divesting my larger AKV contract.
End of March is usually still a bit chilly. The outdoor pools would have to be heated. The ocean is too cold to swim. It's great golfing/biking weather. But temp is variable. We've been in light jackets and also had to buy a beach umbrella and more sunscreen.
However, if you want to regularly visit and want more space, there are also many other good timeshare resorts on HHI. Marriott and HGVC are fairly $$$. But there are many other fine ones. We stayed at Waterside by Spinnaker and loved it--so much that we bought one. Do not go to timeshare sales presentations-purchase resale for a fraction of the cost--Feel free to PM me with questions. TUG2.net is a good place to ask questions about non-DVC timeshares, as well. Elaine

Thank you both! I'm really leaning toward trying out a spring trip to make sure that is when I would like to visit. That's good to know about March. I like warm (not hot) weather when I'm at HHI, so not sure I would enjoy March since it could be on the cooler side. I think late April/early May would be ideal for us. Right now, we take summer and fall trips, but I'm wanting to reserve fall for either WDW trips or trips to other destinations. I think I would choose the studio over cool weather! We will have a 2-BR + a studio every three years when our whole family travels with us, so I'll get to enjoy that king-sized bed, kitchen, and washer/dryer then.

 

[Lorana]

You all are making me realize I should check out HHI. It's actually the only offsite DVC resort I haven't been to. How is the weather in April? Our kids are in Middle School & High School, and while we were fine with taking them out of school when they were littler, missing school is very hard on our High Schooler in particular, so we'd need to plan to go when they are on school breaks. But I hear that summer is impossible if you don't own there.

 

[ldo]

April can be chilly or warm. But typically good shorts weather, pool if heated, not ocean swimming. It's not hard to book HHI in the spring, esp. if it's not the week prior/after Easter. Even that is possible. Summer from mid June-mid Aug., you need to own to get more than a night or two.

 

[TCRAIG]

I say go for it - and not to worry about the expiration date - at 70 you may want to continue to visit HHI - but you may not be able to take all those stairs!

 

[martikus]

You all are making me realize I should check out HHI. It's actually the only offsite DVC resort I haven't been to. How is the weather in April? Our kids are in Middle School & High School, and while we were fine with taking them out of school when they were littler, missing school is very hard on our High Schooler in particular, so we'd need to plan to go when they are on school breaks. But I hear that summer is impossible if you don't own there.

It’s fantastic. And you can bike to things like mini golf. My son loves it. My parents live near there and he goes for spring break every year. The later in April your break is the warmer it is, but he’s had no problem swimming at least in the pool every break (here it is sometimes late March) and it’s great biking and beach walking weather. Ocean too cold for me but he doesn’t mind it.

 

[RichVIII]

Remember those contracts you have are grandfathered to certain benefits. If you are mostly staying at HHI I guess no big deal but Blue Card and the ability to stay at RR or future resorts will be limited on those new points. Enjoy retirement. We have only stayed one night at HHI but loved it.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

Remember those contracts you have are grandfathered to certain benefits. If you are mostly staying at HHI I guess no big deal but Blue Card and the ability to stay at RR or future resorts will be limited on those new points. Enjoy retirement. We have only stayed one night at HHI but loved it.

Good point. I will still get the benefits with my AKV contract that doesn't expire until 2057. So it's not a big deal to me to sell my HHI contracts and buy resale.

 

[crisi]

I say go for it - and not to worry about the expiration date - at 70 you may want to continue to visit HHI - but you may not be able to take all those stairs!

I was thinking about buying property in HHI. I'll be in my 70s when HHI expires and we like it for a mid-winter break. And then I looked at sea rise projections. Don't worry about expiration date, the island that Disney is on is pretty likely to be underwater about the same time the contract expires. (We are not buying property).

 

[IndyToThere]

In terms of weather at Hilton Head, we've done 3 recent trips (and 1 postponed due to weather) -
- Oct 2016: trip postponed due to Hurricane Matthew
- end of March 2017: fantastic weather! highs near 80 every day, sunny every day. Absolutely gorgeous beach weather.
- end of March 2018: chilly! mid-50s for a high, didn't get above 60 all week. We still had a good time (thankfully our condo had a heated pool for the kiddos to swim, but my wife and I elected to not swim), but coming from Indiana we wanted warmer weather for our spring break trip.
- Oct 2019: great weather... highs near 80

From our experiences, spring break timeframe is a dice-roll on warm weather. Based on weather site trends, I think the average high that time of year is around 70, so you're not really guaranteed a warm day that time frame. We got lucky in 2017 but not so lucky in 2018. Fall break weather is much better in terms of temp, plus the ocean will be warmer. You do run the risk of tropical storms though.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

I was thinking about buying property in HHI. I'll be in my 70s when HHI expires and we like it for a mid-winter break. And then I looked at sea rise projections. Don't worry about expiration date, the island that Disney is on is pretty likely to be underwater about the same time the contract expires. (We are not buying property).

Oh no! I hope that is NOT true. That little island is the most awesome thing ever! It's a good thing I love ALL of Hilton Head Island. But I can't imagine not being able to cross that bridge to get to my special place.

In terms of weather at Hilton Head, we've done 3 recent trips (and 1 postponed due to weather) -
- Oct 2016: trip postponed due to Hurricane Matthew
- end of March 2017: fantastic weather! highs near 80 every day, sunny every day. Absolutely gorgeous beach weather.
- end of March 2018: chilly! mid-50s for a high, didn't get above 60 all week. We still had a good time (thankfully our condo had a heated pool for the kiddos to swim, but my wife and I elected to not swim), but coming from Indiana we wanted warmer weather for our spring break trip.
- Oct 2019: great weather... highs near 80

From our experiences, spring break timeframe is a dice-roll on warm weather. Based on weather site trends, I think the average high that time of year is around 70, so you're not really guaranteed a warm day that time frame. We got lucky in 2017 but not so lucky in 2018. Fall break weather is much better in terms of temp, plus the ocean will be warmer. You do run the risk of tropical storms though.

We were there in October 2016 and were evacuated by Hurricane Matthew! We have a trip scheduled for this October and are crossing our fingers! We do love the weather in October (when there's not a hurricane), but we love WDW in the fall so we would rather reserve that period of time for WDW. We have talked some the past few days and have decided to try a late April/early May trip for a week in a studio. March just seems too iffy weather-wise, and I've been reading about how March is a high-pollen time on the island. I suffer from severe allergies, so I'm thinking late April/early May might get me out of the allergy season here while missing the season there.

 

[crisi]

Oh no! I hope that is NOT true. That little island is the most awesome thing ever! It's a good thing I love ALL of Hilton Head Island. But I can't imagine not being able to cross that bridge to get to my special place.

I hope it doesn't come to pass either. I love HHI and the little Disney island - enough to consider actually buying property nearby. And projections are projections. But those are the projections from climate scientists. HHI will be a different place in 20-25 years as long as we trend the way we've been trending - not just Disney's little island, but about half of Palmetto Dunes is below projected sea level (we were looking at Queens Grant). (It looks like Covid might buy us a few months on the climate change front though).

 

[KSkywalker17]

We just returned from 5 nights on the island. We’re from the northeast and really needed a getaway so we booked at the Omni. We got a great rate and DHHI wasn‘t open when we booked. We had a great time and it was amazing to see my toddler jumping the waves and playing in the sand after being locked down for months.

With that being said, it felt like something was missing because we weren’t staying at the Disney resort. The Omni was fine and being on the ocean was nice but something was missing for us. There were garbage cans overflowing and the staff seemed a bit distant.

We definitely get the feeling of “home” At DHHI. It’s mostly the staff but also the location and comfort of the Disney brand. Part of the reason we love the Island so much is having our home base at DHHI. Previously, I‘ve also kicked around the idea of an AirBnB but this recent trip really drove it home for me. Staying anywhere other that DHHI just doesn’t feel right for us.

 

[Judique]

Thanks for the response. We love the resort, too! My only complaint is the noise that we sometimes get from above if we aren't on the top floor and from the lock-off door if we have neighbors. But we could have that from a rental as well. We actually don't mind studios at all. We've never stayed in one for as long as seven nights though. Staying that long, I can see maybe wanting the extra room and especially the kitchen since we eat in the room at HHI much more than we do at WDW. I just don't know about going the end of March in order to get that 1-BR. Obviously, we will need to try it out first. The bad thing with a March UY is if you have to cancel, the next time you can spend the same points per room is November, but banking is October 31. I guess that's just a chance you have to take. I'm wondering if it might make sense to take a March trip in a 1-BR to see if we like it. We might realize we need warmer weather. We might realize that a studio is enough for us. I definitely think some research is needed before taking the plunge--even though your response "Do it" almost made me jump on the idea.

Too bad we are not friends in real life and could pool our points for a 2 bedroom! (Really just kidding although a lock off would work for someone looking to do this with friends.) A 1 bedroom in March is what I'm booking for 2021 for 5 nights = 100 points. A 2 bedroom is 125 points for 5 nights Sun to Thurs.

I was in a 2 bedroom in March earlier this year. Had a fantastic weather week and a room over the boardwalk area. So great I'm trying to do it on a few less points in 2021 by getting a 1 bedroom. I've done a studio many times but prefer the one bedrooms also. Really prefer the 2 bedrooms but if it's just me that's overkill.

This is not my first time going in March. I've had previous weeks where it rained and rained and rained. Not so nice. Water around my flipflopped ankles walking to the pool area.

I've thought about buying an SSR contract to use at Hilton Head. Cheaper dues. Longer expiration 2064? It would work well for Dec, Jan, Feb, but then gets sketchy when you need the 11 month window.

My first visit was in 1997. Since then not a year has gone by without a visit although some have been very short. I love it. Can't wait to get back for a few nights.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

Too bad we are not friends in real life and could pool our points for a 2 bedroom! (Really just kidding although a lock off would work for someone looking to do this with friends.) A 1 bedroom in March is what I'm booking for 2021 for 5 nights = 100 points. A 2 bedroom is 125 points for 5 nights Sun to Thurs.

I was in a 2 bedroom in March earlier this year. Had a fantastic weather week and a room over the boardwalk area. So great I'm trying to do it on a few less points in 2021 by getting a 1 bedroom. I've done a studio many times but prefer the one bedrooms also. Really prefer the 2 bedrooms but if it's just me that's overkill.

This is not my first time going in March. I've had previous weeks where it rained and rained and rained. Not so nice. Water around my flipflopped ankles walking to the pool area.

I've thought about buying an SSR contract to use at Hilton Head. Cheaper dues. Longer expiration 2064? It would work well for Dec, Jan, Feb, but then gets sketchy when you need the 11 month window.

My first visit was in 1997. Since then not a year has gone by without a visit although some have been very short. I love it. Can't wait to get back for a few nights.

Your post made me realize how little difference there is between a 1-BR and a 2-BR. That's crazy! I wish there wasn't such a jump between a studio and a 1-BR.

I actually had the same idea about SSR points. It would cost more buying in, but the MFs are much lower. I don't think I could take that chance though. I like booking 11 months out. I'm really leaning toward late April/early May, so I would need that 11-month booking window.

 

[Lorana]

Your post made me realize how little difference there is between a 1-BR and a 2-BR. That's crazy! I wish there wasn't such a jump between a studio and a 1-BR.

So much this! I’m trying to plan a trip for family in Feb 2021 for 5 nights at BRV. A studio is 86 points, 1 BR is 181 and a 2 BR is 235. 1 BR is more than double a studio!