Any advice for our stay at Disney Hilton Head ?

[EpcotMatt]

My DW & I will be driving down to Disney in a few weeks. We’ll be stopping at Hilton Head for the night & will be staying at the Disney Resort there. Does anyone have any reviews/ recommendations/suggestions for us while we’re there? We should be getting there about 3:00 or 4:00pm and we’ll be leaving the next morning at 7:00 or 8:00am, so we won’t be there long. But we’ll definitely be eating dinner there & may have some extra time to check out the resort. Anyone have any advice?

 

[DisnutDave]

Wow, that's not much time to check things out! We took our first trip there this past spring, and really loved the resort and the area.

If it were us, here's what we would do; get checked in, take some time to explore the resort. Then drive to the Old Fort Pub for dinner, this was our favorite restaurant on the island, wonderful food, atmosphere and view that could not be beat. It's about a 20 minute drive from the resort, you can call them at (843) 681-2386 for directions (and probably for reservations ahead of time).

Enjoy!

 

[sleepydog25]

My DW & I will be driving down to Disney in a few weeks. We’ll be stopping at Hilton Head for the night & will be staying at the Disney Resort there. Does anyone have any reviews/ recommendations/suggestions for us while we’re there? We should be getting there about 3:00 or 4:00pm and we’ll be leaving the next morning at 7:00 or 8:00am, so we won’t be there long. But we’ll definitely be eating dinner there & may have some extra time to check out the resort. Anyone have any advice?

Yes, definitely check out the main resort, but I would include the beach house portion as well. You can take a free shuttle by calling the front desk or you can simply drive yourself--it's maybe a five-minute drive. (You could easily walk, run, or bike there, but I figure you'll want to maximize your time.) The beach house portion of the resort has private access to the beach, another pool, a grill, a pool bar, an activities room, a game room, and shower/restroom facilities. Knowing where it is and what it has to offer might help you decide whether or not a separate trip to HHI in the future would be fun for you. Of course, you'll want to check out the beach while you're there.

As for food, there are plenty of great places to eat. When you check in, you'll be given a list of restaurants in the area, and some come with driving directions. Many don't take reservations, though. The two we most remember from our trip there are Ocean Grill and the Old Oyster Factory. The Ocean Grill is located right across the small marina at the far end of the resort. However, there is no bridge there so you must use the entrance bridge to cross over, then work your way back to the restaurant. It's a 10-minute walk. Ocean Grill is a bit upscale, has excellent food, great service, and very nice wine list. I was able to have pan-seared tuna with wasabi and fresh ginger, so I was extremely happy. The Old Oyster Factory is a 10-15 minute drive from the resort and also has very good food. It sits right on the water, has an extensive menu, a solid wine list, and good service. It's busy and doesn't take reservations, so I'd show up a bit earlier in the evening to avoid large crowds. It's a huge restaurant, though, so you shouldn't have a problem getting seated relatively quickly.

We enjoyed our stay at HHI last year as it offers a much calmer, more relaxing atmosphere than does WDW. It's a nice change of pace. Enjoy!

 

[StormalongKay]

Hi Matt from Downingtown,

We're a family of 5 from Lansdale and drove down to Hilton Head last
Easter for a 1 week stay. I just wanted to point out that getting out to the island will take you pretty far from your route and I would imagine the access road out to Hilton Head will be pretty crowded. Just an FYI so you can factor that in to your travels.

We didn't know quite what to expect for our first trip to HH since it was our first non DW DVC trip but it blew us away. Its first a foremost a great beach destination rolled up in the magic of a DVC resort. I hope that your one night stay will inspire you to go back. If I were in your shoes, I would spend my few hours at either the Beach house pool or the resort pool (cool waterside) and stay close to the resort for dinner - walking over to Shelter Cove there are a few restaurants that are quite good.

Have a fantastic time!!!

 

[apulk]

I agree with Mary Kay...I'd just stay close and relax.

We'll be heading to HHI for our 10th year in a row in 8 days. HHI is a great place but with so little time -- you might just want to soak in the resort vs. trying to see the island. You could rent bikes for the night right after check in and just drop the off in the morning. Have dinner in Shelter Cove -- Scott's is a very good place for seafood and enjoy the music over there. Being the vets that we are (and we do have 4 kids) -- if we only had one night we would order pizza and salads to be delivered and head to the beach for an hour or so then spend the rest of the night relaxing by the pool, playing pool in Big Murgie's, riding bikes or just sitting and listenings to the sounds of the low country.

Have a great trip.

 

[HUFF590]

I agree on such short time hang out around the resort , great places to eat just a short walk ,but do go over to the beach house. HHI does something to you it just sort of relaxes you very laid back my DW and I just love it, we will be there in AUG for our 3rd trip and the first night we always just walk around the boat dock and listen to the bands play at the resturants right on the water. Hope you enjoy.

 

[Mi3stooges]

I agree with Mary Kay...I'd just stay close and relax.

We'll be heading to HHI for our 10th year in a row in 8 days. HHI is a great place but with so little time -- you might just want to soak in the resort vs. trying to see the island. You could rent bikes for the night right after check in and just drop the off in the morning. Have dinner in Shelter Cove -- Scott's is a very good place for seafood and enjoy the music over there. Being the vets that we are (and we do have 4 kids) -- if we only had one night we would order pizza and salads to be delivered and head to the beach for an hour or so then spend the rest of the night relaxing by the pool, playing pool in Big Murgie's, riding bikes or just sitting and listenings to the sounds of the low country.

Have a great trip.

Were headed there in six days (Thursday the 13th!!) It is our first time. Everyone has great advice. I plan to have a pizza "party" just to relax. Maybe I'll see you there.

 

[hoopsrob]

Can anyone give some advice on how hard it is to book 5 days at HHI in the summer?

I haven't decided on my home resort yet but HHI is pretty much an annual tradition for us anyhow given that we live in North Carolina.

Am I better to get extra contract years at SSR? Will I be able to book HHI at 7 months? Or should I make HHI my home resort and deal with the shorter contract?

Any opinions?

 

[Mi3stooges]

I have SSR and booked HHI Mid July at the 7 mos out mark and had no trouble. My first resie was for 10 days, but I just shaved 3 days off. I think its a hit or miss. Buy where you want to get almost a guaranteed resie??!!!

 

[EpcotMatt]

As a way of saving a few bucks, I was thinking of checking out restaurant.com’s list of Hilton Head restaurants. Here’s a list of the participating places:

B-5 Bistro
British Open Pub
Callahan’s Sports Bar & Grill
Corner Stone Grill
Del Vecchio’s
Flavor’s Giuseppe’s
Island West Grille
Main Street Café & Pub
Mickey’s Pub
Nick’s Steak & Seafood
Parrot Cove Café
Plantation Café & Deli
Prescott’s Steaks & Seafood
The Studio
Upper Crust

Does anyone have any reviews, positive or negative, of any of these places? I can get a $25 gift certificate for only $5 to any of these places. Or do I just stick with my choices in the Disney resort? If that’s the route I should take, what are your suggestions for the places inside the Disney resort? And why?

 

[ilovepooh]

Great idea to make HH a rest stop for the night on the way to WDW. How far off of I-95 is it? I'm wondering if we should do that or just make HH a separate vacation altogether....??

 

[EpcotMatt]

Great idea to make HH a rest stop for the night on the way to WDW. How far off of I-95 is it? I'm wondering if we should do that or just make HH a separate vacation altogether....??

Looking at my AAA Trip Tik, it's only about 25 miles off of I-95.