Back from Hilton Head

[BobH]

My wife and I tried Hilton Head for the first time. It is very nice as would be expected. The only thng that suprised us was that the only dining facility at the resort was the snack bar near the pool at the main resort and another one at the beach house which is a mile and a half from Shelter Cove Harbor where the rooms are located. There was nothing comparable to the "Green Cabin" room that is so nice at Vero for the occasional drink or snack. This being said there are a half dozen restaurants within a 5 minute stroll across the marina bridge but it semed that breakfast choices in the immediate areaa were limited if you decided to eat out. Just wondered if anyone on this board had any idea why Disney decided against having a small lounge or restaurant at the Hilton Head DVC.

 

[adamak]

I have the same feeling about dining in HH. I was told that there are plenty of good quality restaurants around that area. So it's probably more cost effective for Disney to not open its own. However, I feel that if we just want to grab a quick lunch or breakfast, it's either fast food or chain restaurants, which are both not within walking distance.

I guess we are all spoiled by WDW and its convinence. Something we just need to get used to.

 

[BobH]

Our problem was that we got so relaxed (and were traveling without kides) that some days it would have been nice to go out for breakfast rather than eat in, but everything was great otherwise!

 

[Dean]

There are several places serving quality breakfast within 3-5 minutes of the resort but not really within reasonable walking distance. I'm sure it's not at all cost effective for a lounge, restaurant, etc. I bet even what they do have doesn't pay for itself. VB is different, there's really nothing reasonably close plus VB was planned to be a larger resort than what it is. I wonder how many locals eat at DVC in VB since there's not much else truly close by. Neither HH or VB are places to go and just park your car like many like to do at WDW.

 

[Cap]

The diner just across the bridge and to the right about 1/4 mile along the highway is a great place to have breakfast, and an easy walk. We go there several times during our stay at HH.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by Cap
The diner just across the bridge and to the right about 1/4 mile along the highway is a great place to have breakfast, and an easy walk. We go there several times during our stay at HH.

That's the HH Diner but I wasn't thinking it was a reasonable walk. I guess since the one time we stayed at DVC and the one time at Marriott's Harbour Pointe (the other side of Shelter Cover) it seems a bit far to me. The other place I was thinking about directly was Crackerbarrel, maybe a mile or so north ofShelter Cove. Many other places to go but I can't think of any other good ones very close by for breakfast. Cafe Europa and the Westin for Brunch are good choices for a splurge.

 

[BobH]

First time there it is hard to find a lot of the places due to the sign ordinances at Hilton. It is nice to have unclutterred strets but you often miss the places you want to find till you get used to the area. On the plus side DVC offered 10% discounts on quite a few restaurants for members.

 

[MinnieMe2]

Thanks for the info, neighbor (we live in Westminster, on the other side of the mountain ). We hope to spend a couple of nights at HH this summer....

 

[Maistre Gracey]

My wife and I would probably own at HHI if they had a restaraunt/lounge. We plan to take a trip there anyway, as it looks very nice. Perhaps once we stay there we will realize that a restaraunt/lounge is not necessary.
There is just something about staying on Disney property that appeals to me.

 

[sgtpet]

I think I should cancel my reservation at HH for next week.

 

[msdis]

Sgtpet, Why would you want to cancel. We spent 1 night there 2 weeks ago and regret that we were unable to stay longer. We only went to view the resort for future consideration. It is great. It is like a quaint little village only it's quite big. There did appear to be restaurants close by but the whole "strip" in to HH resort is so inviting, I know we would not have minded venturing out a little and we are airport, with transfers to WDW, kind of people. One day was certainly not enough time to form a great opinion but you will never know what you're missing till you try it. And if it's not your cup of tea then you don't ever have to go back. My Dh was crazy about it and I thought for sure he was going to hate it there that's why we agreed to 1 night just to "check it out".

 

[BobH]

Because HH does not have the same amenities as Vero does not translate into it being substandard. It is just different. HH has a marina and 6 off site restaurants but no DVC restaurant. Vero has two on site restaurants and a lounge - but it has no nearby restaurants and no marina. You can golf, fish go to the beach or travel to Cape Kennedy at Vero. You can golf, fish, go to the beach or travel to Savannah or Charleston from Hilton Head. Both are great vacation resorts.

 

[NFalzon]

Originally posted by Dean
There are several places serving quality breakfast within 3-5 minutes of the resort but not really within reasonable walking distance. I'm sure it's not at all cost effective for a lounge, restaurant, etc. I bet even what they do have doesn't pay for itself. VB is different, there's really nothing reasonably close plus VB was planned to be a larger resort than what it is. I wonder how many locals eat at DVC in VB since there's not much else truly close by. Neither HH or VB are places to go and just park your car like many like to do at WDW.

I have to tell you, my father lives a block away from VB, and they now know him pretty well @ Shutter's--know about where he'd like to sit, usually what he wants, and I don't THINK they ask his name at the podium anymore.

But he has also reported to me that many of his fellow locals scoff at the suggestion that he eats breakfast several times a week @ Shutter's...
Nick

 

[mlshields]

We just returned from HH and we LOVED it! The only thing I was disapointed about was the lack of a restaurant. I thought something along the idea of the Cotton Mill at "Dixie Landings" (it will always be that to me!) would be perfect. Off season, they could close up some of the stations and only offer a few items. The fact that you could not get food (anything) past 4pm was a turn off. One night, my kids were having such a great time in the pool, it seemed stupid to ruin their time to have them come out and shower and dress for dinner, so I ran down to Kentucky Fried Chicken and brought dinner back to the pool. The kids loved the idea since they could continue to play with their new friends. The restaurant down at the beach house was very nice and reasonable, as well as the bar . All in all, we loved HH, we stayed in studio 1126 which had a view of the creek and we will definitely go back soon!!

P.S. Visit Savannah - did it for a day (45-60 min. away) and had a ball!

4 months to our second MAGIC trip!!!!!! Counting the days!!!!!!!!!!

 

[baileybrad]

the best thing about DVC HH is that it is not WDW. The lack of a sitdown restaurant serving the entire day comes up occasionally on these boards. It really doesn't seem to make much sense. I am quite sure that if Disney saw a way to make one work they would have planned one in the beginning. One of the fun things about HHI is the large number of dining choices. The HH Diner really is a very short walk as an alternative to dining in for a nice breakfast out. As Dean mentioned the Cracker Barrel is barely a mile up 278. Not wanting to leave the pool sometimes in the evening is understandable but we have usually ordered pizza at Guiseppi's once per trip in the evening and enjoyed it by the pool or out on the deck in our swimsuits. Another alternative is to utilized one of the many grills on-property and grill burgers or dogs. We usually plan our days around where we are dining in the evening....that is part of the fun on our vacation. And as many have mentioned there are several excellent dining choices just steps away. I wouldn't change a thing about the HH resort. Comparing the immediate Vero Beach area to HHI is unfair to Vero when it comes to dining choices. Just returned from HH DVC (May 12 - 18) and we had a blast.

 

[JudithM]

We made our first stop at Disney's Hilton Head on our way to WDW earlier this month. We didn't know if we would stay there or not until we arrived. They had rooms available, & we had points available! Talk about flexibility! Flexibility is one of the many reasons we bought into DVC in the first place!

We had a nice studio right near the check in area. It was so pleasant in the morning before we left to just sit on the balcony overlooking the marsh & watch & listen to the birds.

We ate lunch near the resort pool in the middle of the afternoon when we arrived. Later in the day we went to the pool at the beach house. We had the pool (& the beach for that matter) almost to ourselves - it was so peaceful. After our swim we stopped at Atlanta Bread for dinner. We have an Atlanta Bread here at home, so we "knew" what to expect. There were plenty of eating establishments to choose from, but you do need a car for most of them.

Now when can we go back?!

 

[Fenceman]

During the intial design of HH the building to the left of the Main Lodge (beyond the part with the underbuilding parking) with the red roof was slated to be a resturant and gift shops. It was decided that they did not want people that were not staying at the resort on the island, and because there were so many other dining option within walking distance the scrapped that idea.

 

[celestina]

We love HH. If you want a very good meal to eat around the pool or on your deck do a take out from Scott's fish Market. It is right on the bridge into SC. HH has a huge take out booklet, Scott's Fish Market our favorite.

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

We were at HHI for 6 nights and ate all our meals in the room. For one dinner, we bought some fresh fish, and another meal was premade crabcakes we fried ourselves. The Publix has a lot of ready made meals. We buy some of those and try different things. Meal preparation can be shortened, and you can still enjoy the same quality meal in your room that you would pay 3X as much for in a restaurant.