CarolA said:
I could be wrong, but having been going to HH for years I think the marina predates
DVC.
It does...Shelter Cove marina was completely built and stocked with shops and restaurants long before Longview Island was purchased by Disney. I remember when the DVC preview center was built and the kiosks popped up along the marina sidewalks. DVD had to agree not to put an on-site restaurant as a stipulation to building, which was no big issue as it kept costs down.
I've been traveling to HHI with my family since 1979. We always stayed at a rental that belonged to one of my father's business associates. Back then, outside of Sea Pines, the ocean resorts on N. Forest Beach, a few ocean resorts in the other Plantations and Coligny Plaza, the island was commerically undeveloped. During the past 30 years, the development has been overwhelming, but because of building codes, not overbearing, except for just off the island where continued development has created traffic nightmares on 278 that even extra lanes is not going to alleviate.
But I digress. HHI is a laid back resort, especially as Disney resorts go. It was intentionally built and run devoid of characters, but that does not mean it is devoid of character. When Disney built, we bought. It took us 3 years to be convinced, but we never expected it to be a theme park on Longview. We wouldn't have bought there if it had been.
Maintenance can be an issue, but where isn't it? Any concerns we've ever had were always taken care of in a timely fashion and the one time when it wasn't, the head of engineering treated my family to dinner at the restaurant of our choice (we ate at Kingfisher and didn't even spend as much as he said we could).
I guess anybody will have issues with anything, but as someone else wrote...to each their own. We love HHI and have all our points there, and have never suffered at booking 7-months out elsewhere. If you look at my sig, you'll see that we spend 50% of our trips at HHI.
I don't recommend the studios at HHI to anyone however because having that full kitchen is something my family couldn't live without. We buy groceries for the week at The Pig and make dinner in villa 5 of the 7 days we usually stay. While this doesn't sound like a vacation to some, we enjoy it. We eat out a few times for lunch and a couple dinners, but for us it truly is a home away from home. The low country takes us away from the go-go-go atmosphere at WDW.
Since HHI is sold out, I'm guessing there's enough of us who enjoy it and we'll go right one enjoying it more, especially if the people who don't enjoy stop coming. Also, summer booking at 7-months out is very rare at HHI, which furthers my point that those of us who love it keep coming back. By contrast, go look up the original phase plans for Vero Beach. It never sold well from Day 1 and the existing resort (that most likely will never see additional buildings) is nothing compared to what was originally envisioned. We like it there too, but not as much as HHI. Longview Island was built out to capacity with a single phase and yes, it took almost a decade to sell out, but it still did.
And one little dig...someone who complains about the lack of luggage service shouldn't be calling anywhere "Snootyville." Yes, Sea Pines is snootier than the rest of the island, but then again, it always has been. However, people still visit and still pay for visitor passes...if they didn't, do you think they could get away with charging for them?
Love the Island!
).
have that same reputation in the eyes of many other WDW travellers. 
. It's definately a different disney experience. There were subtle disney touches, I thought that it was a very pretty place to sit and relax.
