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We spent June 27-30th doing a Marriott Preview at their Monarch resort at HHI. Prior to purchasing DVC, I had done previews at most of the big timeshares, trying to decide which one was the best fit for us. I had pre-paid to do Marriott at HHI, but bought DVC before I used it. I assumed it had expired, but we got a call earlier this summer and I figured "what the heck!".
I am going to give a review of the beach first, and put some thoughts on DVC vs. Marriott at the end for those interested.
The Beach in Summer
We visited DVC at HHI in early April. It was WAY too cold to even think about enjoying the beach, and we spent about 5 minutes there. The rest of the time was spent at the DVC resort pool. My impression of the beach was that I did not really like it - it had the nasty gray sludge sand I dislike, and no waves, and no shells, and dark water. I grew up around lots of beaches and I like white or grainy sand, waves, shells, and blue or green water.
After returning in the summer, I still can't rate the beach as being in my personal top 5 (or even 10), BUT it was absolutely GREAT for my kids. They actually preferred it to VB
, and I will say that being able to just let them be in the water for hours without keeping an eye on them at all times was very nice. The beach has this enormous stretch of very shallow water with almost non-existant surf. Lots and lots of people had chairs and lounges set up in the water, or were actually laying down in the water. There is no way on earth you could lay down in the gentle surf as it lightly laps your legs at a beach like Vero. The water stays shallow forever, with no sharp drop off. Except when the tide comes in, there are not really any breaking waves. The water was on the warm side. I found the experience of being further out akin to being in a gently rocking bathtub. There were many people just rocking on the waves on cheap blow-up rafts.
So, my opinion has changed. I will now say that the actual beach at HHI is very good, and probably even preferable to a wilder beach for families with kids. At VB, my 8 and 10 year olds loved being able to catch the waves, but they could only take it for about an hour at a time before they wanted to swim in the pool. At HHI, we were literally on the beach from 10-5 each day. They had no interest in the pool that was just feet away.
Beach pictures:
DVC vs. Marriott
I did not enjoy the resort as much as I enjoyed staying at DVC because it was simply not as inclusive. There was no place to get real food at the resort, they charged for DVDs, the kid's activities were minimal and the girls working the activities were not friendly and camp-counselor-y the way DVC CMs are, there were no free family activities, there was no lifeguard at the pool, no pool bar, no shop - we had to leave the resort for everything.
The resort rooms were beautiful and immaculate. It was both cleaner and better maintained than DVC. Now that I have something tangible to compare it to - DVC could really improve in this area.
We were in a 2-bedroom and I always stay in studios at DVC (although we added on to stay in a 1 bedroom part of the time). This is the second time I've been in a 2-bedroom condo and I will say that we really, once again, did not use the space. There were lots of chairs that never got sat down in, and only one TV got turned on. I don't enjoy grocery shopping and cooking on vacation. We just don't hang out in the room.
Free wireless internet is very nice.
The sales presentation was very low-key, but the sales guy lied a bunch of times about DVC which pretty much ruined his credibility in my eyes. I am not going to trust you to tell me the truth about Marriott when you claim 1) that you own DVC and its so great, but you hate the fact that your contract will expire in 16 more years and you'll never be able to take your grandkids. 2) That you own 500 points at Boardwalk and they keep raising the point requirements so that now, you can no longer stay for a week in a 2-bedroom during the peak sumer season and have to travel in September.
Howver, after learning about Marriott, I can clearly see how it is a MUCH, MUCH, MUCH cheaper and smarter way to do Interval exchanges than DVC is. We will probably eventually buy a resale week at the Legends property in Panama City and use it to exchange out and even to try for DVC at HHI and VB. It's a much cheaper way to stay in a 2-bedroom, and I'd like to get to the point that we can invite my aging parents that love the beach to vacation at a beach with us every year.
DVC is great for our family because we happily do numerous Sun-Thurs trips and happily stay in studios or 1-bedrooms - the point system w/DVC lets us take lots and lots of trips and stretch out our points like crazy. We are getting close to 25 nights on the amount of points it would take to do 7 consecutive nights in a 2-bedroom and we make out like bandits.
BUT - for 7 consecutive nights in a 2-bedroom at a beach, I think we'd do much, much better not using DVC points. Perhaps Dean can tell me if I've seen the light
I am going to give a review of the beach first, and put some thoughts on DVC vs. Marriott at the end for those interested.
The Beach in Summer
We visited DVC at HHI in early April. It was WAY too cold to even think about enjoying the beach, and we spent about 5 minutes there. The rest of the time was spent at the DVC resort pool. My impression of the beach was that I did not really like it - it had the nasty gray sludge sand I dislike, and no waves, and no shells, and dark water. I grew up around lots of beaches and I like white or grainy sand, waves, shells, and blue or green water.
After returning in the summer, I still can't rate the beach as being in my personal top 5 (or even 10), BUT it was absolutely GREAT for my kids. They actually preferred it to VB
, and I will say that being able to just let them be in the water for hours without keeping an eye on them at all times was very nice. The beach has this enormous stretch of very shallow water with almost non-existant surf. Lots and lots of people had chairs and lounges set up in the water, or were actually laying down in the water. There is no way on earth you could lay down in the gentle surf as it lightly laps your legs at a beach like Vero. The water stays shallow forever, with no sharp drop off. Except when the tide comes in, there are not really any breaking waves. The water was on the warm side. I found the experience of being further out akin to being in a gently rocking bathtub. There were many people just rocking on the waves on cheap blow-up rafts. So, my opinion has changed. I will now say that the actual beach at HHI is very good, and probably even preferable to a wilder beach for families with kids. At VB, my 8 and 10 year olds loved being able to catch the waves, but they could only take it for about an hour at a time before they wanted to swim in the pool. At HHI, we were literally on the beach from 10-5 each day. They had no interest in the pool that was just feet away.
Beach pictures:
DVC vs. Marriott
I did not enjoy the resort as much as I enjoyed staying at DVC because it was simply not as inclusive. There was no place to get real food at the resort, they charged for DVDs, the kid's activities were minimal and the girls working the activities were not friendly and camp-counselor-y the way DVC CMs are, there were no free family activities, there was no lifeguard at the pool, no pool bar, no shop - we had to leave the resort for everything.
The resort rooms were beautiful and immaculate. It was both cleaner and better maintained than DVC. Now that I have something tangible to compare it to - DVC could really improve in this area.
We were in a 2-bedroom and I always stay in studios at DVC (although we added on to stay in a 1 bedroom part of the time). This is the second time I've been in a 2-bedroom condo and I will say that we really, once again, did not use the space. There were lots of chairs that never got sat down in, and only one TV got turned on. I don't enjoy grocery shopping and cooking on vacation. We just don't hang out in the room.
Free wireless internet is very nice.
The sales presentation was very low-key, but the sales guy lied a bunch of times about DVC which pretty much ruined his credibility in my eyes. I am not going to trust you to tell me the truth about Marriott when you claim 1) that you own DVC and its so great, but you hate the fact that your contract will expire in 16 more years and you'll never be able to take your grandkids. 2) That you own 500 points at Boardwalk and they keep raising the point requirements so that now, you can no longer stay for a week in a 2-bedroom during the peak sumer season and have to travel in September.
Howver, after learning about Marriott, I can clearly see how it is a MUCH, MUCH, MUCH cheaper and smarter way to do Interval exchanges than DVC is. We will probably eventually buy a resale week at the Legends property in Panama City and use it to exchange out and even to try for DVC at HHI and VB. It's a much cheaper way to stay in a 2-bedroom, and I'd like to get to the point that we can invite my aging parents that love the beach to vacation at a beach with us every year.
DVC is great for our family because we happily do numerous Sun-Thurs trips and happily stay in studios or 1-bedrooms - the point system w/DVC lets us take lots and lots of trips and stretch out our points like crazy. We are getting close to 25 nights on the amount of points it would take to do 7 consecutive nights in a 2-bedroom and we make out like bandits.
BUT - for 7 consecutive nights in a 2-bedroom at a beach, I think we'd do much, much better not using DVC points. Perhaps Dean can tell me if I've seen the light
, and my dad married my mom later in life. He's moving onto a fixed income this year, and mom never worked, so they are cutting back on expenses. I'd love to be able to give them a vacation, since they did so much for us when we were starting out. They always took us on vacation with them.
