OneMoreTry
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- Joined
- May 9, 2003
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I spent 3 nights with DS9 and DS13 at HHI this past weekend. I will give my impressions of the resort up front and then follow with a description of our time there. I now see the wisdom of off-site DVC resorts. It enhances the value of DVC points in my estimation. We will probably be using as many points at the beach resorts as we do at WDW. (And we will be those members that prefer SSR and OKW for many of our trips.)
The resort is very "Disney." Everything is themed with cute names and clever stories and the place is accentuated with Disney music and scents. It may not be noticeable to someone who hasn't spent a lot of time at WDW, but it was to me. At first it was hard to reconcile the Disney with the place (of HHI). On one side of the bridge I was SC, and on the other side I was in Mickey's world.
I loved all the shade and quietness. The winding trails. The way the bldgs were tucked into the environment. I was surprised to see the obscenely huge yachts within a stone's throw. The kind you would expect to see in Monaco. but I guess these would seem small in Monaco.
Big Murggie's was a huge favorite for all of us. We had it to ourselves each evening. Our studio was right above it. I was surprised to see a big, ugly, incredibly-non-themed garbage can there. Like a sore thumb. But it wasn't highly visible amid the huge lether sofa and chairs and the incredibly beautiful oil painting on the wall.
Our studio was larger than I expected.
All DVC members should spend at least one trip at HHI. Everyone NEEDS to see what's available there and I bet most would return more than once again. I know we will!!!
NOW the long narrative report:
It was my first night at an off site DVC resort. After a 6 1/2 hour drive of 400 miles we arrived at about 730pm and spent Sat night at the Holiday Inn. Located right at the second circle. It was clean and right on the beach and $93 per night plus $13 tax. It was "adequate" for someone used to DVC accomodations. There was a large group of teenagers staying there praying for the country -- a great bunch of kids and encouraging to have them there. There was a mediocre band at the tiki bar. We played cards out by the pool and caught the female vocalist do a great rendition of "Me and bobby McGee."
Sun was overcast but warm. I was surprised at how busy the island was, but it was Columbus Day weekend. We checked the Resort address on our reservation form, but couldn't find the street on the map. We looked in the phone book and found it was in Shelter Cove. We drove down 278 and passed the Shelter Cove light once, but caught our mistake right away, turned around and followed the signs right to the "bridge." Since my only experience with Disney is at Disney World, I expected a more remote setting. But in spite of the proximity to everything else, after crossing the bridge I felt like we'd travelled a world away from the rest of the island and knew I was "home."
The Disney resort was the prettiest I saw on the island. We arrived about 1000am. I was the only one checking in -- or out. The CM was great -- sorry I forgot his name. He answered all my questions. Told me they'd been more busy than usual do to members switching from Vero Beach to HHI. Plus holiday weekend reservations on top of that. Took my cell phone number so they could call me when the room was ready. At the end of our conversation he said, "Oh, and welcome home." That had been implied in all he said and did. We checked out the resort and the kids played shuffleboard.
We went to the Piggly Wiggly, bought ice and food and a Piggly styrofoam cooler for all the fish we hoped to catch. Then we headed to the Beach House. For those who haven't been there, you get there by turning the opposite direction from the Resort at the same light off 278 -- toward the Marriott instead of Shelter Cove. We passed the little guard house and parked in the outdoor lot. We carried all our stuff including rods, cooler, bucket, tackle box, towels, etc up the stairs, through the pool area, down the boardwalk and out to the beach. Little did we know we could have parked UNDERneath the building and walked right out to the beach. (We fighured that out quickly, though.)
We fished off the sandbar. Caught one little croaker and had lots of bait stolen. The tide came in quickly, inundated the sand bar, so we retreated up the beach and made our sandwiches. I cast out few more times after that but we soon ended up playing in the surf which was quite substantial. Perfect for short, fast rides bodysurfing or on a boogie board.
A word about the beach. There is a huge tide there. It rises maybe six feet and covers ?? 50yards ?? of beach. (Anyone know for sure?) Low tide leaves large tidal pools that are great for little kids. Full of tiny hermit crabs waiting to be hunted. the sand is poor quality as sand goes. More like dust or dirt. Not like Florida sand, especially Panhandle sand, which is awesome. I think typical for S Carolina. This is not a complaint -- just a subjective description. It does have one benefit -- it becomes rock hard when it dries so you can ride bikes up and down the beach. (Like Daytona and NE Fla.) It was more crowded than I expected -- even on Tues after the holiday weekend was over. But there was plenty of room to fish between bathers. Quite a few people were swimming.
The Disney Beach House is almost invisible from the beach. In fact it looks like a couple of Dunes between the typical concrete blobs. Oh, I wish everyone designed and built like Disney. It would be a much prettier island. The pool area was impeccable and gave the strong impression of low season. Surfman's station and the barwere closed down. There were only a few people around the pool at a given time. The snack shop was open from 11 to 3. I was impressed by the cleanliness inspite of the lack of business at this time of year. Someone had said there is a public entrance to the beach through the Disney beach house. It is definitely not obvious. Even if there is, it would be difficult to use as you need to have a pass to get by the guard house down the road.
The front desk called at about 1200 and left a message on my voice mail, which I didn't get till 330 because I left my phone in the car. Our room was 1124 in the Live Oak Lodge.
The room was perfect for us. Right above Big Murggie's. View across the water toward some condos, but we could see the marsh to the left and across Broad Creek I assume the red roof was the Oyster Factory restaurant.
We showered and ate at Salty Dog. Great view. Mediocre service. Had to pay $5 "protection money" to get past the island mafia called "Sea Pines." Waited 20 minutes for the table. While we waited we sat in front of the web cam, called home and waved to the family we left behind. (Web cam at this site.)
Somewhere in there we rented bikes. The "bike man" is skinny as a rail. His veins are bigger than his actual arms. He looks like he's all blood flow. Must be a triathlete. I'm sorry to say I didn't take the time to get to know him. He seemed distracted by all the bikes around. Very much into bikes -- like his own children.
By 8 we were in Big Murggie's, where we spent every evening closing down the Den. We played Lord of the Rings Risk, which is much better than regular Risk. Turned off the TV. The place was ours. Quiet music. We all loved big Murggie's!!
The next day I made the boys bike down the beach. DS9 pouted the whole way. We went with the wind, which was stiff. We barely had to pedde. We didn't want to ride back into that wind so we turned off the beach at the Crown Plaza. Got lost looking for 278 and went around in a big circle. Finally found 278 and a great New York deli at the Fresh Market square.
That afternoon we caught about 5 small croakers -- or what may be small Redfish (Spotfin to some). One of them had been sliced off just behind the gills by a larger fish. All I reeled in was a head, still breathing. Spine severed. I'm glad I'm not a fish in the sea. We threw them all back. I don't like cleaning little fish.
If we had caught a large fish I would have filleted (sp?) it and grilled it on the grill outside Big Murggie's. The CM told me they would supply charcoal and utensils.
The kids played in the surf until they were blue.
That night was sandwiches and rummy in Big Murggie's.
Our final day we spent at the beach and Beach House pool. Notable was the appearance of the sun, which was met with ambivalence as the overcast skies made the beach comfortable. It was planty warm the whole time. the wind had died down and so had the surf. I saw an Osprey from the beach house. We played volleyball at the pool. About eight people were sunbathing in the lounge chairs. A couple families with one or two little kids passed through.
That night we ate at Scott's Sea Food (or something like that) at the marina. First restaurant on the right. A 5 minute walk from our bldg -- about the same distance as the resort pool area. Ate outside to live guitar and singing. Excellent snapper with cheese and crab sauce. DS 13 got a very VERY spicy shrimp dish on pasta.
Then again at Big Murggie's until 10. When it closed. Couldn't keep the kids away from that place. I just wished they served some hot drinks there. And snacks.
This trip will be long-remembered as a great time in a great setting. We will go back next summer with the whole family of seven in a 2BR if we can get one at the 7 month window.
I will post more later.
The resort is very "Disney." Everything is themed with cute names and clever stories and the place is accentuated with Disney music and scents. It may not be noticeable to someone who hasn't spent a lot of time at WDW, but it was to me. At first it was hard to reconcile the Disney with the place (of HHI). On one side of the bridge I was SC, and on the other side I was in Mickey's world.
I loved all the shade and quietness. The winding trails. The way the bldgs were tucked into the environment. I was surprised to see the obscenely huge yachts within a stone's throw. The kind you would expect to see in Monaco. but I guess these would seem small in Monaco.
Big Murggie's was a huge favorite for all of us. We had it to ourselves each evening. Our studio was right above it. I was surprised to see a big, ugly, incredibly-non-themed garbage can there. Like a sore thumb. But it wasn't highly visible amid the huge lether sofa and chairs and the incredibly beautiful oil painting on the wall.
Our studio was larger than I expected.
All DVC members should spend at least one trip at HHI. Everyone NEEDS to see what's available there and I bet most would return more than once again. I know we will!!!
NOW the long narrative report:
It was my first night at an off site DVC resort. After a 6 1/2 hour drive of 400 miles we arrived at about 730pm and spent Sat night at the Holiday Inn. Located right at the second circle. It was clean and right on the beach and $93 per night plus $13 tax. It was "adequate" for someone used to DVC accomodations. There was a large group of teenagers staying there praying for the country -- a great bunch of kids and encouraging to have them there. There was a mediocre band at the tiki bar. We played cards out by the pool and caught the female vocalist do a great rendition of "Me and bobby McGee."
Sun was overcast but warm. I was surprised at how busy the island was, but it was Columbus Day weekend. We checked the Resort address on our reservation form, but couldn't find the street on the map. We looked in the phone book and found it was in Shelter Cove. We drove down 278 and passed the Shelter Cove light once, but caught our mistake right away, turned around and followed the signs right to the "bridge." Since my only experience with Disney is at Disney World, I expected a more remote setting. But in spite of the proximity to everything else, after crossing the bridge I felt like we'd travelled a world away from the rest of the island and knew I was "home."
The Disney resort was the prettiest I saw on the island. We arrived about 1000am. I was the only one checking in -- or out. The CM was great -- sorry I forgot his name. He answered all my questions. Told me they'd been more busy than usual do to members switching from Vero Beach to HHI. Plus holiday weekend reservations on top of that. Took my cell phone number so they could call me when the room was ready. At the end of our conversation he said, "Oh, and welcome home." That had been implied in all he said and did. We checked out the resort and the kids played shuffleboard.
We went to the Piggly Wiggly, bought ice and food and a Piggly styrofoam cooler for all the fish we hoped to catch. Then we headed to the Beach House. For those who haven't been there, you get there by turning the opposite direction from the Resort at the same light off 278 -- toward the Marriott instead of Shelter Cove. We passed the little guard house and parked in the outdoor lot. We carried all our stuff including rods, cooler, bucket, tackle box, towels, etc up the stairs, through the pool area, down the boardwalk and out to the beach. Little did we know we could have parked UNDERneath the building and walked right out to the beach. (We fighured that out quickly, though.)
We fished off the sandbar. Caught one little croaker and had lots of bait stolen. The tide came in quickly, inundated the sand bar, so we retreated up the beach and made our sandwiches. I cast out few more times after that but we soon ended up playing in the surf which was quite substantial. Perfect for short, fast rides bodysurfing or on a boogie board.
A word about the beach. There is a huge tide there. It rises maybe six feet and covers ?? 50yards ?? of beach. (Anyone know for sure?) Low tide leaves large tidal pools that are great for little kids. Full of tiny hermit crabs waiting to be hunted. the sand is poor quality as sand goes. More like dust or dirt. Not like Florida sand, especially Panhandle sand, which is awesome. I think typical for S Carolina. This is not a complaint -- just a subjective description. It does have one benefit -- it becomes rock hard when it dries so you can ride bikes up and down the beach. (Like Daytona and NE Fla.) It was more crowded than I expected -- even on Tues after the holiday weekend was over. But there was plenty of room to fish between bathers. Quite a few people were swimming.
The Disney Beach House is almost invisible from the beach. In fact it looks like a couple of Dunes between the typical concrete blobs. Oh, I wish everyone designed and built like Disney. It would be a much prettier island. The pool area was impeccable and gave the strong impression of low season. Surfman's station and the barwere closed down. There were only a few people around the pool at a given time. The snack shop was open from 11 to 3. I was impressed by the cleanliness inspite of the lack of business at this time of year. Someone had said there is a public entrance to the beach through the Disney beach house. It is definitely not obvious. Even if there is, it would be difficult to use as you need to have a pass to get by the guard house down the road.
The front desk called at about 1200 and left a message on my voice mail, which I didn't get till 330 because I left my phone in the car. Our room was 1124 in the Live Oak Lodge.
The room was perfect for us. Right above Big Murggie's. View across the water toward some condos, but we could see the marsh to the left and across Broad Creek I assume the red roof was the Oyster Factory restaurant.
We showered and ate at Salty Dog. Great view. Mediocre service. Had to pay $5 "protection money" to get past the island mafia called "Sea Pines." Waited 20 minutes for the table. While we waited we sat in front of the web cam, called home and waved to the family we left behind. (Web cam at this site.)
Somewhere in there we rented bikes. The "bike man" is skinny as a rail. His veins are bigger than his actual arms. He looks like he's all blood flow. Must be a triathlete. I'm sorry to say I didn't take the time to get to know him. He seemed distracted by all the bikes around. Very much into bikes -- like his own children.
By 8 we were in Big Murggie's, where we spent every evening closing down the Den. We played Lord of the Rings Risk, which is much better than regular Risk. Turned off the TV. The place was ours. Quiet music. We all loved big Murggie's!!
The next day I made the boys bike down the beach. DS9 pouted the whole way. We went with the wind, which was stiff. We barely had to pedde. We didn't want to ride back into that wind so we turned off the beach at the Crown Plaza. Got lost looking for 278 and went around in a big circle. Finally found 278 and a great New York deli at the Fresh Market square.
That afternoon we caught about 5 small croakers -- or what may be small Redfish (Spotfin to some). One of them had been sliced off just behind the gills by a larger fish. All I reeled in was a head, still breathing. Spine severed. I'm glad I'm not a fish in the sea. We threw them all back. I don't like cleaning little fish.
If we had caught a large fish I would have filleted (sp?) it and grilled it on the grill outside Big Murggie's. The CM told me they would supply charcoal and utensils.
The kids played in the surf until they were blue.
That night was sandwiches and rummy in Big Murggie's.
Our final day we spent at the beach and Beach House pool. Notable was the appearance of the sun, which was met with ambivalence as the overcast skies made the beach comfortable. It was planty warm the whole time. the wind had died down and so had the surf. I saw an Osprey from the beach house. We played volleyball at the pool. About eight people were sunbathing in the lounge chairs. A couple families with one or two little kids passed through.
That night we ate at Scott's Sea Food (or something like that) at the marina. First restaurant on the right. A 5 minute walk from our bldg -- about the same distance as the resort pool area. Ate outside to live guitar and singing. Excellent snapper with cheese and crab sauce. DS 13 got a very VERY spicy shrimp dish on pasta.
Then again at Big Murggie's until 10. When it closed. Couldn't keep the kids away from that place. I just wished they served some hot drinks there. And snacks.
This trip will be long-remembered as a great time in a great setting. We will go back next summer with the whole family of seven in a 2BR if we can get one at the 7 month window.
I will post more later.
Now that would really freak me out.......lol
