Hilton Head (could be long)

[AEN]

I am going to try to keep this as short as possible. I will open up with one comment for those that don't want to read a lot.

GREAT!!!!

We arrived on Sunday 10th for our first family DVC trip. The front desk people, especially Melody) were just super. I found them to be more intimate that the other location. I am sure it is due to the size of the resort. Yes we got the "Welcome Home".

My daughter's 11th birthday was on Monday. We got the balloons and her name on TV. She loved it.

My MIL and new husband stayed with us for a few days. The front desk listened to our conversation and put an announcement on the TV for them, without me asking. MIL thought it was me. Boy did that win me points. Did I mention that the front desk people were great.

The room (2 br) was super. Other than the local bug which visited. DW loved it. MIL had no complaints about the sofa bed and they are 72 and 65.

The best way for me to summarize what to do is by saying sometimes it is what you don't do. We took part in some of the activities and just did some major relaxing a lot of the time. Nothing beats just sitting by the pool with a pina colada.

I highly recommend renting the bikes. We kept peddling between the beach and the resort. It is a great ride for me, DW, DD 11, DD 9 and DS 7.

Great golf which the front desk booked for me.

I cannot say enough about Christopher, the environmentalist. We did a meteor watch, some of his classes in the Community Hall and DS, DW and DD did the marsh walk. Did I mention the pool and pina colada ?

Lastly I will mention Chef Gordon. We did the Mixear. I would like more food, but to meet other members over some wine and light food is well worth $15 a head. I suprised DW with the private affair (just the two of us). One word will describe it "Fabulous". I highly recommend it.

The worst part about the place was Saturday the 16th. We had to leave.

I will be happy to answer any questions.

 

[TIdoublegaER]

Glad you had such a good time. We absolutely love HH and the staff there is great. You're making me wish I didn't have to wait 10 mos to go back!

 

[Simba's Mom]

Thanks-isn't it absolutely wonderful there? I have a few questions-where did you golf? DH loves to golf. Also, what building were you in? And last, did you eat at any memorable places you'd like to recommend?

 

[allicat]

Glad you had fun! We leave tonight for a few days and then heading down to Disney.
Did you do the Dolphin cruise?

 

[AEN]

We are definitely going back. If not next year the following. We are trying to juggle the cruise with our friends, who are also DVCers.

Simba,

I played Robert Trent Jones of the Palmetto courses. That is the course entrance you see as you go to the beach house. I didn't think it was as nice as I had expected (i.e. a little chewed up). Although I wouldn't hesitate to play it again. It cost me $75. I heard the other Palmetto course, Arthur Hill is nicer.

I also played Sea Pines, Ocean course. I thought it was beautiful but real tough. I paid $89. They said that it was discounted 10%for airation. I would play their again too.

Next time I go I will try with either Arthur Hill or Fazio course on the Palmetto trio and maybe splurge for the Harbour course. I will look into some packages. You can get three day packages on the three Palmetto courses, or the Sea Pines (Ocean and Marsh) and Harbour. And I am sure there is much more.

We stayed in room 3023. Our deck looked at the other building and the boats. While the marsh is probably a nicer view it was nice to look at the boats and listen to the music.

We only at at Guiseppe's the first night. Other than that we ate in (excluding the private affair). We will eat out one time next trip, but are trying to make this as cost efficient as possible.

I hope this helps.

 

[AEN]

We intentionally did not do the dolphin cruise. The day that we wanted to do it just had too much crammed in and one of their boats broke down. I wanted to say hey there are a lot more things for me to do next time I go down (i.e. dolphin cruise, Harbor Town, minature golf (DS loves) and some other kids activities).

Did I mention the pool and pina coladas. Go to the Beach pool (is that an oxymoron) and get the cocoa colada.

 

[ncligs]

Originally posted by AEN
Did I mention the pool and pina coladas. Go to the Beach pool (is that an oxymoron) and get the cocoa colada.

...............

Glad you enjoyed your stay at HH.

 

[Disneyaholic]

HH does have the best cast members, without a doubt!

Gordon is a true gem -- wish every Disney resort had one like him!

I was glad to read what you had to say about Christopher, the new naturalist. I haven't heard much about him yet, but I know he was concerned about having to step into some very difficult-to-fill shoes. It sounds like he is off to a wonderful start, but that is not surprising!

I WAS surprised to hear that the RTJ golf course was not as expected. That course was closed down for several months last year, as they completely redid it. It was literally piles of dirt, because they reinstalled the drainage system, etc. DH and DS played it earlier this year and thought it was great (they love the ocean hole!). Maybe all the summer traffic has taken its toll?

Thanks for the report. I just love that place!!

 

[allicat]

Ok Aen, Im heading out the door soon in pursuit of a cocoa colada!

 

[colleen costello]

Allicat, if you want to do the Dolphin tour and Disney is all "booked up," ask them about Captain Scott. His business is "Low Country Tours" and he is great. He used to work for Disney and now he has his own boat, just a half mile down past the marina. My husband took the kids on this tour (Disney's was cancelled due to rain and then booked up so we couldn't re- schedule) and Captain Scott was great. The kids really enjoyed this event.

 

[allicat]

Thanks for the tip, Colleen! I found the phone number for Low Country Tours on another thread and will take it will me! I have heard good things about Captain Scott on these boards!

 

[InstImpres]

Welcome Back to NJ. Glad the trip was so successful. I'll have to get more of a rundown on HH. See you soon!

Sandy

 

[lyndon1]

We just returned from HHI, 8-9 to 8-17 and I must say that our first trip was everything that we expected. We will be buying more points just so we can vacation an extra week at Hilton Head each year.

The family, my teenaged daughters, their friends all love the beach. I think we spent at least 7 hours a day starting at around 9am each day. My youngest daughter and I enjoyed the morning romps with the new naturalist Christopher through the marsh, and especially the Thursday morning beach walk. That same afternoon he had a great sea turtle discussion. The kids loved it.

We were in a 2 BR, number 1623 and it was great. Both the toaster and the coffee maker died the first day but they were replaced immediately and everything was great. We have stayed at OKW, and Vero Beach and felt that the staff at HH was a little more down to earth and just took a little more interest in our vacation, not to say the other locations did not but we felt because the location is so quaint the personalities really came out.

We ate out each evening and must say that out best meal of the week was at the Land's End Tavern in Sea Pines. We actually drove there to go to the Salty Dog but the wait was over 2 hours and the kids were hungry. I recommend the Tavern to everyone.

We met Connie the shuttle driver and she made the week go so pleasantly with her knowledge of the island. My youngest daughter got to playe with her kids on the beach for the first 3 days until they had to start school on Thursday.

The power went out on the Island for about 35 minutes on Thursday while we were sitting around the beach house pool. Life went on without a hitch. Everyone made a comment about the east coast power issue and we all just took another sip of our drinks. Can't wait to get back. Maybe a early spring/summer trip next year while we wait for the 10 day Christmas cruise to get here.

The Girvin's
Lyndon
Cathy
Caitlyn
Morgan

Our guests for the week at HH were Alex, Fran & Kathy and Katie. Thanks guys for a great vacation.

 

[Sammie]

For years HH DVC was never mentioned much on the forums and when it was the comment was always, They have a DVC there?, it's not even in Florida or people only buy there to pay less dues and book WDW.

I find it interesting now that the well kept secret is out about what a wonderful place this is and what a staff they have. You can not find better service than the service in South Carolina.

 

[AEN]

Don't get me wrong, the RTJ golf course was nice but you could see that it gets a lot of play. I was talking with a friend this morning who has a TS across the bridge in Shelter Cove and they said that RTJ gets a lot of play. He told me the Arthur Hill course is the nicest but charges more.

Lyndon, we too were in the sea turtle discussion. We sat at the back table DW, DS and 2 DD's. DW really enjoyed the marsh walk. I wish that I had done it. Christopher really shows enthusiasm and likes questions. He told me that he did one or two internships with Disney at the AK and that gave him good opportunity to get this job. He did mention that Disney didn't have many applicants for the position. While he is an environmentalis, he is not very preachy.