Family (group of 9) spending 9 days in 3 BR villa at HHIR. Was supposed to be 10 days but Debby pushed us back a day. Member services was excellent in contacting us a few days ahead with the message that we could adjust stay and our points would not go into holding. They worked their magic and we got 71 points back in current year.
I was prepared not to like the refurb because I loved the old low country look so much. But the new look is ok - a bit "beachy" with a little low country vibe. Certainly an improvement from our last stay when the refurb was badly needed. This is our home resort and we feel like HHIR is a stepchild in many ways.
But the staff at HHIR is the best. So very friendly and helpful. And cheerful. And we love the relaxed feel of the island vs WDW.
Apparently, a lot of the college interns left last week to go back to school so a little short staffed. The bar at the beach house closed but you can get the drinks at the FS place. Fairly long lines there yesterday.
My general comment about DVC designs has been voiced several times. Please put some grown women on the design staff - women who have wrangled kids, wet swimsuits, running gear and other paraphernalia. Throughout DVC there are small mistakes that would not be expensive to fix.....
* Refrigerator doors should open toward a counter top when possible - if there is a wall on one side and a counter top on the other - the door should open on the countertop side. Most of the time it does not.
* More hooks please - wet swimsuits, wet towels, running gear. The stacked rods make using the lower rod difficult once the top towel is wet. We brought our own folding clothes drying rack and still don't have enough drying space.
* Bathroom cabinetry - send the designers on a Disney cruise specifically to look at the ways to add storage space to a bathroom. The smaller upstairs bathroom in the Villa is 2-3 times larger than a ship's bathroom but has one tenth the storage space. Need corner cabinets, larger counter top around sink, etc.
* Mirrors please - our only mirrors are in the bathroom. No other place to check makeup or do hair. Again, in the smaller bedroom in the Villa there is a wide hallway to the tiny bathroom and closet. There's a bench there now. Instead, it should be a dressing counter - a counter top with open shelves up and down for about 20-24" of it then a stool with mirror over the counter and an electric plug. Could sit there to do makeup, dry hair, braid kids hair, insert contacts. Take the crowd out of the tiny bathroom.
But, we are having a great time - kids relaxing, grandkids having a blast.
I was prepared not to like the refurb because I loved the old low country look so much. But the new look is ok - a bit "beachy" with a little low country vibe. Certainly an improvement from our last stay when the refurb was badly needed. This is our home resort and we feel like HHIR is a stepchild in many ways.
But the staff at HHIR is the best. So very friendly and helpful. And cheerful. And we love the relaxed feel of the island vs WDW.
Apparently, a lot of the college interns left last week to go back to school so a little short staffed. The bar at the beach house closed but you can get the drinks at the FS place. Fairly long lines there yesterday.
My general comment about DVC designs has been voiced several times. Please put some grown women on the design staff - women who have wrangled kids, wet swimsuits, running gear and other paraphernalia. Throughout DVC there are small mistakes that would not be expensive to fix.....
* Refrigerator doors should open toward a counter top when possible - if there is a wall on one side and a counter top on the other - the door should open on the countertop side. Most of the time it does not.
* More hooks please - wet swimsuits, wet towels, running gear. The stacked rods make using the lower rod difficult once the top towel is wet. We brought our own folding clothes drying rack and still don't have enough drying space.
* Bathroom cabinetry - send the designers on a Disney cruise specifically to look at the ways to add storage space to a bathroom. The smaller upstairs bathroom in the Villa is 2-3 times larger than a ship's bathroom but has one tenth the storage space. Need corner cabinets, larger counter top around sink, etc.
* Mirrors please - our only mirrors are in the bathroom. No other place to check makeup or do hair. Again, in the smaller bedroom in the Villa there is a wide hallway to the tiny bathroom and closet. There's a bench there now. Instead, it should be a dressing counter - a counter top with open shelves up and down for about 20-24" of it then a stool with mirror over the counter and an electric plug. Could sit there to do makeup, dry hair, braid kids hair, insert contacts. Take the crowd out of the tiny bathroom.
But, we are having a great time - kids relaxing, grandkids having a blast.
