Just back from GREAT week at HH!!

[VMS]

We just got back from a wonderful week at HH. Things got off to a great start when we went to check in at 8:45 am Sunday (we got down to HH the night before) and learned that our room was ready. There were 3 families checking in then, and all of us had rooms that were ready. Unfortunately for the people who were there the week before we heard that the weather was terrible -- cold and rainy all week. Some people they said checked out early, that is why there were so many units ready early. I feel very bad for those there the week before us, they said a number of the activities had to be cancelled or altered. All our room requests were met -- no smoking, top floor, marsh view. We were in building 29 and really liked the location. We luckily had absolutely perfect weather all week. It was about 80 in the day and bright and sunny, a little cool at night.

The CMs are wonderful! They are great with the kids, one day they even ran some unannounced games at the pool that my DD loved. We recognized Brian and Crystal from last year, and each of them ran very fun campfires. We did lots of swimming, bike riding and some tennis. One day we also rented those banana bikes on the beach -- they are lots of fun. The organized activities we participated in were -- Unbirthday party, bird feeders, Disney Detective kids night out, kayaking (this was great -- we saw dolphins, rays and a bald eagle!), juggling with B'Lou Crabbe, fishin' pole playhouse, and behind the ears tour (very informative).

We were there the same week last year, but last year it was not near Easter like this year. They said not only were all the units taken, but they look at the occupancy of each unit, and this was about as crowded as it gets. Even so, it never seemed "too crowded". We met lots of nice people, including meeting up with some friends we made last year.

Now for the food. We did "A Private Affair" with Chef Gordon. In fact, I realized when we got home it was exactly a year to the day that we did it last year. It was just as wonderful as last year, he is fabulous. Not only is he a superb chef, he is so interesting to talk with during your dinner. A perfect evening. We had the chocolate dessert, and oh boy, was that something. I'm still thinking about it. (I was on the treadmill the next morning!) We hope to do this again in any future trips to HH. The other places we ate at were Salty Dog, San Miguel, Captain's Seafood, Just Pasta, and Scott's Fish Market. We enjoyed Salty Dog and San Miguel. Captain's Seafood was the only place we revisited from last year and it once again everyone had a great meal. It is not fancy, but the seafood is very good there. Chef Gordon had mentioned Just Pasta at our dinner, and we tried it the next night. If you like pasta, do not miss it! You choose the type of pasta you would like (including ravioli and gnocchi, our favorites) and then the type of sauce. It comes with a salad and bread and is very reasonably priced. The pasta was fresh and we all enjoyed our sauce choices. I highly recommend this restaurant. We were not very impressed with Scott's. We ate outside, which was nice, and so was the live music. But I had read so many favorable reports about this restaurant here, and we thought it was just OK, nothing special. Our meal at Captains was much better.

It was such a perfect week, we were so fortunate. To any of you going in the near future I'm sure you will have a great time. Enjoy. I'll check back if anyone has any questions.

 

[cgcw]

Glad to hear you had a great time.

Looking forward to our upcoming trip. We enjoy The Salty Dog and plan to return for dinner again there. Might just have to try Just Pasta. Sounds like a place we would enjoy.

 

[Simba's Mom]

When you mentioned running into some friends from last year, that reminded me. Did you feel the whole resort is smaller than resorts at WDW (well, I know it's smaller than OKW!)? This was the first time we stayed at a Disney resort where we saw the same people many times through-out the week. Is that a common experience at Hilton Head? I liked it-it was like we were one big "family" there.

 

[cgcw]

Simba's Mom - I can tell you for my family we plan on spending the same week at HH in July for many years to come. Maybe a lot of families have the same idea. I've noticed a lot of extended families at HH - Grandma, Grandpa, grown children and their grandchildren. Maybe this is part of their tradition too.

Your right, by the end of your week there, you notice the same families and that is nice. And, it works the opposite way too. I noticed the newcomers on their first day too.

 

[VMS]

Some families we recognized from last year, and others we kept running into during the week. Within the first 15 minutes of our trip last year my 2 boys met and became friends with a boy who was the grade inbetween both of them and they all hung out together throughout the trip. We kept in contact throughout the year and knew we both would be going back again the same time this year. It worked out great, but our school break is going to be different next year, so we will have to skip a year. The resort is pretty small and you tend to spend more time at it than at WDW because there is so much to do and you are not running off to the parks for the day. Last year we had lots of people from MA. since it also was there spring break too, but they were not there this year, even though I think it was the same week. When is (was) MA off this year?