Just Back From HH ......

[VMS]

We just got back from HH a few hours ago -- I should be unpacking but wanted to post a message here since I got so much valuable info here before we left. This was our first trip as DVC members, and it was GREAT! I got my "welcome home" at check in. We requested a marsh view and at check in I told them we were willing to wait if it meant getting one. We did have to wait until 4pm, but we had our bathing suits out and spent the afternoon at the pool. We had a 2 bedroom with a great view, I can't believe how big it was!

The weather was perfect, the CMs could not have been friendlier or more pleasant. We did a number of activities including the dolphin tour, marsh walk, some kids crafts, campfires, and the unbirthday party. B'Lou Crabbe was wonderful -- we saw him at a couple of activities, and he spent a good amount of time after the Low Country Lore talk with my 8 year old DS. B'Lou plays a number of instruments during it including a violin, which is what my son started playing this year. He told us the story of how he came upon obtaining his instrument, and even let my son play it.

The weather couldn't have been more perfect, and we spent a lot of time at the pool and the beach house. Everyone staying there was so friendly, and we had a great time talking to so many people. The resort was at capacity, but it never seemed too crowded. We did have to go to Palmetto Dunes to rent bikes though, they were out of the adult ones. They could have gotten them for us later in the day, but my husband went and got them himself.


Thanks to these boards I learned about "A Private Affair" and had booked it in advance. What a special evening, one I highly recommend! My parents had met us at HH, so we had 4 adults at it. What an fabulous meal, and Chef Gordon was so personable. It's a night we will always remember in such a beautiful setting. You have to have his crabcakes! I had told Chef Gordon how I had learned about it from these boards, and he mentioned he's met WebMaster Doc.

For those of you with upcoming ressies, if you haven't been there yet, you are going to love it! We're hoping to go again next year.

If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

 

[RobDoc]

Thanks for the nice report. Glad you had a good time at HH!!

Was "A Private Affair" at the beach house? I'm sure that's a great spot for that dinner.

We have to wait until July to get back there!

 

[DeeP]

Did you drive to HH from CT or did you fly? If you drove how long did it take and was it an easy drive? Also was there things for teens 18 &19 to do at HH or do you think they would be bored? Thanks for any info.

 

[Popovich]

Glad you had such a nice trip. We are also new members. We made our first trip "home" to BWV in November and can't wait to go back again in October!

Would you recommend HH for kids ages 3 and 5? What kinds of activities/crafts are available for them (if any)? How was the pool area and was there a playground?

Your dinner sounded great. How did you arrange it? Can you tell me more about it?

Thanks for your help! We've been wanting to take a beach vacation and just didn't know if our kids would have enough to do. They can't swim on their own but love the sand.

 

[chris1gill]

Thanks for the info & glad you had a great time! Can I ask what the Dolphin tour was? I don't think I recall hearing about it before... My DH is dying to get to HH, I'm just trying to figure a time to fit it in!!!

 

[VMS]

Here are some answers to your questions. If I don't cover them all, let me know.

A Private Affair was held at the beach house at Signals. Signals closed at 4pm while we were there, and they set it up beautifully for our dinner (tablecloths with all the other tables removed, nicer chairs, etc.). They also placed our table right at the point where it can overlook the beach. We set it up by calling the resort, and they put us into Chef Gordon's voice mail. You can leave your phone number or e-mail address, and he gets back to you very promptly. He'll send you some menu suggestions.

We drove from CT, we had never done a long trip like this before with our children DS - 11, DS - 8, and DD - 5. The longest they had gone before was to Williamsburg, VA, and even then we had stopped at my DS in MD to visit overnight both ways. I was quite concerned, but it was not bad at all. We will drive again. In fact everyone we spoke to who had driven (some from even MA) said their trip was no problem too. Even 2 families we spoke to during our stay that had flown said they would probably drive the next time because everyone they said they spoke to said the drive was fine. One thing I would recommend is the TV with the tape player. We borrowed a friend's, and we are now going to purchase one for ourselves. I think it probably made a big difference. Also, except for a very major thunderstorm on the way back (just about everyone pulled to the side of the road at one point), and a bit of traffic in DC and at the GW bridge in NY, it was a easy drive. We left CT on a Friday at 5am and drove all the way to Charleston, had dinner and spent all of Saturday in Charleston, which we loved. We had never been there before. Then we drove on Sunday morning to HH and got pretty much the whole day in there. The trip from our house directly to HH is about 890 miles (clocked it on the way home), and it is about 14 hrs. of driving time.

For the 3 and 5 year old, they would love it. The beach was great. I know how kids that age are just happy digging in the sand. There are lot of places in HH to pick up sand toys if you want them. They probably would love the pool too. There is a cute kiddie pool with squirting frogs, and my 5 year old could not get enough of the pools at the resort and the beach house. As a matter of fact questioning as to when we were going to the pool were her first words spoken each morning. There are also activities for them, especially the 5 year old.

As for the 18 & 19 year olds, I'm not at that stage quite yet, but there is kayaking and other water activities they could arrange for you. Also, we played tennis over at Palmetto Dunes and that was a lot of fun. If they like to go to the beach or just relax by the pool, HH is a great place for it, as is the bike riding. There are a lot of young children there though. I think it depends on the individual.

The dolphin tour is a small boat trip for 1 hr. and 45 minutes out to see dolphins. We had a great time with that. Saw lots of them in one area - supposedly it was mating season. The boat holds up to 6, and there were 7 of us with my parents, and it was just us on the 2 boats. They were having some problems with boats breaking down while we were there, but it did not happen to us. We went with the one arranged by Disney and it all worked out fine.

If you have any more questions, let me know.

 

[BounceyOne]

Thanks for the info! We are really looking forward to our trip in August!
Does HH offer any child care similar to the resorts? Either in room or all together?
Are the dolphin cruises arranged while you are at HH or before?

And, the mosyt important question (for DH) did you golf while there?

TIA

 

[VMS]

I did not notice anything about child care while we were there, but I bet if you ask at check in they may be able to help you. They did have while we were there a kid's night out. The CMs took kids to see the movie The Rookie and they had pizza first at Community Hall. If started at age 5. It went from 6 - 9 pm. I heard they had a great time, and wish I had signed my kids up for it, but there was not time to do everything. We signed up for the dolphin cruise when we got there, they do recommend you plan a few days ahead for it. I think most people just sign up when they get there. My DH used to be a big golfer, but found it to be too time consuming with having kids, so he hardly golfs anymore. I wished he would have played while he was there, he did look into it beforehand, but thought it was expensive. Disney can set you up with tee times from what I understand. And I forgot to mention that yes they do have a playground, though we never got to it.

 

[DeeP]

Thanks for the information. HH sounds great, I can't wait to try it!

 

[sgtpet]

Thanks for the update. Just two quick questions, where did u stay in Charleston and what did you do there?

We are driving down and June and was thinking of going the day before to Charleston.

Glad you enjoyed yourseld

 

[walter]

We also just arrived back today from HH. As stated, the weather was great! This was only our second time at this resort (own points at OKW/VB), and would not hesitate going back next year! The only problems we experienced were that we did not get our room until around 4:30. When we entered the room, there were cookies and crumbs in the kitchen, a toilet did not work (clogged) and someone left (unfortunately) all of their sea shells in the second bedroom. Another minor peave was that they turned the mattresses on an off day without letting us know. Maybe a message could have been left on the phone similar to those left at OKW. It was just an "uncomfortable" feeling to find some of our personal items moved to other locations (sleep wear, etc.). We try to keep our room neat and bed made, and could easily tell that someone had been in our room and moved/changed things. Maybe they could have done this on towel day. *note: We notified the management just to enquire if someone went into our room and that is how we found out.
By all means this is very minor and would not change our minds in returning. In fact, we like the beach at HH and distance to shops, resturants, etc., better than VB.

 

[VMS]

We stayed at a Comfort Inn by the water in Charleston. We had not made reservations ahead of time because we did not know how far we would make it. There was an in-water boat show going on and a women's pro tennis tournament, so it took a number of phone calls to find a room. We lucked out with a last minute cancellation by someone. Next time I would like to stay right in the historic area. While we were there we did our own walking tour of the historic area (the AAA book had a very good one) and we did a carriage ride that we all enjoyed. We also walked around the market area. Later in the afternoon we went to the Magnolia Plantation. There are a lot of plantations nearby that you can see. Fort Sumter is also there and the USS Yorktown (I believe that's it's name) battleship. We did not have time for this.

We also experienced the "mattress turning" at HH. We were having lunch in the room at the time and first a maintanance man came to change a filter, then the mattress man, and then he called someone to fix a light. I hadn't noticed anything with a light. It also was not our trash and towel day. Made me wonder how often people are in and out of the room. One of the workers did leave a pack of cigarettes and matches which we were not happy about. But that was a minor blip in the overall wonderful experience of HH.

 

[annamcc]

We chatted with you right before we left. We are the family from Branford CT. We drove home on Thur and also did hit a thunderstorm in VA. We did drive all the way through and made it in 14 hours and did take the detour around Richmond and Washington which added about 20 miles or so. We are also talking about our next trip to HH and also want to add more pts so we have the opportunity to go more often. We plan to go next year for Spring Break if we can. Maybe we will meet up again next year. Anna

 

[VMS]

I remember talking to you. We hit the storm in NC so you were ahead of us. We had such a great time talking to so many nice people like you all week long. I hope we do meet up again next spring break. Is HH your home resort or will you be like us crossing our fingers for the 7 mos. ressies? I'll watch for your posts here. Do you have the same week off next year? We do.

 

[annamcc]

VB is our home resort so we are hoping we can get in at the 7 month window at HH. Our April vacation is the same week next year, but I believe it is part of the Easter Week so it might be harder to get in??? Let's keep each other posted. So I guess we need to start the process in mid Sept? We got lucky this year being on a waiting list.

Talk to you soon. Anna

 

[Popovich]

Anna, How would VB be for small children? Our daughter is 5 and our son will be 3 1/2. HH sounds great with lot to do, but its always good to know what other resorts are like!

We are new members to DVC. The DH and I used points in Nov. and stayed a few days at GF for our anniversary and a few days in a BW view studio. It was a great trip. We haven't stayed at any other resorts. We are taking the kids and my husband's parents to DW for 8 nights in October for the Food and Wine Feastival. We are staying 4 nights at VWL and 4 at BWV.

Thanks for all the info. !