Just back from HHI

[gracelrm]

I returned late last night from HHI. A trip with just the girls! We've been anxiously planning this trip since Sept. and I was afraid that our expectations were set a little too high. All of us away from work, kids, and husbands - we were pretty hyped. We didn't check in until late Thursday evening (had planned to check in about noon, but had a change in itinerary due to a trip to Savannah). The CM checking us in was quite nice and "earning her ears". She had trouble printing the room keys, tried several times, then went to the back for help. While another CM was printing our keys, I asked about view and she told us it was of the pool. Not exactly what I wanted, but no big deal. Well, it happened to be 2512 and that room along with the one right above it are the rooms my DH and I have always said were the worst views there - you look right into the back of the pool slide. You see nothing but the back of the slide. Oh well, didn't plan to sit on the balcony too much anyway! The people above us awoke us on Friday morning pretty early (not exactly what we had planned). Having stayed there before, I knew what it was like, but my friends weren't too happy and complained about the noise a bunch. Next, two of us showered then the hot water ran out! Called engineering, waited around an hour or so - still no hot water - so two went without showers! Again, not what we expected (but luckily for me - I had hot water!) Got back late in the evening, the two stinky friends showered and then we washed all the towels. Guess what - the dryer didn't dry them. We put them in the dryer before going to bed - woke up the next morning - NO DRY TOWELS. Dried them for another hour or so, then called engineering again. Nice man came to the room about 20 minutes later - said it might work to dry light weight clothes, but not a chance of it drying towels. He told me to call housekeeping to get more towels - so I did. Then he came back with a load of towels. I called housekeeping to cancel towels, but they delivered towels two more times in about 15 minutes. Next, my friend blew a fuse drying her hair. Anyway, it was quite a few little problems like this that made my Disney skeptical friends really think we were insane for joining DVC.
No matter how many times I repeated that we'd never had anything happen before (other than noise above) - I don't think my friends were too impressed. Anyway, my attempt to WOW my friends and make them understand why we spent so much money on DVC - didn't work and although we had a good time - I'm a little sad the DVC didn't blow their socks off!
Just wanted to vent - knew someone here would understand!

 

[schatterjee]

I hate it when you'd really like something to go perfectly & it usually does - but not the time you take someone else. I feel like this has happened to me often enough at restuarants that I don't suggest my "favorite" any more!

Sorry your trip was filled with snafus!

 

[ccw]

There is always a little more pressure to impress when you take guests...I took five girlfriends to OKW in November and was a bit on edge every time we encountered any hint of a glitch. Amazingly, everything was about as perfect as it could have possibly been and those Disney touches that have sometimes been missing on previous DVC stays were apparent every day! I am sympathetic to the HH issues as we have stayed there several times and been a little disappointed in the condition of our rooms (missing knobs on kitchen cabinets, etc....easy things to fix but no one had bothered). I love HH but sometimes feel like the DVC members get a bad draw when it comes to room assignments.

My husband and I leave Saturday for a quick OKW trip with 3 teenage boys who I am sure will not have a very critical eye for housekeeping issues, etc!!!!

I'll bet your friends had a great time with you, despite the issues, and I am sure they realize that, even at 5 star resorts, sometimes things are not perfect.

 

[manning]

Your problem was you took mr Murphy with you and you know what he likes to do. Looks for things that could happen and then makes sure they do.

 

[conciergekelly]

Wow so sorry thngs didn't go as planned. I know what you mean. As soon as you want to impress someone, "things" happen. Well looks like you made the best of it. Better luck next time.

 

[gracelrm]

Oh, I forgot to mention the bugs! Not at the resort, but one afternoon late while we were at the Salty Dog, the little gnats were horrible! I asked the bartender and he said they were noseeum's. I've been to VB before and encountered noseeum's which were teeny, tiny and hard to see - these were more like the size of fruit flies. And they really, really liked us. I had a drink and had to throw it out because the bugs liked it too! On Saturday, we went to the outlet malls and the same little bugs were everywhere. I wonder if the noseeums are different in SC than Florida - or if the bartender was confused. He said it was the first evening they had any problem with them. It was a warm afternoon and everyone was wanting to enjoy the music and have a drink outside - but almost everyone left swatting the little bugs!

 

[chrisanjohn]

We returned from HHI on 3/17th, our first trip there with my DS & DBIL. We stayed in Bldg 15 (1511) and enjoyed a view of the marsh & the "boardwalk". We had the same noise trouble with the guests upstairs with 3 boys that sounded like they were coming through the ceiling any minute. We were surprised one morning not to hear them until 8:30am! That was a treat! Hard to be angry though, we saw them outside and they were having a grand time

We fell in love with the resort & had no big problems except for a brief (5 min) power outage, bet it was a blown fuse. We loved the Low Country Boil, apple cider & cookies in the afternoon, biking to the beachhouse and walking over to Harbourside.

We'll definitely be bringing our grandchildren back in the cool of the Fall/Spring, but we'll be requesting a top floor unit

How long does the "noseum" season last???? We loved the Salty Dog too, but gotta watch out for those bugs!

 

[rsschneck]

Oh, I forgot to mention the bugs! Not at the resort, but one afternoon late while we were at the Salty Dog, the little gnats were horrible! I asked the bartender and he said they were noseeum's. I've been to VB before and encountered noseeum's which were teeny, tiny and hard to see - these were more like the size of fruit flies. And they really, really liked us. I had a drink and had to throw it out because the bugs liked it too! On Saturday, we went to the outlet malls and the same little bugs were everywhere. I wonder if the noseeums are different in SC than Florida - or if the bartender was confused. He said it was the first evening they had any problem with them. It was a warm afternoon and everyone was wanting to enjoy the music and have a drink outside - but almost everyone left swatting the little bugs!

Note to self "pack the bug spray"

How was the weather? We will be checking in Sunday!

 

[gracelrm]

The weather on Thursday & Friday was incredible. It was warm and clear - the high Friday was around 84 (according to my car thermometer). Saturday was low 70's and Sunday turned cold. Hope the weather is great for you - and I hope you're not in 2512!!!! I'm still not convinced the bugs were noseeum's - like I said earlier, they were way bigger than the ones we experienced at VB. And I thought noseeums were usually near the beach or water - they were all over us at the outlet mall - go figure!

 

[rsschneck]

Bug Spray Packed!

 

[gppnj]

We had the same noise trouble with the guests upstairs with 3 boys that sounded like they were coming through the ceiling any minute.

Reading this makes me glad I requested a top floor when I go in May. I don't know if I'll get it, but if I do, it'll be a win/win. I won't be bothered by any noise from above, and I won't have any kids with me, so I won't be bothering anyone else.

We'll see. In any event, I'm glad to be going.