Need HH tips

[MagikMom]

Hi everyone. Going to HH for the first time in July. My family consists of me, DH, DD13 and DS 10. We are staying in a studio for 5 nights and we are driving down so we will have a car. Any good tips? For example:

1) Any must go to restaurants?
2) How soon in advance do you have to make reservation for dining?
3) What kind of night time activities do they have?
4) How are the beaches and how do you get there?
5) What are the pools like?
6) Any particular views to request?

Any info greatly appreciated!

 

[Judique]

Hi everyone. Going to HH for the first time in July. My family consists of me, DH, DD13 and DS 10. We are staying in a studio for 5 nights and we are driving down so we will have a car. Any good tips? For example:

1) Any must go to restaurants?
2) How soon in advance do you have to make reservation for dining?
3) What kind of night time activities do they have?
4) How are the beaches and how do you get there?
5) What are the pools like?
6) Any particular views to request?

Any info greatly appreciated!

1) I like Sunset Grille, Michael Anthony's, Scott's, Redfish, Signe's Bakery, Sticky Fingers, Guieseppe's Pizza and picking up take out food from the Piggly Wiggly to eat in the room, as well as quick food from Tide Me Over and Signals, and also the barbecue the resort does as well as shrimp boil. I mostly share a studio with my 13 year old dd, so we do minimal cooking of coffee and maybe a bagel toasted in the morning. There is a great restaurant guide that can be picked up at the resort or many local spots in kiosks that has menus and prices. You can safely wing it here.

2) Same day, or when you arrive at the resort for booking the shrimp boil or bbq.
3) Campfire, fireworks on Tuesdays, concerts at Shelter Cove, Goofy Bingo, Evening of Magic with B'Lou Crabbe (and other things with B'Lou where he tells stories, plays banjo,etc). Kids can do kids night out 6-9pm, done by age group, while parents do alternate adult stuff.
4) Calm water, hardpacked sand, wide, great for walking, small waves, can ride bikes on them, some people fish from the beach, umbrella and chair rentals provided for cash by town of HH, and patrolled by the town. Get there in your own car - 1 and 1/2 miles, walk, shuttle-palmetto dunebuggy, bicycle. The resort beach house is in Palmetto Dunes where there are also a couple of nice golf courses - Arthur Hills, Robert Trent Jones.
5) Pool at resort - fairly nice with a slide. Pool at beach - ordinary, but enjoyable.
6)View, - if you are going same July week as me, please request a view of the trees and other buildings. This will increase my chances of getting a marsh view <g>. Have fun!

 

[MagikMom]

Thanks for all the great infor Judique! I am going to be there July 9th - 14th. Don't worry, of course I won't request a Marsh view!

 

[Judique]

Thanks for all the great infor Judique! I am going to be there July 9th - 14th. Don't worry, of course I won't request a Marsh view!

One other thing - since you have two kids and are using a studio, I would suggest bringing an aerobed. The studios have plenty of floor space for it and the sofa beds are not that large. We'll be there the week before you, but maybe if we leave there and go to Orlando for a few days, we might come back and spend another night or two. We are regulars at Hilton Head since just after it opened. It's my favorite.

 

[RobDoc]

We also enjoy Scott's, Kingfisher, Giuseppi's, Old Fort, Hudson's, Old Oyster Factory, Alexanders. Some will require a reservation- but they mau be made when you are there pretty easily- even in July.

The resort has a nice variety of programs for families- story telling, magic shows and of course, the campfire. YOu will get a complete listing of all programs at arrival. There are also movies and stage productions at HH (just not at the resort). Shannon Tanner does a wonderful free concert several nights each week at the Shelter Cove pavillion. It is a very family oriented performance and the kids are all welcome to join him thru the concert.

The beach is wonderful. Wide, white sand. Minimal drop off, no rip tides to worry about. It's easily accessed from the resort.

Pools are nice- nothing particulalry memorable, but very nice. The Big Dipper slide is fun.

We'll arrive at the end of your stay, so try to get a Marsh View !

Most of the studios (16) are in the Live Oak Lodge area at the resort. These are buildings 11/12. Several of those have a great view out on the marsh and the others have an indirect Marsh view. The other 5 studios are found under the GV's. None have a pool view and most of those have an "island" view - which is also fine. We've watched dolphin feeding in the marsh and have also seen otters and manatee right behind the resort in the marsh as well as lots of birds.

Here are some more photos of the HH resort.

Enjoy!

 

[Disneyaholic]

Just a note about the restaurants. They will be CROWDED. Even though there are literally hundreds of them on the island, you will be going at a very busy time. Many of the restaurants do not take reservations. You will either need to get there very early (and can then take advantage of the early bird specials many of them offer) or be prepared to wait a while to be seated.

When we go in July (we'll also be there the week before you ), we usually don't go out to eat very often. Even though you're in the studio, you should be able to do pretty well with the microwave and the grills that are all over the resort!

Be prepared to become addicted to Hilton Head!!!