Need some tips and advice for Hilton Head please!

[Jimmy Mouse]

So me, the wife and our 2 girls age 5 and 8 are going to Disney Hilton Head Resort for the first time this coming weekend (Labor Day) and need some advice on what to bring and what is provided for the beach. I already know about the shuttle and no sit down restaurants for dinner so what else? Are there places to eat dinner within walking distance? I did look at Scott's Fish House on line and am going to call them tomorrow to try to get a reservation. Any and all advice and tips welcome! It will be our girls first time seeing the ocean in person so we are so excited!

 

[jlb727]

There are a few nice restaurants in Shelter Cove near the Kroger's and Whole Foods. That is a longer walk than Scott's, but it is do-able. If you have a car, there's pretty much any type of restaurant you could want on the island. Enjoy the ocean. We LOVE HHI!

 

[Travel60]

We just spent a week there with adult kids and grandkids (ages 20 mo to 5 years). Your kids will have a blast. Rent bikes for everyone ....length of stay makes most sense. Fish and crab off the pier, go to the bonfire (it ends with s'mores). There are arts & crafts activities as well as kayaking. Excursions go right out of Shelter Cove.

Although there are not restaurants on site, the Tide Me Over by the main pool and the cafe in the beach house offer good variety for lunch/afternoon snacks. Get a Dole Whip.

Right across the bridge from the resort is Scott's Fish Market restaurant and Hilton Head Social Bakery (delicious baked items). A very short bike ride on mostly protected paths is Shelter Cove Shopping Center....good variety of eating places - Way back Burgers, New York City Pizza, Poseidon (although better seafood elsewhere). Kroger is also there.

Disney provides beach towels and chairs at both main pool and beach house pool. Might need chairs for beach. Beach at HHI is wonderful, wide, packed sand. Easy to ride bikes on and usually very easy waves.

Enjoy!

 

[Brett Wyman]

I can tell you were not to eat nearby. DO NOT eat at The Old Oyster House. One of the worst meals I've ever had and still pretty pricey. Service was great, as is the view, food is terrible. If you must do it for the view stick with the fried foods as frozen food still tastes okay when fried.

 

[cruisin5]

Just a few steps away from Scott's is pub, the name slips my mind. Pizza, burgers, live music. We ate there twice in May.

There are towels available at the Beach House.

 

[MrsBooch]

I just got back from DHHIR - first off, the resort itself is lovely, and the Cast Members are extremely accommodating.
You are a walk away from Scott's Fish Market, like you said but also San Miguels which is a great Mexican restaurant with outdoor seating right on the marina. Also in the mornings you can walk over the bridge to Hilton Head Social Bakery, which is one of the best bakeries I've ever been to - and they have breakfast and other sweet treats as well as coffee. They also do lunch here.

There are towels at the pools (both resort and beach house) we took the beach house towels to the beach but brought our own chairs. The resort does not provide chairs for you, you need to rent them. I would have preferred renting but my husband was adamant that we bring everything (easier to rent).

There are so many activities at the resort and they rarely fill up (we registered for many the day of) however I will say, the Pickney (sp) Island Tour is supposed to be fantastic - walking tour in the morning with a cast member - and that booked up full right away so if you are at all interested in that for the kids and you guys - book it as soon as you get the activities calendar. We didnt and we missed it.

We also did a Dolphin tour (Dolphin Seafari, Donuts and Dolphins was the actual name of it) - went out in the morning and it actually picked us up IN the resort at Disney's Boat Dock which was exceptionally convenient. It was 90 minutes, and both me, my husband and my 4 year old enjoyed it A LOT. We saw a ton of wild life in the marsh, dolphins came right up to the boat, and they had a crab trap which they pulled up and showed the kids (stone crab and blue crab were inside) - very informative but not in a Yawn kind of way - highly recommend them.

We did cook at the resort, grilled out and made pizzas etc - the resort front desk had grill utensils and charcoal which was perfect bc we didnt have any of those things. And there is something special about grilling next to a hammock on the edge of a marina watching the sunset.

We also ate dinner at 1. One Hot Mammas, 2. Hudsons on the Dock and 3. Main St. Cafe.

One Hot Mammas was probably some of the best BBQ we've ever had. EVER. AMAZING. I definitely recommend this.

Hudsons on the Dock is in a great location so view wise, it was lovely to eat there, the service was great and my food was fantastic but not super cheap - very fresh though - but you have to love seafood. It is VERY kid friendly (our 4 year old was fine with everything).

Main St. Cafe - i only went here because I love crab legs and they had All You Can Eat - while I did enjoy them, and certainly got my money's worth, I wouldn't recommend this place at all. The service was terrible. We were one of five tables eating dinner and our waitress spent the majority of her time at another table where she clearly knew the patrons, talking about the upcoming school year and their kids, two tables who sat down well after we got our drinks ended up getting their food and finishing it before we got our salad. The crab was great but my husbands dinner was mediocre. So that's a thumbs down for this place.

If you are into biking the entire area is so bike friendly - and you can rent bikes from the resort directly or several other companies nearby. We didn't do that this trip but we definitely will next time we go.

Enjoy yourself - I'm jealous! First day back at work after 8 days in the resort - can i come with you guys??

 

[sleepydog25]

There are some very good advice and tips already made on this thread. I echo most of them. Certainly, get to the beach as often as possible since it's a unique spot for them. They do have a small QS there. Signals is the name, I believe. They also have a small bar for adult libations. As for restaurants, it seems you'll be mostly walking which is just fine. As mentioned, there is Scott's--solid seafood place with other items for the smaller kids if they don't enjoy fish and seafood. The Social Bakery is quite good and quite pricey. There is also Ela's on the Water which is another 4-5 minutes past Scott's, farther down toward the outlet to the marina.

If you head left after crossing the bridge from the resort (Scott's will be on the immediate right), the Shelter Cove Shopping Center is a 10-minute walk away to the outer part of it, i.e., Starbucks. With a 5-yr old and an 8-yr old, likely have to add another 5+ minutes. The Kroger is another five minutes from there--again, just walking. There are several eateries there from pastries, to pizza, to burgers, and, of course, seafood. It's a pretty walk for the most part as HHI has a code for shopping centers, etc., so everything is masked well and the walking paths, as mentioned, are set off from the streets and are numerous. You don't mention it, but if you have a 1BR, then you can cook a great meal or two in the room. If not, there is always grilling, and the supplies are easily found in Kroger's. If your two kiddos are like most, they enjoy miniature golf, and there's one farther down the main drag past Shelter Cove. It would be a nice little walk to be sure, but if you have bikes, it would make for a lovely outing.

Mostly, take time to "smell the roses." Unlike WDW, this is a place to relax, kick back, soak up the sun, and unwind. No rushing around to make FPs or rope drop; making restaurant reservations is simple and generally plentiful. Take time to enjoy your family, mostly. And the CMs are the absolute best anywhere!