Opinions on VB and HH

[Love Wilderness]

We are planning on purchasing BCV very soon. For now we will be going to Disney but
later on we will be doing VB and HH. We like some input on these resorts. Good or bad.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Firefighter Mickey]

Both resorts are great!

 

[Big Bad Wolf # 1]

Both resorts are great good locatations to relax.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

During peak times, both HH & VB can be tough to get at 7 months (I have tried VB, but only read this about HH). Also, both resorts are approaching sell-out, as some use years may already be gone. Taking all this into consideration, we added on at VB.

 

[donald@home]

Vero Beach is by far my favorite DVC resort. If you enjoy a vacation where you can slow down and relax, then you should also enjoy Vero. HH is also a beautiful resort in a very beautiful setting.

 

[jmminarik]

I can't speak for HHI, but VB is very nice. If you think of it as a very nice beach resort with the Disney attention without the themepark madness, you'll be thinking correctly.

We weren't crazy about the restaurants, but that's a very personal taste issue, where I seem to be in the minority.

Hope this helps,
Joe

 

[DisneyWorld fanatic]

I can report on HH - we stopped there for one night on our way home to NJ from a glorious week in WDW and the cruise in Feb. We wanted to break up the ride home and also see HH since we had just joined in 2001. It is a beautiful resort which is special because you get that "Disney touch" in a very relaxing atmosphere. We had a studio which was very nice. We walked around the resort, the kids went in the pool and in the evening, they had a camp fire. Two resort employees told a few scarey stories, we toasted marshmallows and sang a few songs - the kids loved it!! My only negative comment is that there are no "Disney" restaurants but there are plenty on HHI.

 

[yasuern]

Hi All,

Well I am so glad to hear good things about VB since 2wks from today we will be there! This is our 1st DVC vacation.
Although its 14 days away I like to think of it as 8 more work days to go!

 

[PADVCmember@OKW]

Both resorts are great. Spent 7 nights at VB last July. (Booked at 7 month window) Probably one of our best DVC vacations. Crowds were light, even over the July 4th holiday.

HHI is an annual Easter trip for us. "Annual" says it all.

Both locations are very relaxing. Both beaches are very different. Would be tough to select one over the other.

 

[BuzzLightYear3]

We've only been to HH and VB once each. Here are my opinions:

HH is a very nice, relaxing resort, and HHI itself offers a lot....great golf from what I understand (although we're not golfers), great restaurants, nice shopping, beautiful beaches, good chance to see nature (e.g., Dolphin watch), great marinas, etc. The only real drawback of the HH Disney Resort is that it's not right on the beach....they have a beach house, but you have to drive or take the shuttle to it. Still, a very nice resort in a great location.

VB is a beautiful resort, and the kids activities can't be beat. The beach is a little narrow but still nice. The Turtle Watch is a unique and interesting nature activity. The area around VB is mixed though.....some very upscale housing and some poorer neighborhoods. We didn't find too many great restaurants....I'm sure there are some, but it certainly didn't have the selection of HH Island. We were just there for our first visit and while we absolutely loved the resort itself primarily because it was very pretty and because of the kids programs, we were disappointed in the area. I don't think it would be my first choice to go to if it was an adults-only trip. (I might be spoiled....we used to spend a lot of vacation time at Sanibel Island where my Grandparents have a condo. It's beautiful, great restaurants, great shopping etc. I like VB better for the kids because of the kids activities--the place we always stayed at Sanibel had none. But, I expected the VB area to be more similar to a nice Florida vacation spot, and it definitely wasn't that.)

That's my opinion. Hopefully I haven't offended anybody. Like everything else, I think they each have their pros/cons, so it's all a matter of what you're interested in.

 

[TiggerBelle05]

I cant speak for HH, but this summer my family and I went to VB. We loved it! Since me & my brother are still kids (under 18), we were able to find plenty of activities to amuse ourselves. Our parents loved it because they would be able to sit out on the beach and relax and let my brother & I go up to the pool, or wherever we were going at the time, because they feel Disney is very safe and secured. We were able to find good resteraunts to eat at. You will have to drive about 10 min tops to get to them but there are many stores around them. For ex: one rainy day we all went up to the AMC theatre to see a movie and then we went to TGI Fridays for dinner. There is an Applebees, Swensons(VERY GOOD!), mall with a food court and many more places to go. If you ask for a map at the front desk you will be able to see most of these places. There is also a pizza place right next to the resort. It doesnt look very appealing but the pizza is very good! well I hope this has helped you!

 

[walter]

VB is a great place to relax after time at WDW. If you like to dine out, you have to travel a distance to visit resturants. HH has many things to do (including visiting historic Savannah, GA), as well as MANY places to dine.

 

[ncligs]

We just got back last night(7-5) from VB and OKW. This was our first time at VB. It exceeded our expectations. We spent 4 days at VB and 3 days at OKW. I am posting a report later on our stay.
But as a few of the above posters have said, VB is a "great resort" to relax . We have been to HH last summer, and it is a nice resort, a lot of restraunts close by at HH, golf is plentiful. But we truely like VB "much better". Everything at VB is within a 5 minute walk (Ocean, pool, restraunts, putt putt,etc). Also if you want to go off property there are numerous restraunts on US1 and route 60, which is only a 10-15 minute drive away. There is a mall (Indian River Mall) on 60 that has a Cinema with 24 movies, and a food court.
For us we feel VB is a very safe, and small enough resort, that our our kids, nieces, nephews can be on their own and we don't have to worry about them. The ocean view is beautiful from the Beach Cottages. We had a 1BR (Bldg 15 rm 1527) and had a great view of the ocean. OKW is our favorite on WDW property, but VB is a very close 2nd. We added on 50 more pts at VB (160 total) so we can get a Beach Cottage every other year there at the 11 month window and go down when we want to!!!!

 

[J.P.]

We love VB and have been going there since 95 and added twice for more points to stay there longer. JP

 

[JimB.]

LOVE VB.

Never been to HH (in spite of the fact that I've got points there)

 

[Popovich]

How would you compare the beaches and activities at VB and HH for families with small children (5 & 3)?

 

[KNWVIKING]

HH is a beautifull resort but we weren't crazy about the beach house setup.Also,unless your a golfer or a shopper,not a whole lot to do IMO. We usually drive down from Jersey, we would use HH again as a stop-over on the way back for a day or two.

We spent eight days at VB. Great resort,right on the ocean. Very relaxing. We won't spend a week there again- just a little too slow for our vacation tastes right now- but will definitely go again for a couple days either as a WDW primer or a WDW unwinder.

 

[Jimbo]

and liked both, but prefer HHI. We thought there was much more to do on the island. We did things like a dolphin-watching cruise, crabbing, deep sea fishing and golfing. We also did a day trip to Savannah. All of these were great fun. HHI also has an unbelievable amount of restaurants of all kinds. The one thing we weren't crazy about was that the beach was a ways away, but that was tolerable. The upside, though, is that we thought it was the finest beach we've ever been on.

We also liked VB, but after a couple of days we were VB'd out. It's got restaurants on property, unlike HHI, but if you wanted to eat elsewhere your choices were limited compared to HHI. The beach is just over the dunes, but it's not nearly the beach that HHI has. The activities in the area are limited too we thought, at least compared to HHI.

We'll definitely go back to both over the next 40 years, as they're both excellent resorts. But VB will probably be for three day pre-WDW trips, while HHI will more likely be for a week at a time.

 

[BobH]

Vero Beach is very nice and can be combined with a WDW trip. It is 1hr 20 min from WDW. Kennedy Space Center is an option as a side trip. It is in an area of private communities, but there are plenty of residences outside of the gated communities. Obviously many people of retirement age in the general community.

Hilton Head is on an island 12 miles long and 3-5 miles wide. 2/3 of the island is gated communities. 1/3 of the island is still left to people who probably work in the hotel industry - a lot of small homes and trailers at the northern end of the island. The DVC beach house is inside the gated community of Palmetto Dunes about a mile and a half from the DVC. The Hilton Head resort is located in a very upscale marina. There are boat cruises both motorized and by sail boat. There is no restaurant facility at the resort but there are 5 or 6 good restaurants within walking distance of the marina. Savannah was an excellent day trip 45 minutes away and Savannah airpot is very accessible. Hilton Head also has an airport if you don't mind smaller jets for travel.

I own at OKW because my family will probably go to WDW more times than the other resorts. It depends on what you want. If you are looking for peace and quiet either Vero or Hilton Head fit the bill. There is only one main road on Hilton Head so traffic is significant during the summer and if you want to travel away from the resort you will want to drive.

I have booked Vero in June and Hilton Head for the last week of May at the 7 month window with no problems. Maybe I was lucky.
I am of the impression form these boards that Hilton Head is probably available at 7 months up until the 1st week of JUne. Then the owners may take all the spots.

Good luck with you selection.