Purchasing DVC Hilton Head

[Type1ofaKind]

I know it is not a very popular option, but I am wanting advice. We have gone back and forth about purchasing DVC. Husband is not a huge Disney fan like myself. He will go to Disney and accepts my love of it but just is not all in about buying DVC. However, the other night he mentioned: "hey, isn't there a DVC resort at Hilton Head?"

We live in NC and do enjoy vacationing at Hilton Head. Hilton Head is close enough for our kids to tolerate us driving down. On the other hand, we prefer to fly to Orlando.

We would definitely use our points some years at Hilton Head and would probably be able to take extended family with us. My question is, how hard would it be to get a 1 bedroom at a Disney World resort during Spring Break, Thanksgiving, and Christmas at the 7 month mark? Would Hilton Head be worth a compromise between me and my husband? Also of note, we occasionally do non-park stays at Disney especially if coming during the holidays.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

You can probably get a 1-bedroom right at the 7-month mark at those times - sometimes. Take a look at the points charts, though. Those weeks require a lot of points, and you may not want that many Hilton Head points. One, the dues are very high, and two, you might not need a ton of points for your typical HH vacation needs.

You might consider getting the HH points you need to use at HH, and then renting points for the WDW resorts when you want to go to WDW.

 

[MICKIMINI]

As a long time DVC owner (1996) I'd only buy HHI to stay at HHI though, if you travel to WDW off season you will likely get something at 7 months. The times you specified is very, very unlikely anywhere and what is left will be the more expensive villas or a night here and a night there...

That being said we love HHI! The point chart is crazy low off season and you can get a long stay for few points, making those $10 MF's much more tolerable! Good luck!

 

[hhisc16]

Buy Hilton Head if you plan on staying at Hilton Head.
If you want to try Hilton Head before you make a decision, you can rent points or book a room sometimes on the Disney Hilton Head Island Resort website. (You have better luck within 60 days of your stay on the Disney cash website.)
https://hiltonhead.disney.go.com/

 

[DaveNan]

For 1 BR at WDW...
During Spring Break likely SSR, maybe Kidani or OKW - all others doubtful
During Thanksgiving and late Dec - Maybe SSR - all others doubtful

So basically, during those times, if you are going to get a 1BR, expect it to be in SSR.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Yeah. TBH you'd probably be better off buying SSR and using it at 7 months for HHI. So long as you're not after a high summer studio at HHI this would work most years.

 

[MillauFr]

I know it is not a very popular option, but I am wanting advice. We have gone back and forth about purchasing DVC. Husband is not a huge Disney fan like myself. He will go to Disney and accepts my love of it but just is not all in about buying DVC. However, the other night he mentioned: "hey, isn't there a DVC resort at Hilton Head?"

We live in NC and do enjoy vacationing at Hilton Head. Hilton Head is close enough for our kids to tolerate us driving down. On the other hand, we prefer to fly to Orlando.

We would definitely use our points some years at Hilton Head and would probably be able to take extended family with us. My question is, how hard would it be to get a 1 bedroom at a Disney World resort during Spring Break, Thanksgiving, and Christmas at the 7 month mark? Would Hilton Head be worth a compromise between me and my husband? Also of note, we occasionally do non-park stays at Disney especially if coming during the holidays.

I would suggest you don't buy and just rent points instead

 

[RoseGold]

HH points are among the most expensive in the system.

Historically, buying resale isn’t a huge commitment. You can buy any of the top 5-ish, get a good contract with free points, and sell in a few years if you change your mind. I don’t plan to hold my points long so that matters to me.

I would pick BLT in your situation. The 1BR is hard to book and cheap on points and you can use the points at HH. And I think BLT still has room to run and will go up in value. Maybe your crystal ball is different than mine.

I also think there’s an argument for AKL if you think he’d be persuaded by club level. The 1BR is not impossible to book.

https://www.dvcresalemarket.com/blog/best-economical-dvc-resorts-to-purchase-fall-2021/

 

[bobbiwoz]

We own at HHI and also at WDW, and I would say go for it! I think you would get a one bedroom somewhere at WDW if you wanted it and booked at 7 months out. Look at point charts carefully when/if you decide to buy.

 

[AnnaS]

If your kids are young, you will most likely stay at HHI during off school days/times = you will definitely need HH points to stay here during the summer months. If you don't mind staying here most of the time and other times besides the summer, go for it.

You should be able to get a 1BDR at WDW when the 7 month window opens up - like everyone said - most likely AKV, OKW or SSR. If you know you might need extra points for these busy times at WDW, plan ahead. Buy a few points from Disney, transfer some points in from another member or bank and/or borrow a few points for those few times you will want to go to WDW. You won't have to purchase much more HH points than you need. Do give yourself a small cushion regardless.

Since you have not stayed at HH and can easily drive down, why not book a short stay (2/3 nights) and check it out anyway.

Good luck!!! Let us know how yo make out.

 

[Sandisw]

Owning HH for stays during Thanksgiving or Christmas time, even with 1 bedrooms is not a good strategy.

While it won’t be impossible to find something, you may find you can’t string more than a few nights at the same place.

Its always wise to buy a WDW resort if you plan to use there. Since you would also use at HH, it does make sense to own there too. But, if those HH times are not hard to book times then it may be easier to get that at 7 months vs the other way around.

 

[hayesdvc]

HHI is the smallest DVC resort. My family was able to get three days in June about 8 years ago that someone cancelled. We live in NW Georgia so it is a 6 hour drive.

Within a month of our return, I bought 230 points. We were sold on this resort and the CM's. If we were going there each year, I knew I has to own there. I am lucky enough to have BWV contracts and SSR. We use HHI at HHI and BWV at BWV for 11 month bookings.
The SSR contract is our wildcard of what is available. Because of the dues, it does not make any long term financial sense to buy at HHI unless you can take advantage of the 11 month booking window for the popular dates which include the summer months.

Good Luck !

 

[larry47591]

We bought 330 points right before the pandemic started a HHI. We have not been there yet but for us we have went to vero the last 2 years and love it. It was much easier to get vero at 7 months in the summer then HHi so we figure HHi was. Better buy. We have our first trip to HHI scheduled for next July.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

HHI is the smallest DVC resort.

No, that is VGC.

 

[RoseGold]

No, that is VGC.

Not for long! They're going to be passing out some more monocles soon!

 

[HHISand]

Buying HHI first is exactly what we did and for the same reason -- we could drive there but otherwise flew to Orlando. Essentially, you cannot book HHI during the summer (any size room) unless you own there or are very lucky to pick up someone's cancellation. Our preference was the one bedroom and we never had any trouble getting what we wanted at Disney World (a couple of times we had to wait list). We stayed at Polynesian, BCV, BLT and AKV among others and always at non-school times (so more popular times). However, at present there are lots of points chasing rooms because of the closing of Disney World for several months in 2020 during the pandemic (static amount of points but less rooms when you subtract out that closed period) so it may not work that well for a couple of years to use HHI for Disney World. I still think you will likely be able to obtain one bedrooms at less popular resorts exactly at 7 months. We now own points at GFV (a direct add-on of 75 points a few years after purchasing HHI on the resale market) and BWV (another resale contract bought during the pandemic when they were really cheap). Daughter is now grown and I retired this year so fairly easy to make good use of the points now despite the glut. Went to HHI in September, BWV in October for the 50th Anniversary and Vero Beach in November (still great weather). People talk about the expensive maintenance fees and they are $2-$3 more per point more than some others but well worth it to us. We love HHI.

 

[perchy]

I am excited to try HHI. I picked up a small contract that feels almost useless (one night stay annually, basically). We are in NC too and anticipate maybe buying enough for a two night stay. lol. I have WDW points too so we'll see....

 

[crisi]

Yeah. TBH you'd probably be better off buying SSR and using it at 7 months for HHI. So long as you're not after a high summer studio at HHI this would work most years.

I think everything is hard at HHI during the Summer. There aren't many one bedrooms and there are lots of families in the two bedrooms.. HHI is easy to get in the Winter, but for Summer everything is difficult unless you own.

I think you'd have a lot more luck with a one bedroom on Disney property in high season than any room at HHI during the Summer.

HHI is a lovely resort and if you want to stay there, buy there. But do recognize - it isn't on the beach or on a golf course - its a car ride anywhere (except the Sociable Bakery ). Its not in the "popular" island spots and the views overlook the marsh. There are other places to stay on HHI that are better for 98% of people who like HHI.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

My mom is now daydreaming about buying HH resale given the low prices and interest in the resort. We would use it about 1/2 the time at HH in November - maybe around Thanksgiving - or over the summer and the rest of the time as SAP in January. Besides the 2042 expry and high maintenance fees, is there any other reason why not to buy there with the intention to use it at WDW to upgrade an existing reservation at 7m (eg bungalows, cabins, etc)?

This would be our first foray into the resale market.

We are also eyeing adding Poly 2 points and dream about CCV for December but that’s unlikely to happen.

Thank you.

 

[Slakk]

My mom is now daydreaming about buying HH resale given the low prices and interest in the resort. We would use it about 1/2 the time at HH in November - maybe around Thanksgiving - or over the summer and the rest of the time as SAP in January. Besides the 2042 expry and high maintenance fees, is there any other reason why not to buy there with the intention to use it at WDW to upgrade an existing reservation at 7m (eg bungalows, cabins, etc)?

This would be our first foray into the resale market.

We are also eyeing adding Poly 2 points and dream about CCV for December but that’s unlikely to happen.

Thank you.

Thats exactly why we bought it. We stayed there some times off season and LOVED it and then used the points at WDW probably 90% of the time. At the price even with the higher MF it would take years to have them be a factor. We love HHI points - you could always get a small contract to try it out then buy at Poly in a few years