Your thoughts about Marriott's Barony Beach

We have the opportunity to spend the second week of August in a two bedroom unit at the Marriott Barony Beach in Hilton Head. My wife and I will be travelling with our 19 year old daughter and a few of her college friends.

Would you please let me have your comments about Barony Beach and how it compares with the other Marriotts in Hilton Head.

Thanks.

You'll love it. It's not my favorite, that goes to Grand Ocean, but its still a great resort. Would rate it as my number two, easily. Then again, I haven't stayed at Surf Watch yet! With the daughter and friends, Barony could be the best choice though.

We love Barony and also think you'll have a great time there on the beach in August. The European Spa onsite will probably appeal very much to your daughter and her friends, if not for you and your wife as well. I recommend calling and scheduling any services a week or two before you arrive.

I think Barony Beach, SurfWatch and Grande Ocean on Hilton Head compare equally. All three are on the ocean with multiple pools, a Marketplace, a full schedule of onsite activities and relationships/discounts with island restaurants and vendors. Barony is Don's favorite while SurfWatch comes out just slightly ahead for me.

I'm not sure how you're staying there but if it's on an II exchange, you should be aware that exchangers are more likely (especially during Plat season) to be placed into the Gardenview section at Barony. Those two buildings are behind the Westin Hotel and don't have an ocean view, but the courtyard was re-furbed last year with a gorgeous new pool, barbecue area and firepits. The oceanfront bar/grille was refurbed as well with a new menu and more seating.

Here's TUGger TravlinDuo's thread with pics of the refurbs, and here's the Barony resort map.

Take it without hesitation, and be glad. It's the second-best resort on Hilton Head, which is saying something, and not so easy to get into during summer. You'll love it, regardless of which section you're in. The section of your villa really doesn't matter, as you have access to all of the Barony property.

1. Grande Ocean
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*
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2. Barony
3. Surfwatch

I wouldn't by any means say these three are equal, but together they make up the top tier of HH resorts. They are in a similar class, and stand alone. There are several reasons why they are different, but I won't elucidate here.

I've just come back from visiting all the SC Marriotts and I'd agree with the others. I stayed at Grande Ocean which is massive and nice and convenient to the Sea Pines area (you get a pass so you save $5). The beaches at the three resorts that are actually on the beach are pretty much the same...they're all wide with lots of space but I'd say that GO has quicker access to the beach (it can be a bit of a walk from some of the SurfWatch buildings and some of the Barony Buildings). It's worth noting that if you plan on doing any activities that are off HHI you may want to pick Surfwatch or Barony because they're closest to the only exit off the island. Grande Ocean, Monarch, Heritage Club and Harbour Club are all very convenient for the trails and scenery of Sea Pines and Harbour Town but they're about as far away from the exit off the island as possible. If you want to be able to walk to restaurants and bars then the resorts on the ocean may not be your best choice....I'd pick the Harbour Club for its proximity to Harbour Town and for it's spacious rooms (the rooms at Heritage are an ok size but the one I saw was looking tired and dated).

Overall I'd pick Grande Ocean (biggest rooms of the beach resorts...at least from what I saw) but you won't be disappointed with Barony or SurfWatch.

SueDonJ said:

We love Barony and also think you'll have a great time there on the beach in August. The European Spa onsite will probably appeal very much to your daughter and her friends, if not for you and your wife as well. I recommend calling and scheduling any services a week or two before you arrive.

I think Barony Beach, SurfWatch and Grande Ocean on Hilton Head compare equally. All three are on the ocean with multiple pools, a Marketplace, a full schedule of onsite activities and relationships/discounts with island restaurants and vendors. Barony is Don's favorite while SurfWatch comes out just slightly ahead for me.

I'm not sure how you're staying there but if it's on an II exchange, you should be aware that exchangers are more likely (especially during Plat season) to be placed into the Gardenview section at Barony. Those two buildings are behind the Westin Hotel and don't have an ocean view, but the courtyard was re-furbed last year with a gorgeous new pool, barbecue area and firepits. The oceanfront bar/grille was refurbed as well with a new menu and more seating.

Here's TUGger TravlinDuo's thread with pics of the refurbs, and here's the Barony resort map.

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Sue,I'm on an II exchange to Barony Beach and have two villas booked for the end of April. The view type is written as courtyard. Shall I expect to be in one of the buildings by the pools instead of the garden rooms near the Westin?

Mom lives just outside Hilton Head and goes over to use her points or exchange into the Marriott properties quite frequently. Barony is one of her favorites because it is actually on the beach. Many of the Hilton Head resorts are not actually on the beach - the beach is easily accessible, but this is one where you are actually right on the beach. We have stayed there and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Some of the other Marriotts do have 3 bedroom units - if you need more space - but I imagine it is a tough ticket getting into any of these properties during the spring/summer/fall months.

hcarman said:

Mom lives just outside Hilton Head and goes over to use her points or exchange into the Marriott properties quite frequently. Barony is one of her favorites because it is actually on the beach. Many of the Hilton Head resorts are not actually on the beach - the beach is easily accessible, but this is one where you are actually right on the beach. We have stayed there and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Some of the other Marriotts do have 3 bedroom units - if you need more space - but I imagine it is a tough ticket getting into any of these properties during the spring/summer/fall months.

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Surfwatch is the only HH Marriott which has 3-BR villas, and those are limited.

jme said:

Surfwatch is the only HH Marriott which has 3-BR villas.

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Other than the one single 3BR unit at Monarch.

dioxide45 said:

Other than the one single 3BR unit at Monarch.

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correct, good point......i forgot.

but that one is seldom accessible, so it may as well not exist, practically speaking.

SueDonJ said:

I think Barony Beach, SurfWatch and Grande Ocean on Hilton Head compare equally. All three are on the ocean with multiple pools, a Marketplace, a full schedule of onsite activities and relationships/discounts with island restaurants and vendors. Barony is Don's favorite while SurfWatch comes out just slightly ahead for me.

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jme said:

The section of your villa really doesn't matter, as you have access to all of the Barony property.

I wouldn't by any means say these three are equal, but together they make up the top tier of HH resorts.

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I'd agree more with SueDonJ than jme, but it's personal preference. Grande Ocean is larger and in a more crowded area - Barony is a smaller resort and more secluded, less crowded beach and the beach is pretty wide open to the north (if you walk south you can walk to GO), we are on vacation and prefer the latter so Barony is by far our favorite, but agreed, GO & SurfWatch aren't far behind.

Barony has two sections, OceanFront & OceanSide and Garden View. The good thing about the OceanFront & OceanSide are view and proximity while the benefit of the Garden view are larger villas and the Garden section has it's own pool. There is also a golf cart to ferry people from the Garden section to the ocean, but never actually used it.

Wonderful resort!

Great beach for bicycling...maybe even the best for that past-time, so make sure you rent bikes!

OutAndAbout said:

I'd agree more with SueDonJ than jme, but it's personal preference. Grande Ocean is larger and in a more crowded area - Barony is a smaller resort and more secluded, less crowded beach and the beach is pretty wide open to the north (if you walk south you can walk to GO), we are on vacation and prefer the latter so Barony is by far our favorite, but agreed, GO & SurfWatch aren't far behind.

Barony has two sections, OceanFront & OceanSide and Garden View. The good thing about the OceanFront & OceanSide are view and proximity while the benefit of the Garden view are larger villas and the Garden section has it's own pool. There is also a golf cart to ferry people from the Garden section to the ocean, but never actually used it.

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It is definitely a personal preference, but for the record, we own multiple weeks at both Barony and GO......we've stayed at GO 73 times, but always trade our Barony OceanSide weeks. The experiences are vastly different to us.

Barony is not exactly secluded....the Westin Hotel is next door, and is the largest hotel on the island. There is only one major pool there at Barony (no one much uses the other), and it's even more crowded now since the new outside grill has been built. And the expansion/improvement work at the Garden Pool was twofold---not only to make that area better, but to keep more people from walking to the single Barony Oceanfront pool. The spa at Barony was the marketing ploy when it was initially offered.
GO has three major pools and a smaller one.... that's a rather big difference.

Not to pursue this discussion again, but Surfwatch is not exactly oceanfront, but it's an easy walk. The limited number of 3-BR's were the marketing ploy there.

Photos are helpful in seeing the difference in these three resorts. All are luxurious and far superior to all other HH resorts.

Barony:
http://goo.gl/maps/2BQOc

GO:
http://goo.gl/maps/0Kqxn

Surfwatch:
http://goo.gl/maps/tTgnV

From GO southward, the beach is all fronted by private homes, and is always quiet and uncrowded, even in summer.....and that continues immediately into Sea Pines and all the way to the tip of the island.

The beach at GO is significantly wider than anywhere else on the island. That's why the William Hilton Inn, first hotel on HH island in 1958 (stayed there as a child in late 60's), chose that spot----it's now the current location of GO. I've watched firsthand the changes and development on the whole island of HH every season since my teens.

I'm happy that everybody loves their respective Marriott HH resorts. Barony is beautiful and Surfwatch is beautiful. They are indeed superior and a wonderful experience for any family. I find no fault with Barony and SW....Marriott purchased and developed whatever land they could (beating DISNEY to it), but the footprints are smaller and just different.......glad they're there, though....they provide more fantastic vacations at HH for more people.

Very interesting history---note the second 1958 entry:
http://www.frankpapson.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=1243025&NF=1






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I wanted to mention this....at our recent GO stay, we were in an end unit villa on the third floor, and there was a sliding screen door and private balcony off of the second bedroom. The second bed was kind of shoved up against it, but the door was operational and there was room to access the porch at the end of the bed. There was no porch furniture however, and you looked over the parking spots near reception.

Has anyone ever seen this before in a GO unit? I was really surprised. My daughter *loved* having the balcony right next to her bed. And the end unit was *huuuuge*.

IMO, you have two very different experiences at Barony depending on whether you are in an ocean front/side villa vs. a garden view. Garden view villas are across a parking lot to the check in building and quite a distance to the sand. There is a refurbished pool that is nice, but I can't give you my thumbs up due to the distance. I'd pick Monarch over Barony Garden View.

jme said:

It is definitely a personal preference, but for the record, we own multiple weeks at both Barony and GO......we've stayed at GO 73 times, but always trade our Barony OceanSide weeks. The experiences are vastly different to us.

Barony is not exactly secluded....the Westin Hotel is next door, and is the largest hotel on the island. There is only one major pool there at Barony (no one much uses the other), and it's even more crowded now since the new outside grill has been built. And the expansion/improvement work at the Garden Pool was twofold---not only to make that area better, but to keep more people from walking to the single Barony Oceanfront pool. The spa at Barony was the marketing ploy when it was initially offered.
GO has three major pools and a smaller one.... that's a rather big difference.

Not to pursue this discussion again, but Surfwatch is not exactly oceanfront, but it's an easy walk. The limited number of 3-BR's were the marketing ploy there.

Photos are helpful in seeing the difference in these three resorts. All are luxurious and far superior to all other HH resorts.

Barony:
http://goo.gl/maps/2BQOc

GO:
http://goo.gl/maps/0Kqxn

Surfwatch:
http://goo.gl/maps/tTgnV

From GO southward, the beach is all fronted by private homes, and is always quiet and uncrowded, even in summer.....and that continues immediately into Sea Pines and all the way to the tip of the island.

The beach at GO is significantly wider than anywhere else on the island. That's why the William Hilton Inn, first hotel on HH island in 1958 (stayed there as a child in late 60's), chose that spot----it's now the current location of GO. I've watched firsthand the changes and development on the whole island of HH every season since my teens.

I'm happy that everybody loves their respective Marriott HH resorts. Barony is beautiful and Surfwatch is beautiful. They are indeed superior and a wonderful experience for any family. I find no fault with Barony and SW....Marriott purchased and developed whatever land they could (beating DISNEY to it), but the footprints are smaller and just different.......glad they're there, though....they provide more fantastic vacations at HH for more people.

Very interesting history---note the second 1958 entry:
http://www.frankpapson.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=1243025&NF=1






.

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Marty, sometimes in these discussions you bring to mind, "me thinks he doth protest too much." Sometimes what you say is so wildly exaggerated and negatively biased that I wonder how anybody who hasn't been to the island can understand what we're talking about! So to counteract what you've said ...

Barony has two major outdoor pools with features, the new one in the gardenview section and another in the oceanfront section, as well as a smaller quiet outdoor pool and an indoor pool. The oceanfront bar/grille refurb actually opened up MORE direct oceanfront poolside seating because the new bar/grille sits further back between the oceanside buildings while the old has been completely removed and its seating area moved further back still into the courtyard, thus opening up that whole section to lounges. And good for Marriott for recognizing that the gardenview area could use a new feature pool - not because it keeps folks from walking over the oceanfront one, but because there are enough units on property to justify two feature pools! I know we'll definitely be walking from our OF unit to that new pool because it's a great addition.

SurfWatch IS a direct oceanfront resort, no matter how many times you want to say that it isn't. But you're correct, it has a HUGE footprint and from some of the units there is a short walk to the ocean (or, like what's at Barony, there are golf cart shuttles.) Contrary to your opinion that the 3BR units are SW's only "marketing ploy," we bought SW more for the expansive footprint and natural setting than for the 3BRs. That's why we bought at Hilton Head, to enjoy a naturally beautiful and serene setting that we know will be protected.

See how nitpicky all these opinions sound when we get into this discussion? Why is it necessary? All three are beautiful resorts in their own right. But especially when exchanging in, chances are very good at any of them that placement will be in a non-oceanfront unit. The difference in walking to the beach from the furthest-back units between all three is barely measurable - maybe five minutes, tops, if you're dragging equipment and lollygagging kids with you. All three have superb amenities and complete activities schedules, with wonderful staff to help you make the most of your stay.

Now if you don't want me to once more say that I think your favorite, GO, is a concrete jungle with far too many buildings jammed into its footprint, you'll please stop saying things about my favorites that are as negatively opinionated as that.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I don't think I'm exaggerating, but since I like you so much, I'll consider it.....There IS concrete around each of the 3 large pools at GO, but that's a good thing. Similar for all Marriott pools. No excessive concrete at GO unless you're counting the two additional huge pools. (Guess that's BAD?) I've seen all 3 resorts soooo many times...... Did you look at the aerial view photos? They tell a story. SW is definitely more open due to the marsh, and I LIKE the marsh, but it's not my favorite thing to hike to the beach with lots of stuff, which we have. Umbrella, 6+ chairs, cart, etc.

I still say they don't compare "equally", as you put it. They are really different, but no need to rehash that. Won't help either of us. If you love SW, great. I'll be there in Feb on an XYZ week, and very much looking forward to it.

I also own at Oceanwatch---- now THERE'S a concrete jungle!!!!....and nothing but a highrise.....but the property layout demands it. No problem. I understand it. but you know, I bought it because it's a fantastic resort and I still like Myrtle Beach. The only bare ground there is in the bushes around the buildings. so?

Here's the GO concrete jungle you describe:

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P.S. Can I please borrow your binoculars when I go to Surfwatch? I want to see that ocean.

For comparison's sake, below are the only 3 photos i've ever taken at Surfwatch, all a year ago from one of the best views in the 2nd best building:

Now, you tell me exactly how they compare equally.

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Thank you everyone for your recommendations.

Right now, I have a reservation for Barony Beach and the consensus is that is a prime resort.

I don't have the luxury of choosing between Grande Ocean, Surfwatch and Barony Beach, so I don't have to decide which one of the three would be my first preference. If I find there is a cancellation at Grande Ocean or Surfwatch, I will then have to decide if we want to switch.

I wanted your opinions about Barony Beach because our 19 year old daughter is very fussy and when she goes on vacation with us, one of my goals is to not to hear her complain. We went to Surfwatch two years ago for 3 nights in August using Vacation Club Points and she was very happy. So if Barony Beach is comparable in quality to Surfwatch that will be fine. The fact that it has a good spa will be an added plus.

When I typed how fussy my daughter can be, I was reminded how about 8 years ago, I decided to take my wife and her to the Marriott Marquis in Times Square for Christmas Week. We got a room on a very high floor with a view of where the ball drops. Unfortunately, because she is so used to Marriott timeshares and we spoiled her too much, when we entered the room for the first time, my daughter looked around, and said "is this it" because there was only a bedroom and no living room.

Once again thanks for your help.

Barony is a fantastic resort. I bought two oceanside weeks years ago. For reasons surely not understood by me (LOL), we prefer Grande Ocean, BUT we stay there at Barony (and also SW) occasionally. The villas are almost the same from Marriott to Marriott---that NEVER changes. You have no worries.

The quality of the pools and the grounds are also the same---never changes. Beautiful, pristine, clean as can be. Some resorts have more pools, bigger pools, but that's it. Some have more concrete, some more marshes, but there's dirt under it all. You will love Barony, guaranteed.....it's first class, top tier. In top 3 resorts on the whole island, and that's saying something.

Hi Bunk
we took our teanage daughter, 16 at the time to HHI, 2 summers ago and we stayed Barony. my wife and I were afaraid she would be bored due to HHI's laid back style. guess what, she LOVED it! she said she liked the vibe. Last summer we stayed at Surfwatch in a 3 br and she loved that to. Last week I took My 22 year old son and his friend for a winter-getaway to Grande Ocean and they loved it despite the fact it was the slow season.
the moral is you and your family will have a great time no matter where you stay. HHI is just a Great place and the Marriotts make it that much better.

btw: we all can't wait to go back!