GO is a great location and walking distance to restaurants, and a five minute drive to over 50. Units are a little older, but still nice. Beach foot print is awesome and no unit is more than a five minute walk to touching the water. Surfwatch is very far from the water. Great units, but location is just okay. You need to drive to everything and nothing is really in walking distance. If you love nature and don't mind the walk to the beach then Surfwatch would be a great choice. Units are newer and more modern in terms of villa layout. No comparison to me. I love the GO location and proximity to the water. You will be happy with either.
All units at Grande Ocean have been totally renovated within the past year. Unit decor is almost dead-equal to Barony & Surfwatch,
as the decorator for all three projects chose from the same design scheme of modern, contemporary fixtures and products.
GO has been renovated more recently than both Barony & Surfwatch, so actually their villas appear newer/nicer at present,
but that changes each time a resort renovates or refurbishes on their repeating schedules, to which Marriott commendably and faithfully adheres.
Hard to tell them apart, though, as they now have the same feel, which was, and remains, the ongoing plan.
I do like Barony's new color scheme and master showers best---imho, the best renovation of the three in recent years.
And I've read of many that concur. They did a fantastic job of that, but the
quality of the interiors of GO, B, and SW are equal.
GO's units happen to be the largest in sq footage of the Big 3 resorts, which is well established and noticeable when occupied.
Barony is 2nd, Surfwatch 3rd with smallest sq footage.
The location of Grande Ocean is superior to Barony and Surfwatch in several ways. Not only proximity to the best and most numerous restaurants
and to Harbour Town, South Beach, and Coligny Plaza, but also to the best bike trails and more.
And the beach itself------Marriott chose GO's location first, remember, on the widest stretch of beach on the island.
And since GO is just outside the Sea Pines gate, it translates into free SP vehicle and bike passes, and that is huge
because SP has the most beautiful and renowned bike trails on the island....and maybe anywhere in the southeast, imho.
Aside from my personal plaudits regarding Grande Ocean, none of the above is a knock on Barony or Surfwatch, however........
All three of these Marriott resorts are vastly different in footprint and feel,
so they could never be compared fairly, "apples to apples".
All three are superb, about as nice as you can get.....in fact there are no other resorts on the island even close, imho.
The new Hilton is nice in quality, of course, but the smallish villas and overall resort footprint leave a lot to be desired.
Many like me prefer GO and everything about it, all plusses---- but Barony has plusses too, and in deference to Surfwatch,
it has the most picturesque & natural feel because it's located in and amongst a very large open marshland setting,
undisturbed by the development in a thoughtful way.
That fact alone appeals to a lot of folks, and to me too, and it's something the other resorts don't and won't ever have.
It's farther from the ocean, granted, but that is overcome by the setting. Surfwatch also without doubt has the best indoor pool...
the only 2 outdoor pools there at SW, however, are rather small and isolated, yet adequate, but the indoor pool is gorgeous.
Barony's indoor pool is second best and GO's indoor pool is third.
GO's closeness to the ocean and the fact that
more villas have ocean views
by far (both direct & indirect), than the others,
make GO our undeniable favorite for family vacations. Our kids grew up there and still prefer it.
Here are a few of the plusses for GO that make the difference for us:
the 3 huge mega-pools at GO, plus lap pool (not to mention the unique features of the Dolphin Pool),
the 150-ft long raised oceanfront deck (literally bordering the dunes) which are unique to GO,
the largest number of lounge chairs (more poolside and "other" lounge chairs available all over the resort by far),
the many swings randomly situated around the resort,
the more numerous hot tubs, the 2 huge fire pit areas with big-chair & sofa seating, the multitude of large grill & picnic areas,
the outdoor game areas (bocce ball, shuffleboard, corn hole, table tennis), the large putting green,
and the beautiful and peaceful lagoon area...... all add to the runaway number of extras we enjoy at GO.
BTW, a new expanded activities center is under construction, and a new lobby/front desk area is next on the agenda.
Also, GO enjoys a full-time office on site for an Interval International representative who helps with anything related to its services.
It is obvious from Marriott owners that all Big 3 resorts are much loved at Hilton Head, and each has a fiercely loyal following.
Any of the three are more than wonderful, and highly worthy of being chosen for a lifetime of family vacations
based on individual preferences.
We own at two and rent the other occasionally, so we enjoy the different feels at different times of the year.
Bottom line, no one can go wrong with any of them. Thank goodness they are different.