HHI - Barony vs Monarch (vs Surfwatch)

[ljmiii]

We're planning our next trip to HHI and looking for some advice. Thus far we've only stayed at Surfwatch and loved it - the beach and marshes are wonderful. But for variety's sake, we are thinking of trying a new beachfront HHI resort. To us the one downside of Surfwatch is the lack of walkable restaurants other than the Sea Salts pool bar.

Barony is of interest because the Westin next door seems to have a wide range of bars/restaurants (though the googly-thing makes it look like it's actually annoying to walk there). Monarch also interests us because the Sea Pines Beach Club next door looks nice...but it also looks like there are *no* onsite restaurants at Monarch.

So I'd love to hear from people who've stayed at Barony and/or Monarch and loved it...and ideally why. Particularly if they've also stayed at Surfwatch.

PS Obviously, we'll have a car since it is HHI and we can and do drive around...we just hate being chained to our car and love the freedom of being able to walk places. Though it would be a harder sell, if someone has great walkability experiences about the other HHI resorts I'd love to hear those too.

 

[Fasttr]

At Monarch, Fraser‘s Tavern, across the street at the golf club, is also a nice restaurant option in easy walking distance.

 

[ljmiii]

At Monarch, Fraser‘s Tavern, across the street at the golf club, is also a nice restaurant option in easy walking distance.

Nice! (and thank you).

 

[m61376]

Loved the convenience of Sea Pines. Was able to walk to Harbor town and biked on the beach. Resort is smaller so might not be ideal with kids and in the pool season, since grounds/pool are small and the villas are nice but smaller, but a great location for cooler weather. And it's on the beach. We went beginning of May and had a second floor truly OF view, and it was beautiful.

 

[jme]

Walking to Harbour Town from Monarch is a definite stretch....it'll take a while and you may not want that.
And, Harbour Town isn't my favorite destination for dining, so to speak. Has world-class bike trails, but that's mostly all.
Westin's restaurant is OK, but absolutely nothing to write home about. Fraser's Tavern is OK, but there are SO many other great options that are far better.
HH is loaded with fantastic restaurants, so I say DRIVE TO DINE, and "save the walks for talks", not dining.

All that said, we LOVE to walk to dinner in general----its enjoyable and also romantic, but that's when we're in our timeshare in Charleston,
with only a 2-10 minute walk to at least a dozen amazing restaurants,
or at Custom House (near Boston's North End) where it's a 10-12 minute walk to 20-30 wonderful dining spots.
There may be other timeshares which are walkable to good restaurants, and that is commendable and also quite fun, but for Hilton Head,
we've been going there for 25 years, and there are scant few resorts I'd recommend for that.
One Marriott would be Harbour Club/Sunset Point area which has several decent Shelter Cove restaurants (a 15+ minute walk),
or Heritage Club in Harbour Town which has a 5 minute walk into Harbour Town's dining area (just "OK-to-good" restaurants with the single exception of CQ's which is great), but the others are mediocre restaurants, imho, which only exist to keep you alive).
From Grande Ocean you have a mile walk to Coligny Plaza which has a few doable places, but those are very casual, so-so restaurants, no fine dining,
except a single exception farther down Pope Rd. to Sage Room, one of HH's finest.

 

[Dean]

There are shuttles that cover all of those areas. The Sea Pines shuttle is likely the easiest and most reliable. That said, since. you'll have a car, there are so many good options that are easy to get to and have reasonable parking. Parking at Coligny can be a challenge but not generally horrible. Also biking can be a great option for many and Monarch & MGO are the best for access using bikes but all are workable. Just remember that some times of the year, afternoon thunderstorms are quite common so plan accordingly.

 

[dioxide45]

It looks like you also got quite a few responses to the same question you asked in another thread;

Marriotts in South Carolina - opinions please

I am planning a trip to Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach for February. Currently I have a week at Barony Beach Resort in Hilton Head. I've never been to that resort before. I also saw some weeks available for Grande Ocean. From reviews I've read, both are very nice and Grand Ocean is closer to...

tugbbs.com

 

[ljmiii]

There are shuttles that cover all of those areas. The Sea Pines shuttle is likely the easiest and most reliable….Also biking can be a great option for many and Monarch & MGO are the best for access using bikes but all are workable.

Thank you very much. I didn’t know about the shuttles…i just knew that Sea Pines has a good reputation as an enclave of sorts on HHI. Monarch will definitely be a contender.

 

[pedro47]

The Westin restaurant next door to Barony IMHO, is just ok. It is not fine dining. That is my opinion only. They are some excellent fine dining restaurants on The Island, they are not in walking distance from any Marriott’s resorts. IMO.

 

[Superchief]

Walking to Harbour Town from Monarch is a definite stretch....it'll take a while and you may not want that.
And, Harbour Town isn't my favorite destination for dining, so to speak. Has world-class bike trails, but that's mostly all.
Westin's restaurant is OK, but absolutely nothing to write home about. Fraser's Tavern is OK, but there are SO many other great options that are far better.
HH is loaded with fantastic restaurants, so I say DRIVE TO DINE, and "save the walks for talks", not dining.

All that said, we LOVE to walk to dinner in general----its enjoyable and also romantic, but that's when we're in our timeshare in Charleston,
with only a 2-10 minute walk to at least a dozen amazing restaurants,
or at Custom House (near Boston's North End) where it's a 10-12 minute walk to 20-30 wonderful dining spots.
There may be other timeshares which are walkable to good restaurants, and that is commendable and also quite fun, but for Hilton Head,
we've been going there for 25 years, and there are scant few resorts I'd recommend for that.
One Marriott would be Harbour Club/Sunset Point area which has several decent Shelter Cove restaurants (a 15+ minute walk),
or Heritage Club in Harbour Town which has a 5 minute walk into Harbour Town's dining area (just "OK-to-good" restaurants with the single exception of CQ's which is great), but the others are mediocre restaurants, imho, which only exist to keep you alive).
From Grande Ocean you have a mile walk to Coligny Plaza which has a few doable places, but those are very casual, so-so restaurants, no fine dining,
except a single exception farther down Pope Rd. to Sage Room, one of HH's finest.

When we stay at Harbor Point, we even walk to Santa Fe and Sea Grass Grille. It is easier than finding parking and the return walk helps us digest the food and no worries about the wine we drank.

 

[ljmiii]

It looks like you also got quite a few responses to the same question you asked in another thread...

None anywhere near as useful (even from the same posters). Which serves me right for piggy backing off someone else's thread instead of properly asking my own question...;-)

 

[ljmiii]

HH is loaded with fantastic restaurants, so I say DRIVE TO DINE, and "save the walks for talks", not dining...

All that said, we LOVE to walk to dinner in general----its enjoyable and also romantic, but that's when we're in our timeshare in Charleston...

Thank you for your very informative answer. Over the course of our week on HHI we'll probably have two or so 'peak' dining experiences to which we will drive, two or so nice dinners that we plan and make together, and the rest catch as catch can as we enjoy the beach and explore the island. It's just nice to have reasonable walkable options when hunger strikes and nothing in the fridge calls out to us.

And we certainly agree about loving to walk to dinner. And Charleston for that matter...we'll be at HGVC's Liberty Place for a few nights after this year's week on HHI.

 

[AlmostRetired]

Biking is a viable option for HHI as a middle ground for driving and walking when going out for lunch or breakfast. Monarch (or Grande Ocean if that is an option) has a number of restaurants that are too far to walk but just right for biking.

 

[Steve A]

The bike trails between Coligny Circle and the entrance to Sea Pines are often filled with walking tourists and can dangerous to ride. Similarly, the bike paths from Coligny up past Shelter Cove, but especially close to Pope Ave, are also filled with many inexperienced riders. The paths on the Shelter Cove side of 278 are filled with exits and entrances to businesses and lots of cars coming and going. You need to be careful and pay attention.

 

[jmhpsu93]

The bike trails between Coligny Circle and the entrance to Sea Pines are often filled with walking tourists and can dangerous to ride. Similarly, the bike paths from Coligny up past Shelter Cove, but especially close to Pope Ave, are also filled with many inexperienced riders. The paths on the Shelter Cove side of 278 are filled with exits and entrances to businesses and lots of cars coming and going. You need to be careful and pay attention.

I ride for exercise, and trying to ride a road bike from Shelter Cove south on the trails is insane because of what you noted. I guess a beach bike might be a little better, but I'd be super careful.

 

[jme]

Re the sometimes crowded nature of the HH bike trails.......


Some of our northern snowbird friends who come to Hilton Head in the winter months and stay at Grande Ocean from December to March
like to get a group up and ride their bikes over the Cross-Island Parkway Bridge to Pinkney Island because of the virtual scarcity of folks who use the trails there.
I've never been that much of a bike enthusiast to go that far out but they say the trail is nice and the scenery spectacular.
I know I've seen some serious biker groups in their gear and helmets turning onto Pinkney Island numerous times, so it must be a great place to ride
without "tourists" clogging up the trails. Many times our friends say they "have the island to themselves" on morning rides.
It's a 10-mile ride by bike over there, but you can haul the bikes on your vehicle and get there in 5-10 minutes.
Pinkney is a little-known spot to many island visitors, but perhaps well known to enthusiasts who love nature.

Marriott's Grande Ocean to Pinckney Island

maps.app.goo.gl

Pinkney Island trail map:

https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Trail-Map-Pinckney-Island-NWR.pdf

stuff from website:

https://www.fws.gov/pr

from another website:

Visit the Pinckney Island - HiltonHeadIsland.com

Visit the Pinckney Island. located near the bridge to Hilton Head, is an ideal place to enjoy the natural beauty of the Lowcountry.

www.hiltonheadisland.com

IMAGES:

images pinckney island - Google Search

 

[Superchief]

Re the sometimes crowded nature of the HH bike trails.......


Some of our northern snowbird friends who come to Hilton Head in the winter months and stay at Grande Ocean from December to March
like to get a group up and ride their bikes over the Cross-Island Parkway Bridge to Pinkney Island because of the virtual scarcity of folks who use the trails there.
I've never been that much of a bike enthusiast to go that far out but they say the trail is nice and the scenery spectacular.
I know I've seen some serious biker groups in their gear and helmets turning onto Pinkney Island numerous times, so it must be a great place to ride
without "tourists" clogging up the trails. Many times our friends say they "have the island to themselves" on morning rides.
It's a 10-mile ride by bike over there, but you can haul the bikes on your vehicle and get there in 5-10 minutes.
Pinkney is a little-known spot to many island visitors, but perhaps well known to enthusiasts who love nature.

We always visit Pinckney Island during our Jan-Feb visit and typically hike for several miles. It is very scenic and a great place to see a wide variety of birds and several alligators. I had an armadillo come right up to my feet the last time we were there. We never get in the way of the bikers. Skull Creek Boathouse is a favorite stop on our drive back for a late lunch and refreshments.

 

[Big Matt]

On the topic of dining out on HHI.....go read JME's thread on dining. You will find a ton of information and also people's opinions. I would suggest that HHI has more good restaurants than bad and more than most places of the size/footprint. Competition is pretty fierce. There are two main dining groups (SERG and CRAB). Lots of other options also, and many are privately owned and managed. The key is to know what you like and don't like and what expectations you have. If you are looking for a Michelin dining experience the list is probably zero. If you want creative, higher end food, there is a lot of that. If you want good, reasonably priced southern (not soul) food, there is a lot of that too. Not a lot to offer in terms of healthy/vegan options, but there are some. Lots of places with views and lots of places that are tourist traps (but even then the food is okay). There are a lot of "locals" places that may not appear great on the surface, but are great once you are there with great vibes, some more diveish than others.