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Just arrived at the Marriott grand ocean and are quite thrilled!

L

laurac260

We own platinum Oceanside here. We are in the Royal Tern building, top floor with a slight view of the ocean. I have mixed feelings about the view. Being above the trees gives you a view of the ocean, but not much of a view of the lagoon (we come for the ocean but the lagoon view is actually quite peaceful), so take your pick on that one. still, hard to have a bad day, or bad view, here!

Royal Tern is one of the renovated buildings. We absolutely love the changes! The bathroom vanities are fabulous, high counters..lots of space for storage.. And the lighting is amazing. Some of our family slept in the pullout sofa, and it might be the most comfortable pull out I've ever seen (usually these are very uncomfortable.. But no more bars in your back).

The kitchen is quite nice. Love The stainless steel appliances. The dishwasher and is very quiet compared to the old one. You can actually run at night now. Only observation about the kitchen is they forgot the light over the sink. However that is the only dark spot in the entire villa. All of the dark spots have been addressed with better lighting, especially the bathroom.

This year we are traveling with an extra teenager. The girls are loving the second bedroom. The closet organizer is a nice added touch! It seems like the girls are able to be a little more organized with all the storage space. Seems like kids like to be able to see their stuff. With the open closet they can both organize and see everything. It makes the room feel a bit bigger too.

The Decor is light and breezy. Such a nice change from the old stuff. The only thing I can say was a slight miss...

Think dining table... They used the original base but added a more updated glass top. The MISS was the chairs that they used. Cute, but too short for the table. I'm 5'7" and I feel like a small child at the table. I pulled one of the barstools over for my 7-year-old to sit at the table
 
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Please enjoy your week on the island with your family and friends.
 
We stayed this spring in an updated unit at G.O. Thought the units and updates were great. Unit seemed very open and bright. Furniture was comfortable and seating was improved. Like the lighting in the bathroom mirrors.

Seemed like a major improvement to a great resort!

I believe Barony is planning on redoing units soon, possibly starting this winter on a portion. I hope they do as nice of a job as G.O. did.

Hope you enjoy your week and have great weather.
 
jd2601 said:
We stayed this spring in an updated unit at G.O. Thought the units and updates were great. Unit seemed very open and bright. Furniture was comfortable and seating was improved. Like the lighting in the bathroom mirrors.

Seemed like a major improvement to a great resort!

I believe Barony is planning on redoing units soon, possibly starting this winter on a portion. I hope they do as nice of a job as G.O. did.

Hope you enjoy your week and have great weather.
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Isn't it funny how we all have different ideas? I saw that newsletter from Barony and my first thought was, "oh please, DON"T go the same route as GO's refurb!"

But I do agree with hoping that Laura and her family have a great vacation. :D We've always enjoyed having "stragglers" join us - the kids, especially when they're teenagers, are much happier if they can bring friends along. It really isn't difficult to find those friends who will add to the group instead of cause a rift.
 
jd2601 said:
We stayed this spring in an updated unit at G.O. Thought the units and updates were great. Unit seemed very open and bright. Furniture was comfortable and seating was improved. Like the lighting in the bathroom mirrors.

Seemed like a major improvement to a great resort!

I believe Barony is planning on redoing units soon, possibly starting this winter on a portion. I hope they do as nice of a job as G.O. did.

Hope you enjoy your week and have great weather.
Click to expand...

Thanks!!

I talked to to Bob Spear yesterday, and he said the response to the new decor has been overwhelmingly positive. I think the island plantation look has seen its last days. That is until it becomes "in style" again. :p
 
laurac260 said:
Thanks!!

I talked to to Bob Spear yesterday, and he said the response to the new decor has been overwhelmingly positive. I think the island plantation look has seen its last days. That is until it becomes "in style" again. :p
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The decor just follows the general trends, really. Old decor was definitely 80s style. It does get old. New decor is sleeker, cleaner, more modern, but I'm not wholly on board, but I'm hoping it'll grow on me. Not a big deal, as we're still at GO, and that's all that matters. I like contemporary, but it could be slightly better.

I love Surfwatch's decor, but the difference is that the carpet is much better looking, and the dining table is better. GO's carpet is blah and doesn't have a wow factor at all, and it could/should. Table is so different and not real attractive. Low chairs are a no-no. Wish the ottomans were larger, too.

Lot of friends at HH this week.....I think more Tuggers must be there in late July and August than in June when we're there. Hope the weather is nice for everybody. Big Matt is there now at GO.

Susan (SueDonJ) will be at Barony soon, and so will we. We rented out all 4 GO June weeks due to daughter's wedding in May...LOL..... but after suffering severe beach withdrawals, we decided to rent a week at Barony (GO not available) and also added 2 extra nights with P33 code.....45% discount!!! 9 nights in all, can't wait.

Enjoy, everybody! Counting the days.
 
I'm counting too, Marty, and it's not getting here quick enough! Not only will it be our first HHI trip this year, it'll be the first time seeing Don since spring and the first trip in quite a few years that we and the kids will be vacationing together. :)
 
SueDonJ said:
I'm counting too, Marty, and it's not getting here quick enough! Not only will it be our first HHI trip this year, it'll be the first time seeing Don since spring and the first trip in quite a few years that we and the kids will be vacationing together. :)
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ditto on the slow clock.

same with us, too, Susan......kids have been in grad school (son now finished with law school, daughter midway in dental school) and it's been impossible to have everybody there at the same time, BUT this time they'll be there, and we can't wait. Since they "grew up" at Hilton Head, it'll be awesome to be back all together. Wish we could stay longer, though. Used to be 3-4 full weeks in June.
 
This is exactly what timeshares are about. Having family or friends together and making lasting memories. Take lots of pictures of everyone to look at again in later years. :)
 
I would LOVE to see some current interior pictures. I think I'm a new owner; just waiting for it to show up in my account.
 
GreenTea said:
I would LOVE to see some current interior pictures. I think I'm a new owner; just waiting for it to show up in my account.
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Check out the sticky above for resort pictures. Jme has some current pictures posted under "sneak peek" for grande ocean :)
 
I think its probably something that needs to be experienced first hand to see if it truly works. I remember seeing pictures of a certain remodel and decided I didn't like it until I saw it and it looked fantastic in person.
 
I've only stayed at Grande Ocean once, July 2004. My recollection is that there was new decor at that time. I guess that is the island theme referred to in this thread.

From the pictures I've seen (thanks jme) I think I prefer the new decor. But I guess it's long past time for another trip to Grande Ocean to check it out myself!! I loved the resort and Hilton Head!
 
LAX Mom said:
I've only stayed at Grande Ocean once, July 2004. My recollection is that there was new decor at that time. I guess that is the island theme referred to in this thread.

From the pictures I've seen (thanks jme) I think I prefer the new decor. But I guess it's long past time for another trip to Grande Ocean to check it out myself!! I loved the resort and Hilton Head!
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Good plan!!

BTW, when I took the pics I don't think the whole unit had experienced the final touches, so perhaps it looked better a week or two later. When I sneaked in, they were due to open up "soon".

Regardless, I do like change, and it's always great to know it's not always "same-old, same-old" at GO, because they do adhere to a strict refurbishment schedule. Since we've owned, they've changed the decor a few times. And I do believe our magnificent resort manager Bob Spear when he says the results have received overwhelmingly positive reviews.
 
iconnections said:
This is exactly what timeshares are about. Having family or friends together and making lasting memories. Take lots of pictures of everyone to look at again in later years. :)
Click to expand...

Absolutely! And it becomes even better as family dynamics change, whether it be kids off to school, or family additions through marriage and, of course, saving the best for last: grandbabies :whoopie: can't wait for our upcoming trip with 4 generations, ranging from my almost 88 year old Mom to our 3 month.old grandson, with both daughters and families in tow.


Thank goodness for digital cameras!
 
We were just at Myrtle Beach and they are having a refurb soon too. There are cards in the lobby showing what is being done. I don't know how to post pictures of that but if anyone else is there they should do so since I'm sure everyone would be interested in seeing the new designs. It is very pale colors and beachy to my eye. They still don't have stainless in the kitchen and not sure if that is coming or not.

tlwmkw
 
Thank you so much for the link to the pictures. It is exactly to our tastes though I can see the chair height vs table height looking a little off. I can't wait to go!
 
tlwmkw said:
We were just at Myrtle Beach and they are having a refurb soon too. There are cards in the lobby showing what is being done. I don't know how to post pictures of that but if anyone else is there they should do so since I'm sure everyone would be interested in seeing the new designs. It is very pale colors and beachy to my eye. They still don't have stainless in the kitchen and not sure if that is coming or not.

tlwmkw
Click to expand...

I can live without the stainless steel appliances if it will keep the MF's down.:)
 
jd2601 said:
We stayed this spring in an updated unit at G.O. Thought the units and updates were great. Unit seemed very open and bright. Furniture was comfortable and seating was improved. Like the lighting in the bathroom mirrors.

Seemed like a major improvement to a great resort!

I believe Barony is planning on redoing units soon, possibly starting this winter on a portion. I hope they do as nice of a job as G.O. did.

Hope you enjoy your week and have great weather.
Click to expand...

I consider Barony's major refurbishments to be far out there, greater than 12 months. Barony did get king and queen size pillows on all the beds though..
 
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