Report on Five Weeks in Hilton Head

[BocaBoy]

As several of you know, a week ago my wife and I finished five weeks in Hilton Head, our first time staying there. We stayed at all eight MVCI Hilton Head resorts, some for a week, some for 4-5 days, and three for only 1-2 days. For the four ocean front resorts, in each case we had an ocean front villa, or in one case (Barony) an oceanside villa with an exceptionally good view of the ocean. We enjoyed our time on the island a lot and will certainly go back.

For those interested in such things, I have ranked the resorts below in my personal order of preference, with a few caveats or explanations. Actually, the rankings might be somewhat better described as being in order of our likelihood of returning. There were two surprises on the upside, and only one on the downside. We would go back to any of the eight if the others were not available, but because there are so many choices, I doubt that we will go back to the bottom three or four on the list.

1. Grande Ocean--This is clearly the gold standard of the eight resorts, and now one of our four or five favorites in the whole MVCI system. (We have now been to 30.) We will always try to stay at Grande Ocean when we come back. We had an ocean front villa in Dolphin for a week and later spent a few days oceanside in Sand Dollar. The Dolphin villa had been refurbished and was maybe the nicest we have stayed in except for Kauai Lagoons and Manor Club (Berkeley Manor). The Grande Ocean location is superb.

2. Harbour Club--The biggest upside surprise. Really liked the location and the villa. Felt very comfortable and homey. Lovely lobby. Very much a ranking based on subjective feelings.

3. Monarch--The second upside surprise. The best ocean front location of any of the resorts and the villas were surprisingly good. Our expectations for the villas were not that high so they exceeded our expectations.

4. SurfWatch--Next to our Dolphin villa at Grande Ocean, SurfWatch probably had the nicest villas. We were in the one closest to the ocean and had a very good oceanfront view. This is where I need to explain something. If Grande Ocean did not exist, SurfWatch might have been at the top of our list, but if we want the Grande Ocean type experience we would never choose SurfWatch over Grande Ocean. So I put it fourth because we might return here, but it is not as likely as with the first three. The biggest negatives at SurfWatch were horrible cell phone reception and the left turn onto William Hilton Parkway after coming out of the resort. We also preferred the location of the first three resorts.

5. Barony Beach--A very nice resort but just not as good as Grande Ocean and SurfWatch in our opinion. We were here on an II exchange and because of our status and because it was January, we were given an oceanside villa in Morning Glory with a wonderful view. One reason we are unlikely to come here again on an II exchange is that the odds are we would be assigned a Garden View villa behind the Westin, which looks like it would feel like a separate resort.

6. Sunset Pointe--Well behind the first five resorts in location and quality, but nicer villas than Harbour Point. The staff at the desk were wonderful. It was a relaxing place.

7. Heritage Club--The biggest disappointment by far. Expected it to be similar to Harbour Club but did not feel that it was. Did not like the ambience of the resort or its location. The villa was OK, but the tile in the bathroom was extremely slippery to the point of being dangerous, in my opinion. We were assigned a first floor villa, which could have contributed to our rating, but I do not think it was a major factor. We are not golfers, so the free golf amenity was not important to us. Parking was in an outside lot and therefore much less convenient than at Harbour Club.

8. Harbour Point--Nothing wrong with this resort but the villa was not as nice as Sunset Pointe. These two resorts are in most respects like different buildings in the same resort, so the villas are the only thing to distinguish them from each other.

We used Marty's restaurant list as a main source of dining recommendations, and it was extremely helpful. I would add one thing to his list: Marley's (which was not on his list) makes the best lava flow this side of Hawaii. In fact, it is as good as those in Hawaii. We went back a couple of times primarily because of their lava flows.

We are considering another Hilton head trip next year, but I have promised my wife that we will limit ourselves to no more than three resorts (and probably only two). An ideal trip for us might be two or three weeks at Grande Ocean and maybe a week or 10 days at Harbour Club.

Hilton Head is not Maui but it is quite a place.

 

[LAX Mom]

Thanks for the report & insight into the Hilton Head Marriotts. It is very interesting to read your observations.

I've only been to Hilton Head once and stayed at Grande Ocean. It is a very nice place. I was lucky to get an II exchange in July a few years ago. It was extremely hot that week and next time I'd prefer cooler weather. Several TUGgers recommend April/May and Sept./Oct. I'm curious how the weather was for your January trip.

 

[Bogeygirl]

BocaBoy - I may have missed an atelier thread on this but how did you manage to get your 5 weeks worth of reservations? Do you have a lot of weeks that you just used to trade in? Do you have DC points? How far in advance did you work all of this out?

At some point we'd like to see how much time we can string together - but we certainly don't have 5 weeks.

Thanks

 

[ilene13]

Here are some comments to your notes:
Harbour Pointe and Sunset Pointe are basically 2 separate resorts. We bought our Harbour Pointe unit in 1983. It was not a Marriott. The developer went bankrupt when Phase 3 was just being started. Marriott took over management and the development of the final phase. We used to own the largest sized unit at Harbour Pointe and we liked the units better than the Sunset Pointe units. In the beginning there were issues about the tennis courts and the larger pool. SP did not own either and Marriott was allowing them to use them. HP owners were furious. It was eventually all worked out.
We were founding owners at Grande Ocean, buying in 1990 when it was a blueprint. We sold our HP unit and purchased at Barony when it was built. We would do July 4th at Barony and the end of August at GO. In 2003 I changed jobs and could no longer travel the end of August. We decided to sell GO because Barony was newer. Honestly I never liked Barony. When Surfwatch was a blueprint, our sales person offered us a deal that we could not refuse. They took back Barony from us for what it was currently selling for, (made about 6,000) if we would apply it to an upgrade at Surfwatch. We bought a 3 bedroom platinum unit at Surfwatch and we have never regretted it. The activities and the resort management are exceptional. When we owned at GO they did not have the activities and the staff seemed to always change. It's been about 12 years since we stayed there so I can not make any judgements about it.
Regardless of which resort you stay, HH is wonderful. I'm 64 years old and I have been going there annually since I was 5. I hate to miss it when other commitments come into play.




By the way, to make the left on Wm. Hilton Parkway do the following: go out the back gate of Sufwatch. Make a right. Drive throug the park. Make a right at the end. Go to the end of the street. You are at a traffic light at the Wm. Hilton Parkway. No problem making the left from there.

 

[SueDonJ]

I'm so glad you enjoyed Hilton Head! Thanks for sharing. I've always wanted to spend at least a few nights at Shelter Cove because it seems like the sunsets would be beautiful over there - is that the case?

 

[kds4]

As several of you know, a week ago my wife and I finished five weeks in Hilton Head, our first time staying there. We stayed at all eight MVCI Hilton Head resorts, some for a week, some for 4-5 days, and three for only 1-2 days. For the four ocean front resorts, in each case we had an ocean front villa, or in one case (Barony) an oceanside villa with an exceptionally good view of the ocean. We enjoyed our time on the island a lot and will certainly go back.

For those interested in such things, I have ranked the resorts below in my personal order of preference, with a few caveats or explanations. Actually, the rankings might be somewhat better described as being in order of our likelihood of returning. There were two surprises on the upside, and only one on the downside. We would go back to any of the eight if the others were not available, but because there are so many choices, I doubt that we will go back to the bottom three or four on the list.

1. Grande Ocean--This is clearly the gold standard of the eight resorts, and now one of our four or five favorites in the whole MVCI system. (We have now been to 30.) We will always try to stay at Grande Ocean when we come back. We had an ocean front villa in Dolphin for a week and later spent a few days oceanside in Sand Dollar. The Dolphin villa had been refurbished and was maybe the nicest we have stayed in except for Kauai Lagoons and Manor Club (Berkeley Manor). The Grande Ocean location is superb.

2. Harbour Club--The biggest upside surprise. Really liked the location and the villa. Felt very comfortable and homey. Lovely lobby. Very much a ranking based on subjective feelings.

3. Monarch--The second upside surprise. The best ocean front location of any of the resorts and the villas were surprisingly good. Our expectations for the villas were not that high so they exceeded our expectations.

4. SurfWatch--Next to our Dolphin villa at Grande Ocean, SurfWatch probably had the nicest villas. We were in the one closest to the ocean and had a very good oceanfront view. This is where I need to explain something. If Grande Ocean did not exist, SurfWatch might have been at the top of our list, but if we want the Grande Ocean type experience we would never choose SurfWatch over Grande Ocean. So I put it fourth because we might return here, but it is not as likely as with the first three. The biggest negatives at SurfWatch were horrible cell phone reception and the left turn onto William Hilton Parkway after coming out of the resort. We also preferred the location of the first three resorts.

5. Barony Beach--A very nice resort but just not as good as Grande Ocean and SurfWatch in our opinion. We were here on an II exchange and because of our status and because it was January, we were given an oceanside villa in Morning Glory with a wonderful view. One reason we are unlikely to come here again on an II exchange is that the odds are we would be assigned a Garden View villa behind the Westin, which looks like it would feel like a separate resort.

6. Sunset Pointe--Well behind the first five resorts in location and quality, but nicer villas than Harbour Point. The staff at the desk were wonderful. It was a relaxing place.

7. Heritage Club--The biggest disappointment by far. Expected it to be similar to Harbour Club but did not feel that it was. Did not like the ambience of the resort or its location. The villa was OK, but the tile in the bathroom was extremely slippery to the point of being dangerous, in my opinion. We were assigned a first floor villa, which could have contributed to our rating, but I do not think it was a major factor. We are not golfers, so the free golf amenity was not important to us. Parking was in an outside lot and therefore much less convenient than at Harbour Club.

8. Harbour Point--Nothing wrong with this resort but the villa was not as nice as Sunset Pointe. These two resorts are in most respects like different buildings in the same resort, so the villas are the only thing to distinguish them from each other.

We used Marty's restaurant list as a main source of dining recommendations, and it was extremely helpful. I would add one thing to his list: Marley's (which was not on his list) makes the best lava flow this side of Hawaii. In fact, it is as good as those in Hawaii. We went back a couple of times primarily because of their lava flows.

We are considering another Hilton head trip next year, but I have promised my wife that we will limit ourselves to no more than three resorts (and probably only two). An ideal trip for us might be two or three weeks at Grande Ocean and maybe a week or 10 days at Harbour Club.

Hilton Head is not Maui but it is quite a place.

Thanks for doing something that I have thought wistfully about doing someday myself. While my impressions may be different than yours for some of the locations, I largely agree with you on those we have both stayed at.

Monarch (which was our first stay on HHI in November of 2012 was a complete surprise in exceeding our expectations and I would not hesitate to stay there again).

Barony Beach (which was our second stay for Christmas 2013 - and soon to be third stay for Spring Break this year), reminded us a little of some of the Orlando properties we have stayed at (minus the beach). We still have school age kids and find water slides are still a big draw for our kids (when it is open). I do agree with you that the garden villas have a bit of a 'separate resort' feel with the 5 minute walk past the Westin entrance to get to the main Barony building/indoor pool.

We're on the look-out for a Grande Ocean opportunity for a future stay. Your review just motivates me to keep look that much harder.

 

[Beaglemom3]

Great post and format.

I am planning something like this in Key West next year. I think I can splice together 4 weeks with the 2 Hyatts and Marriott rewards points.


After this winter, I am bound & determined to have at least a month off.



-

 

[AlmostRetired]

Here are some comments to your notes:

Regardless of which resort you stay at, HH is wonderful. .

I second this comment.

Over the years we have stayed at all the Marriott's but the ones at Shelter Cove They have all been great. I own at the Monarch for its tropical feel, more intimate size, Sea Pines location, price and of course the beach. It is older, has two single beds in the second bedroom and only sleeps 6. As I get older, I seem to tolerate "older" better and my wife and I fight so much single beds work (if you see this Hon, only joking). The monarch is also a Marriott buy vs built. We stayed at the GO. The kids loved the size and amount of kids to play with. Free golf at Heritage golf club was a great vacation when we stated at the Heritage. We got the babysitter we used for many years (Wilmer) from that stay. She still works there and we stop by to say hello when on HH. She still remembers my kids (which I know is not a good thing).

Opinions will differ but the common theme is Marriott and Hilton Head.

 

[Ricci]

I concur with most of your post.

I've stayed at all of the HH Marriotts except Heritage. I must say that your oceanfront villas would be REALLY difficult to get in busier seasons unless you own there. I have found that a lot of Barony's oceanside villas look into the tops of trees.
Disclaimer.... I own units at Harbour Point and Sunset Pointe and have found the staff to be second to none. The chance of you getting a water view (although not an ocean view) is nearly 100%.

Grande Ocean and Surf Watch are very nice, with my preference being Grande Ocean because of its location and riding bikes into Sea Pines.

 

[pedro47]

I am looking at the Harbour Club and the Heritage Club for this year. I was leaning toward Hertiage over the Harbour Club now I am back to reading the reviews on both resort. Thanks for your informative input.

 

[jd2601]

We really enjoyed Harbour Club units and location. We do not golf so I think this would be the difference between Harbour Club and Heritage Club. I believe Heritage Club may have a gas fireplace. We thought the views and location between Harbour Town and the bakery was great.

We were there 4th of July week and access to the fireworks and ease of getting through crowds was appreciate. Heritage Club was only a few blocks from Harbour Town and did not seem quite as inviting. I am sure if golf was important to us the free golf would be a huge factor.

 

[bogey21]

We owned a Monarch Crown Suite Week for about 7 years. We used it every year. If any of you get a chance to stay in the Unit, I recommend you take it. You will not be disappointed. I'm assuming that it is in the same or better condition than when I sold my Week (I might add, at a profit).

George

PS The only downside to owning a Crown Suite Week is the MF which is about double that of a regular 2 bedroom.

 

[Luvtoride]

Can't go wrong on HH with Marriott

Interesting post and comments. We too just "discovered" HH in 2013 for using our weeks and points and now love going there. We have been there 3 times since then with 2 more trips planned in 2015. We have stayed at Grande Ocean and Barony and fully agree with all of the comments and recommendations. When we go back in October this year it will be with our family including 2 grandchildren under age 4, so staying in the Garden Villas at Barony with its great water park/slide/ pool area will be preferrrable.
I'm glad to hear about some of the upside surprises as these would definitely be resorts to consider for an upcoming trip.
This August when we go back to HH we are actually renting a house in Palmetto Dunes. Although the Marriott Resort and Spa is in Palmetto Dunes it's surprising that none of the Marriott vacation clubs are in PD. We loved the area and wanted to stay there but not in the hotel.

 

[TSPam]

Hi,
We thought about you in Hilton Head and moving every week or few days. We were at Sunset Point from Dec 27 until Feb 6. Just the thought of moving every few days or week made my head explode!!!

This was our first stay at Sunset point after spending 2-5 weeks every winter in Hilton Head usually at Surfwatch but also Barony and G. Ocean. We chose sunset Point because it was less DC points and we found that we really liked the views. We felt that broad creek with its tides was actually a better view than we expected. We love the ocean but the variety with broad creek was awesome.

Glad that you enjoyed Hilton Head. I guess you have joined the "we love Hilton Head club"
Pam

 

[GreenTea]

Thanks for your notes. We are going to GO for spring break. I hope to look around the other resorts I have not been in before. We have stayed at Barony before but this will be our first "trip home."

What restaurant list are you referring to?

 

[BocaBoy]

What restaurant list are you referring to?

Marty (jme) posted a list of his Hilton Head restaurant recommendations here on TUG sometime last year. I printed it out but did not note its location. Can someone provide a link to it?

 

[BocaBoy]

BocaBoy - I may have missed an atelier thread on this but how did you manage to get your 5 weeks worth of reservations? Do you have a lot of weeks that you just used to trade in? Do you have DC points? How far in advance did you work all of this out?

At some point we'd like to see how much time we can string together - but we certainly don't have 5 weeks.

Thanks

We had two ACs from Interval which we used for a week each at Grande Ocean and Barony. We booked these maybe 4-5 months in advance. We traded one of our Maui weeks for 7475 DC points and used maybe 25% of those points to get the other 21 days spread among the other six resorts. Because it was January these stays were dirt cheap. We booked them maybe 3 months ahead and then were able to use the Puck Trick to re-book several of them at a 30% discount in the last 60 days before check-in. We even made a couple of these changes while we were at Hilton Head, including going back to Grande Ocean for a few extra days. We booked that one the day before check-in. We love off season travel!

 

[BocaBoy]

Hi,
We thought about you in Hilton Head and moving every week or few days. We were at Sunset Point from Dec 27 until Feb 6. Just the thought of moving every few days or week made my head explode!!!

You are right that moving so often got old after a while, but it did accomplish our goal of getting a good perspective on all the MVCI resorts there. Next time it will be only two resorts, now that we know which ones we like the best.

 

[BocaBoy]

I must say that your oceanfront villas would be REALLY difficult to get in busier seasons unless you own there..... I own units at Harbour Point and Sunset Pointe and have found the staff to be second to none.

Totally agree on both points.

 

[BocaBoy]

I'm so glad you enjoyed Hilton Head! Thanks for sharing. I've always wanted to spend at least a few nights at Shelter Cove because it seems like the sunsets would be beautiful over there - is that the case?

I honestly can't say for sure. We were often at dinner at the sunset hour and on the days we were there at the right time it was cloudy.

 

[taffy19]

Marty (jme) posted a list of his Hilton Head restaurant recommendations here on TUG sometime last year. I printed it out but did not note its location. Can someone provide a link to it?

Try this link:

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1724544
See post #1 and the follow-up.

BocaBoy what a great report on your stay at so many different resorts and the comparisons between each other. It is very helpful for us who are only familiar with the names of the resorts and not much more.

I am so glad that you were happy with your views!

 

[jme]

Very nice report, David. It will serve many TUG members well as a point of reference in the coming years. We too like Harbour Club, and have touted it many times over the years on TUG------very relaxing, very quiet, and we really like the different villa layout.... Very underrated and under-appreciated in Hilton Head discussions. We've rented there several times.

We're at Grande Ocean now, and will leave tomorrow, but we'll be back at Hilton Head in 2 weeks, and again in April. It's always hard to leave, though.

Mona and I had a most wonderful Valentine's dinner tonight at The Cottage in Bluffton, just off the island. Now back at the villa, wine poured.

Need to update my restaurant list and add more info on The Cottage, and also add Marley's again----it used to be on my list, but fell off for two years after the SERG Restaurant Group relinquished the management there. Now that they've reclaimed it, it's again taken a giant leap forward, and we'll dine there routinely. We were there Thursday night and it was very good. (We like the semi-circular bar booths.) Best Swordfish I've had in a while.

BTW, we really enjoyed meeting you and Mary Ellen----that was a most enjoyable evening at Charlie's L'Etoile Verte, and I count it a blessing to call you my friend. Hope to see you on YOUR turf next.....Maui Ocean Club.

Again, appreciate the fine report. I'll say this about that:
"When Boca Boy speaks, people listen..."

 

[uwfrog]

Again, appreciate the fine report. I'll say this about that:
"When Boca Boy speaks, people listen..."

Yes, the Vacation Club Sage, even though Monarch should be bumped up two slots. (I could not help it, there had to be one trouble maker). Other than that spot on. At SW now, weather is nice but cooler than last week. Thanks Boca

 

[NYFLTRAVELER]

You are a brave man to spend 5 weeks there. Why so long there as opposed to a warmer weather destination such as Florida? We went to HHI over Christmas week and the weather was downright awful and there was not all that much to do there w/the kids. A pretty place, no question, and though I do not plan on going back to HHI anytime soon, I certainly would not go anytime other than say April through October when the weather is a bit more cooperative.

 

[Steve A]

We liked Hilton Head so much we moved there. In October we stayed at the Grand Ocean and used it as the base for house hunting. In December we stayed at the Barony, our home resort, during the closing and the move-in.

We liked Madison very much, but we could not bear another Wisconsin winter.