We got home last night from our too-short stay at SurfWatch, and I've gotta say that I love this resort more every time I visit it. My favorite thing about it has always been the amount of natural outdoor space within the footprint, and the improvements they've made with bird feeders/houses and the new guided nature tours on the activity schedule fit right in with that.
We attended the Owners' Wine and Cheese Social on Monday at 4 run by Daniel ? and "Miss Linda" who has been with SurfWatch since its construction. I really should have paid more attention to Daniel's last name because he did an excellent job and I feel like a dolt writing to the GM to praise him when I don't know his name! Shouldn't matter - the GM should know who ran the meeting.
(By the way, I learned on Saturday that Sandra Whittington is no longer SurfWatch's GM; the new guy is Case Spencer but we didn't get a chance to meet.) Here's my report from the social.
Daniel introduced himself and said almost immediately, "We're excited about Marriott's new Destination program but if you're here to learn anything about points then I'm not your guy! A sales rep will be here at the end of our meeting if you wish to learn more." And that's how things progressed - Daniel talked about the resort and owners' issues, and the sales rep said a few words at the end. I am happy to report that this was in no way a sales push like what's being reported at other resorts. The agenda:
Daniel reported that just that morning they'd been notified that SurfWatch has attained Number One in the Customer Satisfaction rating among "all of Marriott's 72 timeshare properties." This is a first for the resort and the employees are thrilled. He said that this will mean a high exchange value for owners - I didn't ask but perhaps because it will lead to more requests for exchanging in? (Daniel didn't provide proof and none of the owners asked for it. I don't have any reason to not believe it, and am sure that we'll see it in writing when the board makes a report.)
Marriott "as the management company" (as Daniel put it) has a general policy throughout all resorts for a soft-goods refurb every five years and a hard-goods refurb every ten. SW's five buildings had staggered openings so the five-year refurb is actually a 4-year for two buildings, a 5-year for one, and a 6-year for the remaining two. Scheduling all five this way allowed them to save money on labor and purchasing costs, as well as put the entire resort on the same schedule from this point forward. The soft-goods refurb will happen Nov '11 - Mar '12 and will entail new bedding, mattresses, carpets, drapes, sheers, couches and chairs in the living rooms, re-upholstered dining chairs and bar stools. There was a design board at the meeting but I never saw it elsewhere so couldn't take a picture. The couch is a large brown L-shaped sectional that will have a pull-out bed and also recliners on either end. The colors are changing to blues, browns, aquas. There will be new lamps, throw pillows and 42" flatscreen TV's with a new high-def cable feed. About the TV cabinets - the existing ones are too small for the new TV's, new ones that would accomodate the TV's would be approximately $850 each. They've found a carpenter, however, who is able to remove the armoire section of the existing cabinet and replace it with a flat-top for only $100 each. That work has already started and we saw workers in the garage piling up the pieces. (Our unit had one of the retro-fitted cabinets - I thought it was very nice and that you couldn't tell that it wasn't meant to look exactly as it did. In fact when I first saw it, I wondered if they'd purchased the new cabinets from the same supplier as the old because they are so similar.) The old furniture and TV's are being purchased by local non-Marriott hotels and timeshares; the proceeds will be given back to the owners.
"The 5 things most often heard from owners"
Daniel said the "ladies and gentlemen" who work at SurfWatch consider these things "opportunities" instead of "complaints" because they provide opportunities for the employees to make the owners' experiences better. Corny as all get-out, isn't it? But it seems to work - they are some very happy employees and they've made this owner very happy.
- #1, Unit Placement ... The priority system that's been published was reviewed (multi-week owners, single week owners, owners exchanging back in, etc) and the rotational system was explained (a high floor one year, a low floor the next if two or more owners are making the same request for a similar unit, etc.) There was no mention of stays on Points but I got the impression that they'll be integrated into the published system. IOW, if I'm using a Week then I'm ahead of someone exchanging in with Points, whether they are SurfWatch owners or not. This trip we used Points and were placed in a 4th floor unit. I purposely did not make a request because I wanted to see what happened, but this might not have been a good example because occupancy while we were there was only 53%.
- #2, The Trees and How They Block Views ... Hilton Head's town ordinance is that only 25% of the trees can be cut back every three years. SW has no control over it and will not do more. If a tree on property dies, then the "tree lady" comes and inspects it, tags it, and 90 days later it can be removed but must be replaced in the vicinity with a similar tree. "Sorry, but you are just going to have to live with the trees."
- #3, Smoking ... SW is a non-smoking resort and smoking is allowed only in the designated areas which are a stand-alone pavilion (two long benches with an attached roof over them) between the two garden buildings, and in marked corners of the parking garages beneath the two oceanside and one oceanvista building. There is a $250 fine if smoking is detected in a unit, and the unit will come offline for a week for a thorough cleaning of all soft-goods - carpets, upholstery, drapes, etc. I did comment that while I love the no smoking rule, I think it's terrible that smokers are banished to the garages with so much beautiful outdoor space around the resort. I would prefer to see a couple more of those stand-alone pavilions in the oceanside and oceanvista areas. Another owner agreed that it would be good to move the smokers out of the garages because the smoke permeates through the cars. Daniel will pass this along to the board. (I plan to send an email also.)
#4, Pets ... No dog or cat or any other pet, big or small, is allowed at SurfWatch. They will be happy to recommend local reputable kennels if necessary. There is also a fine if you bring a pet, and thorough cleaning must be done after. Obviously owners of service animals are exempt.
#5, Lighting, Traffic and Signage on the island ... Again Hilton Head ordinances come into play. The town does not allow any more illumination than what's already in place, either on property or at the resort sign on 278 directing visitors to the "next left." Although owners complain that sign isn't big enough, Miss Linda says that during construction the town actually had approved a smaller sign but SW was able to get them to agree to the bigger size one. There's no solution for the traffic issue, especially taking a left onto 278 from Fifth Street, except for following Second Street out to a right on Burkes Beach Road to the traffic signal on 278. SW has petitioned several times for a traffic signal at 278 and Fifth Street with no luck; the latest word from the town is that there will be no more traffic lights from the Sea Pines circle north to the bridge for the foreseeable future.
And then it was the end, and as promised a woman from the Sales Center stepped in to the room. She said that they're aware owners have a lot of questions about the new Destinations program and it's their opinion that each owner should meet with a member of the sales staff to get help understanding it all. "We know you're hearing things at the pool and on the beach but we prefer that you reach out to us for all of the details. Many owners have sat with us and come back days later with more questions - we want to help." She stepped out again while Daniel wrapped things up with goodbyes, and then in again to ask us each individually if we'd already met with or scheduled a meeting with a sales rep. Don and I simply told her that we'd already enrolled our Weeks, were there on a Points stay, and didn't need a meeting. "Oh that's great," she said, and moved on.
Really, I am thrilled that we didn't meet with the same sort of pressure that others obviously have, and I hope that some of the other resorts begin to do things the way they should be done - as informative, low-pressure sessions. Granted, we were there for only 5 days over a holiday weekend and perhaps it was a skeleton sales crew, but we weren't hounded by sales staff at all. The phone in the unit rang four times - twice it was an activities staff member going over the next days' schedule, once it was the front desk asking if we'd gotten our extra laundry detergent from housekeeping, and on our last morning we got a "wrong number" at 9:15. I suspect that may have been Housekeeping to see if we'd checked out early, but then again I don't know why they wouldn't just say that.
Whew! As if you couldn't figure it out, I could talk about this place for hours. Sorry for the long post but I hope it helps anyone who plans to visit. I also hope you enjoy SurfWatch as much as we do.
