Thinking of Hilton Head. Which Marriott?

[Bill4728]

We're thinking of visiting Hilton Head for the first time. Which Marriott resort would be the best for a 60 year old couple? { OMG I'm now a 60 year old?! }

 

[Fasttr]

What are your interests (tennis, biking, other)? Do you more prefer ocean beaches or nature and wilderness? Do you like smaller peaceful resorts or larger resorts with a lot of activity.

After hearing those answers....I'm sure you will get lots of opinions as there are many great MVC resorts on the island.

 

[Bill4728]

What are your interests (tennis, biking, other)? Do you more prefer ocean beaches or nature and wilderness? Do you like smaller peaceful resorts or larger resorts with a lot of activity.

After hearing those answers....I'm sure you will get lots of opinions as there are many great MVC resorts on the island.

We are bikers and prefer ocean and view rooms if possible, we like nice pool areas and resorts accessible to close shopping and restaurants. We often travel with our daughter, son-in-law and their two small children so a toddler friendly resort would be great.

 

[chalee94]

Grande Ocean and Barony are on the beach. Monarch is on the beach but with smaller units. Surfwatch is great but a short walk to the beach. Can't remember which resort off the beach comes with a few rounds of golf included...

Don't forget to look for the restaurant thread - lots of amazing choices in HHI.

 

[pedro47]

We are in our late sixty and may we suggest Grande Ocean, Marriott's Harbour Club @ Harbour Town, Surfwatch and the Barony Beach Club. We have not stayed at the Monarch, the Heritage Club @ Harbour Town, or the two Marriott's resort on Shelter Cove.

In our personal opinion there are no bad Marriott's resorts on HHI.

 

[tschwa2]

What time of year are you travelling and how will you go - Interval, DC points or getaway/rent?

 

[jont]

There is a never ending debate on this forum as to which is the best marriott on the island. many prefer grande ocean over the others mainly due to its location and proximity to sea pines and coligny area. From what you described, it sounds like grande ocean would be best for you but in all honesty you will be happy with any marriott you are able to get. Enjoy and bring a good appetite. once you see Marty's list, you'll know what I mean.

 

[jme]

RESTAURANTS.....see the thread link below, then scroll down to post # 164. Enjoy.
(You can contact me anytime to further clarify, and to get a better idea of what you like and don't like.)

http://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/martys-hhi-restaurant-thread-ongoing.211351/page-7

You're traveling a long way, so shoot for the best-----Grande Ocean. It's also a lot closer to restaurants, biking and shopping areas.
Also consider Barony and Surfwatch if you can't get into GO.

 

[JIMinNC]

If you want a property with direct ocean access, there are four:

Grande Ocean
Barony Beach Club
Monarch
Surfwatch

The first three are all right on the beach with some oceanfront buildings and some courtyard/garden view buildings. Monarch has smaller units and is overall a smaller resort, whereas Grande Ocean and Barony are both typical Marriott resorts with nice pools and grounds. Grande Ocean is the largest of the three true oceanfront Marriott properties. Surfwatch is a little different in that all but one building is set pretty far back from the beach, but the property itself has direct access to the beach area via a boardwalk across the marsh. There is one building with "Ocean Vista" units that is closer to the beach than the other buildings. I suspect it would not be possible to get assigned to the Ocean Vista building unless you own that category at Surfwatch or use DC Points to reserve that category.

 

[glenns]

If you're traveling with your daughter, son-in-law, and small children, Surfwatch has 3 bedroom units. The others don't. It's near Barony (quiet end of the island) but close to shopping, restaurants, etc.

 

[cissy]

Surfwatch also offers a constantly running shuttle to the beach. Just give them a call, and they show up within 5 minutes. If you have a lot to haul, this is a good option.

 

[MOXJO7282]

I would say the Grande Ocean would be the best choice. You and your daughter's family would be comfortable there. The Barony and Surfwatch are very nice but for us a bit further away from the shopping and restaurants we like. Second for our family is the Monarch but those units are a little smaller so kids would need to sleep on the living room pull-out.

 

[Dean]

We are bikers and prefer ocean and view rooms if possible, we like nice pool areas and resorts accessible to close shopping and restaurants. We often travel with our daughter, son-in-law and their two small children so a toddler friendly resort would be great.

I would also suggest grande Ocean. It's OF, close to cologny plaza and lots of shopping/restarants and close to one of the Sea Pines gates. You get a sea pines pass for it as well as one for the bikes if you rent from them (if available). The rooms are larger than Monarch and have 2 queens (most villas) where monarch has twins in the second. Of the 3 Marriott's that are high end, it is the only one that meets your other stated criteria. The 2 by Harbour Town are great if you want to hang out there and for biking. Grande Ocean and Monarch are the only ones that come close to your stated criteria and adding in the pool requirements, is the best mix for what you've stated. All Marriott's would be good though overall.

 

[JIMinNC]

Of the 3 Marriott's that are high end, it is the only one that meets your other stated criteria. Grande Ocean and Monarch are the only ones that come close to your stated criteria and adding in the pool requirements, is the best mix for what you've stated.

I agree that Grande Ocean definitely meets their stated criteria, but I think Barony and Surfwatch do too. In all three you can book ocean view or ocean front rooms if booking with DC points and in all three you are probably going to be placed in a Garden View or Courtyard View room if you are an II exchanger. All three also have nice pools. There are great restaurants all over the island, not only in the Coligny area, and everything on HHI is relatively close to everything else. In fact, most of our favorite places to eat are not in the Coligny area. While Grande Ocean is closer to Sea Pines and the Sea Pines passes are a nice perk, Barony and Surfwatch may be a little closer to the shopping and restaurants in Shelter Cover, as well as restaurants like Skull Creek Boathouse, Old Oyster Factory, FishCamp on Broad Creek, etc.

So, in my opinion, while the Sea Pines access you get at Grande Ocean is something Barony and Surfwatch can't offer, other than that, I think all three would meet the OP's needs nicely. Grande Ocean probably should be their top choice, but I think they would be very happy with the other two as well.

 

[Retired2025 aka AlmostRetired]

I would also suggest grande Ocean. It's OF, close to cologny plaza and lots of shopping/restarants and close to one of the Sea Pines gates. You get a sea pines pass for it as well as one for the bikes if you rent from them (if available). The rooms are larger than Monarch and have 2 queens (most villas) where monarch has twins in the second. Of the 3 Marriott's that are high end, it is the only one that meets your other stated criteria. The 2 by Harbour Town are great if you want to hang out there and for biking. Grande Ocean and Monarch are the only ones that come close to your stated criteria and adding in the pool requirements, is the best mix for what you've stated. All Marriott's would be good though overall.

My posting has nothing to do with which Marriott is best to stay at. I own at the Monarch and trade for the GO when I need to sleep more than 6. I would prefer two queen or double beds in the smaller bedroom at the Monarch but unless unless it gets expanded into the master bathroom it isn't possible. These are not my numbers and this is not my opinion....just want to quantify size differences for 2 bedroom units.

Monarch - 1200sf
Surfwatch - 1275sf (6.3% bigger)
Baroney - 1300sf (8.3 % bigger)
Grand Ocean -1380sf (15% bigger).

This is my opinion.... I can't see anyone being disappointed when staying at the Grand Ocean.

 

[Dean]

I agree that Grande Ocean definitely meets their stated criteria, but I think Barony and Surfwatch do too. In all three you can book ocean view or ocean front rooms if booking with DC points and in all three you are probably going to be placed in a Garden View or Courtyard View room if you are an II exchanger. All three also have nice pools. There are great restaurants all over the island, not only in the Coligny area, and everything on HHI is relatively close to everything else. In fact, most of our favorite places to eat are not in the Coligny area. While Grande Ocean is closer to Sea Pines and the Sea Pines passes are a nice perk, Barony and Surfwatch may be a little closer to the shopping and restaurants in Shelter Cover, as well as restaurants like Skull Creek Boathouse, Old Oyster Factory, FishCamp on Broad Creek, etc.

So, in my opinion, while the Sea Pines access you get at Grande Ocean is something Barony and Surfwatch can't offer, other than that, I think all three would meet the OP's needs nicely. Grande Ocean probably should be their top choice, but I think they would be very happy with the other two as well.

I didn't because they stated they wanted to be close to restaurants and shopping. While nothing is that far from either in terms of sheer distance, from GO they can bike or walk to a number of options far more so than from the either two. As a minimum it is less so from the other 2 you mentioned though both are fine resorts.

 

[JIMinNC]

I didn't because they stated they wanted to be close to restaurants and shopping. While nothing is that far from either in terms of sheer distance, from GO they can bike or walk to a number of options far more so than from the either two. As a minimum it is less so from the other 2 you mentioned though both are fine resorts.

Valid point. I guess I didn't think about it in terms of biking or walking to a restaurant. I haven't ridden a bike in 50 years since I was 10 years old!

 

[BreakingAway]

We are bikers and prefer ocean and view rooms if possible, we like nice pool areas and resorts accessible to close shopping and restaurants. We often travel with our daughter, son-in-law and their two small children so a toddler friendly resort would be great.

We have been vacationing on Hilton Head Island for many years and the reason we keep going back is Sea Pines. As a family that rides bikes, I thought I would offer a perspective as a bicyclist familiar with Hilton Head Island. Dedicated bike paths in Sea Pines run through live oaks with Spanish moss, palm and pine trees, lagoons and along golf courses. You can ride bikes on the golf course cart paths (including Harbortown) after all the golfers have all gone through. The hard packed sand of all Hilton Head beaches are great for rented cruiser bikes. Monarch is in Sea Pines and Grande Ocean provides free passes for cars or bikes. Surf watch and Barony are wonderful resorts but the bike paths near them are dedicated but run along busier streets and are not very scenic. There are several interesting destinations within Sea Pines that are easy rides from Monarch and as shown on the link to the Sea Pines bike path:
https://www.seapinesliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/sea-pines-bike-trail-map-2015.pdf
The Hilton Head bike path is here: https://www.hiltonheadislandsc.gov/publications/brochures/BikePathBrochure.pdf
Sorry, but I can't tell if the links above are direct links. I hope this helps along with information that others have provided.

 

[BocaBoy]

Before we went to Hilton Head Island for the first time three or four years ago, I expected from what I had read on TUG that we would like Grande Ocean, Barony Beach and SurfWatch the best. (Top tier accommodations and ocean views are important to us.) We stayed at all 8 Marriott timeshares on that trip and afterwards I gave mini-evaluations of each on this forum. Grande Ocean lived up to its top billing and is clearly our favorite resort on the island. However, our second and third ranked resorts were Harbour Club and Monarch, followed (not that closely) by SurfWatch and Barony Beach. Based on OP's stated preferences, I would suggest that if he cannot get what he wants at Grande Ocean, Monarch may actually be the next best option for him. It has an excellent location in Sea Pines Plantation and the best ocean views of any of the resorts. We did not care for the locations of either Barony Beach Club or SurfWatch.