Which Marriott in Hilton Head do you like most?

[dioxide45]

GO plus all the ones in Sea Pines (Monarch, Heritage, Harbour Club). Sometimes you have to pay to access SP initially but recently I think guests have been able to pick up passes at the main entrance office. For GO, no issue since it's outside the secondary gate.

I recall when we went to Harbour Town Yacht Club years ago, they had us pick up a pass at the main Sea Pines gate on Greenwood Dr. I think we could have done the same at Monarch but we still had the one from checking out of Grande Ocean so we just used that. That said, I've seen some more recent reports here where Monarch told the guest they would have to pay for the first day pass to get in then they would be provided one for their length of stay. We will be going to Harbour Club and Heritage Club in January, I will see what the process is that they have at these resorts.

 

[Dean]

What’s to see in Sea Pines?

South Pointe, Harbour Town, lots of great bike paths, nature walks and the community garden would top my list. For someone who hasn't been it's worth a visit. Keep in mind that a car SP pass does not give the same access for bikes. You need a separate pass for that. They are not automatically given out by the resorts unless one rents bikes from them but often you can get one by asking until they are gone for the week.

 

[Dean]

I recall when we went to Harbour Town Yacht Club years ago, they had us pick up a pass at the main Sea Pines gate on Greenwood Dr. I think we could have done the same at Monarch but we still had the one from checking out of Grande Ocean so we just used that. That said, I've seen some more recent reports here where Monarch told the guest they would have to pay for the first day pass to get in then they would be provided one for their length of stay. We will be going to Harbour Club and Heritage Club in January, I will see what the process is that they have at these resorts.

It's been hit or miss. Last time we stayed at Heritage the resort specifically told us we'd have to pay for initial access and others have reported a similar experience over the years. Recently getting a pass at the main gate seems to have been more common. One just needs to realize it's a possible issue. For that visit we also had weeks at MGO so were able to get a pass from them instead.

 

[iftravel]

South Pointe, Harbour Town, lots of great bike paths, nature walks and the community garden would top my list. For someone who hasn't been it's worth a visit. Keep in mind that a car SP pass does not give the same access for bikes. You need a separate pass for that. They are not automatically given out by the resorts unless one rents bikes from them but often you can get one by asking until they are gone for the week.

Yeah I plan to rent a bike from the resorts and would ask for a pass there. Didn’t know they have the whole area blocked for pass access, was thinking of plantation only.

 

[Dean]

Yeah I plan to rent a bike from the resorts and would ask for a pass there. Didn’t know they have the whole area blocked for pass access, was thinking of plantation only.

If you rent from the resort they will likely give you a pass automatically if they have any left. Early in the week I can't imagine that would be an issue. I have seen them give passes out even if not renting from them but that may be more hit or miss.

 

[GTLINZ]

I prefer Sunset/Ocean Pointe in Shelter Cove due to the low cost in points.

I think you mean Harbour Point/Sunset Pointe at Shelter Cove ? They are basically managed together and i love that location (and the points deal). Not sure why they chose to spell "point" differently ...

I also love Ocean Pointe in West Palm, a favorite

 

[jbman]

If you rent from the resort they will likely give you a pass automatically if they have any left. Early in the week I can't imagine that would be an issue. I have seen them give passes out even if not renting from them but that may be more hit or miss.

Would you know if there are E-bikes available at any of the resorts to rent?

 

[dioxide45]

I think you mean Harbour Point/Sunset Pointe at Shelter Cove ? They are basically managed together and i love that location (and the points deal). Not sure why they chose to spell "point" differently ...

I also love Ocean Pointe in West Palm, a favorite

Did Marriott name those two resorts or were they part of an early acquisition when they got into the timeshare game?

 

[AlmostRetired]

I’m aiming for a late summer end of August visit with a kid. Guess I cannot go wrong with the beach front. Thanks for the suggestion.

I saw Surfwatch 2-bed a couple times in August and plenty of Shelter Cove or Harbour town right now without preference.

You will have little to no challenges getting the middle to end of August at the GO. Since you traded the week, you will have to do a re-trade and pay the re-trade fee for E-Plus. Moving forward, I you should purchase e-Plus at time of trade anticipating a re-trade. It give you 3 for the price of 1.

I traded to Newport Coast Villa in Ca., for June. No one other than me wanted to go. 4 weeks ago I did a re-trade for the GO 8/10 through 8/17. Re-trades are instant searches. Two weeks later I did an instant search. This is when you deposit a week and look to search for something that is immediately available. A second week fpr 8/10 popped up that I exchanged for. Last year I needed two GO's for late June. I traded for one and had to rent the second. If my kids don't want to go this year for those dates, I will re-trade one of them. My wife and I love middle to end of August. Most of the surrounding states are in school so it is a lot less crowded at restaurants.

I took a long time to get to this point. You must every few days for a GO re-trade and go to daily after Jan 1. I am 100% confident you will get one for middle to end of August. good luck

 

[AlmostRetired]

Would you know if there are E-bikes available at any of the resorts to rent?

The answer is no (I am corrected below). some plantations like Sea Pines does not allow their use.

 

[Big Matt]

I'm at Grande Ocean now overlooking the ocean and it's tough to argue about this one. I have stayed in all of them except for Surfwatch (I did a tour once, and am staying there in May). I can't say that any are really disappointing if you know what you are getting and where they are. I absolutely love Harbor Club because of the location and footprint. It's my favorite non-beach Marriott.

 

[Fasttr]

Would you know if there are E-bikes available at any of the resorts to rent?

I know GO has e-bikes available through a deal with Avacado Bikes. I would assume if GO does, then many/most of the other MVC's on HHI do also. If not, you could always rent them directly from Avacado. https://avocadobikes.com/hilton-head-bike-rentals/

At GO, if you rent an e-bike for the week, but want to explore Sea Pines (where e-bikes are restricted), they will allow you to take a traditional bike for the day, no extra charge.

 

[Dean]

Would you know if there are E-bikes available at any of the resorts to rent?

No, they are not allowed and would not be safe. ETA: specifically speaking about SP. There are very limited exceptions for property owners there with medical documentation. The bike lanes tend to be very crowded. We've had members of our group decide not to bike that direction due to the crowding though we're there the busiest week of the year.

Did Marriott name those two resorts or were they part of an early acquisition when they got into the timeshare game?

Part of the acquisition. My understanding was HP was originally Built by the burns corporation and was 100% completed when MVC acquired it. There are still owners there from before and some of them are still not happy that Marriott took over their private resort.. Monarch was under construction and in active sales. That's why monarch is a combination of fixed week and floating weeks and HP has only fixed weeks. In addition it was Spicebush, Swallowtail and a group of individual condo's commonly referred to as the Saturday Villas. SP was purpose built by Marriott.

 

[SueDonJ]

How old is your child.

7

Don's favorite has always been Barony Beach Club oceanfront, mine is SurfWatch and I'd be happy staying in any section because the draw for me is the large natural footprint of the entire resort. It's such a beautiful place. GO doesn't appeal to either of us because in our opinion it's just too many buildings situated in the footprint, but if it were the only one of the "Big 4" available during high season, we'd take it. We've also stayed many times at Harbor Point in Shelter Cove during low season and love the view over Broad Creek, and its mid-island location makes it convenient to eat, shop and visit anyplace on the island.

But the reason I'm responding to the specific quoted posts is, our 7YO grandson thinks that Barony's gardenview pool with the slide is "THE BEST POOL EVER GRANDMA AND PEOPLE CAN SLEEP IN THESE BUILDINGS LIKE A HOTEL?!?!" His 4YO sister also loves it despite not being tall enough yet to use the slide.

Now that we live on the island our kids and grandkids visit 2-3 times a year and we use Day Passes at both Barony and SurfWatch. Back in April we were at the Barony pool when Caden got to ride the slide for the first time. He loved it so much that we used the app to book a night for the four of them during their next trip in August - and I don't think we'll ever be able to give him anything that compares.

So don't discount Barony if kids are along, whether it's in the oceanfront/oceanside section adjacent to the beach or in gardenview behind the Westin hotel next door.

(I don't know if it matters but when I asked Don how he'd answer here, he told me to make sure I let the OP know that All Y'all's at Barony has the best french fries of anywhere on the island. I think he's hungry for lunch.)

 

[GTLINZ]

Did Marriott name those two resorts or were they part of an early acquisition when they got into the timeshare game?

No idea. My in-laws owned at Harbour point in the nineties and we visited and enjoyed it - and the names were as they are now. They MFs were in the 500s when they bought and were well over 1k within ten years.

I think i remember from another thread that Marriott did not develop Harbour Point but aquired it. Sunset Cove may be developed by Marriott - but not sure.

Maybe i can find the old thread.

 

[Wanderlustgrl]

Grande ocean for beach or surf club 3 bedroom! Heritage club for golf!

 

[AlmostRetired]

I’m aiming for a late summer end of August visit with a kid. Guess I cannot go wrong with the beach front. Thanks for the suggestion.

This was on a little while ago. Sent you a message. Not sure which one you will see first or if this works. Just an FYI, when I check I do it when I wake up. They had SW, Barony and Monarch for various times in August. Good luck.

 

[iftravel]

This was on a little while ago. Sent you a message. Not sure which one you will see first or if this works. Just an FYI, when I check I do it when I wake up. They had SW, Barony and Monarch for various times in August. Good luck.

Thanks. Did you search using a Marriott deposit? It's either gone or still in preference.

 

[AlmostRetired]

Thanks. Did you search using a Marriott deposit? It's either gone or still in preference.

I the initial deposit was a 1 bedroom Grand Chateau. I was doing a re-trade just to see availability using a GO week that the GC traded for. I was just curious.

 

[iftravel]

I the initial deposit was a 1 bedroom Grand Chateau. I was doing a re-trade just to see availability using a GO week that the GC traded for. I was just curious.

yeah. I don't own a marriott unit but good to know it's there and I plan to add one for that preference period. Now I will just put in a request.

 

[AlmostRetired]

yeah. I don't own a marriott unit but good to know it's there and I plan to add one for that preference period. Now I will just put in a request.

Marriott has different systems that update on a schedule and not as things happen. This is the only explanation I have with my own experience of having a trade request in and yet finding on instant exchange before the trade gets executed. If you want to increase your chances of getting what you want you should update your trading preference and check on instant exchange. Just trying to help. Help (harassing ) over, good luck.

 

[jellen613]

I'll just add that of the four beach-oriented/front locations, Monarch lacks in activities and on-site amenities like a restaurant/snack/bar. Also much smaller than the other two. Grande Ocean is huge, Barony is pretty big and compact, but it has a garden view section that doesn't really feel like it's part of the resort. Surfwatch is super spread out.

I'd swap GO and SF for my ranking, but I think they're pretty equal, Barony just a touch below, then Monarch (though Monarch is cheaper with Abound points, so if you don't need as many activities/amenities it's just fine, and you'll be fine with the slightly smaller units with a small group like yours.

Really can't go wrong in HH.

We own in the Gardenview section of Barony, we love it there. For a 7 year old, there is a water slide and great pool. We love all the pools are Barony, and we go to the beach daily. There is a path to the beachfront part of the resort, about a 10 minute walk at the most. Also, in summer they do have a golf cart shuttle that picks people up at the garden view side of the resort. When w bought in 2008 it was $30-32K+ for oceanside/oceanview, and $18K for gardenside. We stayed once on the oceanside (not full ocean view), and the trees pretty much blocked the ocean view. Overall it is a great resort, and we love walking up the beach from Barony where there are no resorts.

 

[Pamplemousse]

Marriott has different systems that update on a schedule and not as things happen. This is the only explanation I have with my own experience of having a trade request in and yet finding on instant exchange before the trade gets executed. If you want to increase your chances of getting what you want you should update your trading preference and check on instant exchange. Just trying to help. Help (harassing ) over, good luck.

It’s actually that II’s ‘request filter’ is not continuous- it’s runs every so often (we don’t know the timing) so if there is a deposit or a cancellation made in II the unit may end up in available inventory until the filter runs again and matches to requests.

 

[iftravel]

I just snatched a 3-bed SurfWatch for Aug 23-30, unbelievable!

 

[pedro47]

We liked Grande Ocean and SurfWatch.