Hi all. We just got back from our first trip to Hilton Head. We had a 2BR 2813and a studio for a friend 2812 who played golf with my DH this past week. Our rooms were in a great location for us - just off the pool area, but not in the fray. Had it not been so windy we would have preferred rooms with a view - but I actually asked them for a first level room so that my daughter who had just had hip surgery didn't have so many stairs to climb. As it turned out, our location at the backside had the advantage of being protected from the winds - so we were fine. Our specific room had some issues, but they came immediately when I called. Overall I thought the resort was lovely.
We flew into Charleston on Friday night and spent a full day there a week ago Saturday. I really wanted to see a plantation and more of the city's history, but my family wasn't buying it. I really regret that I didn't fight harder. I didn't do the research because I thought we were going to high tail it down to HH.....but I would do it differently next time.
Friday we stayed overnight at the Courtyard Marriott and we ate dinner at AW Shucks in downtown Charleston. It was fantastic. We shared She crab soup, blue crab dip, clams, crab cake, etc. Afterwards we walked across the street to a market place that is open all day and then some vendors come in at night. The girls had a great time there. We came back on Saturday to get a few more things (great bags and jewelry).
We didn't realize it, but the Family Cup Tennis tournament was played April 13-15 nearby (James Island or Kiawah Island?) and we could have gone on Saturday had we done our research beforehand. It was also the weekend of the Verizon Heritage Golf tournament at Sea Pines on Hilton Head. We just stayed away from that end of the island that first weekend, but the traffic was not a problem during our stay.
Saturday afternoon it turned chilly and we headed south to Hilton Head (2 hours). The weather was not so great (windy and chilly) on Sunday and we hung out in the room for the most part. Monday was still chilly and windy. Tuesday was sunny so we ventured to the beach.
The beach is fantastic - incredibly wide and you can walk for miles and miles. We found 8-10 sand dollars within a few minutes and they are here at home ready for their bleaching (use alcohol first which turns them green!). We rented the chairs and umbrellas for two days (6 chairs/2 umbrellas) which came to about $136. It was expensive - but if the weather were nicer it definitely would have been worth it.
Disney's Beach House is great. It's wonderful having the pool, food and facilities there. We ate lunch at the beach house several times despite the wind and chilly temps. We drove some days, took the shuttle others and I rode bikes there with my 7 year old one day.
My DH played golf at four courses - Great Bear, Port Royal, The Shipyard and Palmetto Dunes. He called a "Last Minute Tee Time" every night at 7pm and was able to get discounted tee times for the next morning at a number of courses. He was disappointed that they weren't able to play the Robert Trent Jones course, but the discounted greens fee were too good to pass up at the other courses. See his notes below.
We ate dinner at Redfish which was superb, Just Pasta which the kids and my DH loved (unfortunately my shrimp scampi had too much basil in it and tasted like soap water) and at Mia Terra (fabulous mexican food, surprisingly spacious restaurant hidden from the street, fun colors). We ate our other meals in our room as well as breakfast each day.
http://www.redfishofhiltonhead.com/
http://www.mytravelguide.com/restau...h_Carolina_Hilton_Head_Island_Just_Pasta.html
http://www.hiltonheaddlc.com/mitierra1old.htm
We had our best weather day on Thursday and we spent it by the pool. My 7year old DD and I went on the dolphin boat ride and although we didn't see many dolphins that particular day - we did see a mom and baby and we were out in the boat for nearly 2 hours. This same DD loved the kids night out - one was pizza and movies (at the theater) and the 2nd night was pizza and games/arcade at the Beach House. She did several crafts as well.
We rented bikes and did a few long rides, but the weather cramped our enjoyment of that particular activity as it did the campfire which was cancelled because of wind one night.
Overall we had a great trip. I loved the resort and would definitely return. The island is a bit different, however, from what we've experienced in other resort locations in that things were hard to find because all the signage is so low key and there are very few lights! Island planners have done a very good job preserving the "green" on the island - it just makes it a bit difficult for visitors to find things without a good address and a decent map, but we managed.
There were numerous shops in small shopping areas all over the island - even a mall! One of my teens got some great bathing suits at "Too Cool", but we didn't venture out to shop much.
We loved the Pirate's mini-golf.....and didn't like the Legendary mini golf nearby.
I have a copy of the two page activities schedule that they gave us at check-in. This would be helpful to those who haven't been to HH yet - so you know what to expect. I'm going to try to figure out a way to post it, but if I can't - pm me and I'll send it to you.
Here's the golf info:
1. Palmetto Dunes - Arthur Hills course:
http://www.palmettodunes.com/AHillsCourse.aspx
$70 - most challenging with lots of water hazards, but in the best shape and the most fun. VERY fast greens and rolling fairways.
2. Shipyard - Brigadoon and Clipper:
http://www.shipyardgolfclub.com/showsite.asp
$59 - fairways and greens in great condition (best greens all week) - nice layout with a lot of water and alligators galore. Elderly starter who was a control freak.
3. Port Royal - Barony:
http://www.portroyalgolfclub.com/ShowSite.asp?menu=golfcourse&nav=course1
$59 - fairways not as good condition but greens in good shape. Nice course.
4. Indigo Run Golden Bear:
http://www.goldenbear-indigorun.com/
$72 - fairways dry, way too many fairway bunkers, not very interesting layout. GPS on the golf carts was a nice touch.
We were able to get 9:00 AM tee times using Last Minute Tee Times the night before with prices that beat the Disney Guest Services Prices (used LMT for all but the Golden Bear course). Almost all courses had availability depending on what time of day you wanted to play but the savings were greatest in the mornings (where the prices were up to 50% off).
http://www.lmteetimes.com/
Hope this is helpful info for first time HH travelers.
We flew into Charleston on Friday night and spent a full day there a week ago Saturday. I really wanted to see a plantation and more of the city's history, but my family wasn't buying it. I really regret that I didn't fight harder. I didn't do the research because I thought we were going to high tail it down to HH.....but I would do it differently next time.
Friday we stayed overnight at the Courtyard Marriott and we ate dinner at AW Shucks in downtown Charleston. It was fantastic. We shared She crab soup, blue crab dip, clams, crab cake, etc. Afterwards we walked across the street to a market place that is open all day and then some vendors come in at night. The girls had a great time there. We came back on Saturday to get a few more things (great bags and jewelry).
We didn't realize it, but the Family Cup Tennis tournament was played April 13-15 nearby (James Island or Kiawah Island?) and we could have gone on Saturday had we done our research beforehand. It was also the weekend of the Verizon Heritage Golf tournament at Sea Pines on Hilton Head. We just stayed away from that end of the island that first weekend, but the traffic was not a problem during our stay.
Saturday afternoon it turned chilly and we headed south to Hilton Head (2 hours). The weather was not so great (windy and chilly) on Sunday and we hung out in the room for the most part. Monday was still chilly and windy. Tuesday was sunny so we ventured to the beach.
The beach is fantastic - incredibly wide and you can walk for miles and miles. We found 8-10 sand dollars within a few minutes and they are here at home ready for their bleaching (use alcohol first which turns them green!). We rented the chairs and umbrellas for two days (6 chairs/2 umbrellas) which came to about $136. It was expensive - but if the weather were nicer it definitely would have been worth it.
Disney's Beach House is great. It's wonderful having the pool, food and facilities there. We ate lunch at the beach house several times despite the wind and chilly temps. We drove some days, took the shuttle others and I rode bikes there with my 7 year old one day.
My DH played golf at four courses - Great Bear, Port Royal, The Shipyard and Palmetto Dunes. He called a "Last Minute Tee Time" every night at 7pm and was able to get discounted tee times for the next morning at a number of courses. He was disappointed that they weren't able to play the Robert Trent Jones course, but the discounted greens fee were too good to pass up at the other courses. See his notes below.
We ate dinner at Redfish which was superb, Just Pasta which the kids and my DH loved (unfortunately my shrimp scampi had too much basil in it and tasted like soap water) and at Mia Terra (fabulous mexican food, surprisingly spacious restaurant hidden from the street, fun colors). We ate our other meals in our room as well as breakfast each day.
http://www.redfishofhiltonhead.com/
http://www.mytravelguide.com/restau...h_Carolina_Hilton_Head_Island_Just_Pasta.html
http://www.hiltonheaddlc.com/mitierra1old.htm
We had our best weather day on Thursday and we spent it by the pool. My 7year old DD and I went on the dolphin boat ride and although we didn't see many dolphins that particular day - we did see a mom and baby and we were out in the boat for nearly 2 hours. This same DD loved the kids night out - one was pizza and movies (at the theater) and the 2nd night was pizza and games/arcade at the Beach House. She did several crafts as well.
We rented bikes and did a few long rides, but the weather cramped our enjoyment of that particular activity as it did the campfire which was cancelled because of wind one night.
Overall we had a great trip. I loved the resort and would definitely return. The island is a bit different, however, from what we've experienced in other resort locations in that things were hard to find because all the signage is so low key and there are very few lights! Island planners have done a very good job preserving the "green" on the island - it just makes it a bit difficult for visitors to find things without a good address and a decent map, but we managed.
There were numerous shops in small shopping areas all over the island - even a mall! One of my teens got some great bathing suits at "Too Cool", but we didn't venture out to shop much.
We loved the Pirate's mini-golf.....and didn't like the Legendary mini golf nearby.
I have a copy of the two page activities schedule that they gave us at check-in. This would be helpful to those who haven't been to HH yet - so you know what to expect. I'm going to try to figure out a way to post it, but if I can't - pm me and I'll send it to you.
Here's the golf info:
1. Palmetto Dunes - Arthur Hills course:
http://www.palmettodunes.com/AHillsCourse.aspx
$70 - most challenging with lots of water hazards, but in the best shape and the most fun. VERY fast greens and rolling fairways.
2. Shipyard - Brigadoon and Clipper:
http://www.shipyardgolfclub.com/showsite.asp
$59 - fairways and greens in great condition (best greens all week) - nice layout with a lot of water and alligators galore. Elderly starter who was a control freak.
3. Port Royal - Barony:
http://www.portroyalgolfclub.com/ShowSite.asp?menu=golfcourse&nav=course1
$59 - fairways not as good condition but greens in good shape. Nice course.
4. Indigo Run Golden Bear:
http://www.goldenbear-indigorun.com/
$72 - fairways dry, way too many fairway bunkers, not very interesting layout. GPS on the golf carts was a nice touch.
We were able to get 9:00 AM tee times using Last Minute Tee Times the night before with prices that beat the Disney Guest Services Prices (used LMT for all but the Golden Bear course). Almost all courses had availability depending on what time of day you wanted to play but the savings were greatest in the mornings (where the prices were up to 50% off).
http://www.lmteetimes.com/
Hope this is helpful info for first time HH travelers.
