HHI 2 Br 01/16/2010 Trip Report

[SD Price]

This is our first Trip Report of our first stay at a DVC resort as members. We're staying at the Disney HHI (we South Carolinians never say HH Island , so I may slip to our customary HH). It's warmed up, but it's to rain all day today. I'm sipping coffee now overlooking the Low Country marsh, it doesn't get much better than this.

We're at the resort for a few days. The 2Br unit is much larger than it looks in the member website preview, son says we could live here. We're here with four: H- me, W, D-12 and S-8 (on this trip). The accommodations are very comfortable. Six would be comfortable, eight (as advertised) might be a stretch, but workable. I took some photos of the cottage which I'll try to post later. The Community Hall area renovation is to be complete today and the pools, etc. will open. We'll drive over to the beach house today too and I'll take some photos.

Went to the campfire last night with 50 of our best little Disney friends. Sang and danced and ate S'mores. Like the Cast Member said, "In true Disney fashion, we'll hand your children long, sharp sticks which they'll set on fire." Magic, pure Magic.

This afternoon the kids will go to the Community Hall for a couple of craft sessions and go see a sanctioned movie tonight so my wife and I will have a little time alone. Magic, pure Magic.

[faline]

Sounds like a nice, relaxed vacation!

[NJGIRL]

Sounds like you are enjoying yourselves Please let us know about the rest of your vacation.

[SD Price]

Hey I'm back with a trip report follow up. I didn't realize the on site photo posting ban, so I'm working on a solution for that.

The DVC HHI is a gem. A great relaxing time in the Carolina Low Country. We participated in several scheduled activities such as craft time for the kids and sleight of hand and stories by B'Lou.

We drove over to the Beach House Saturday. It was open though no employees were there when we went. I expected a typical Carolina white clapboard beach house, but this one is far more than I expected. You can ride your bike, take a shuttle bus or drive over. Parking is available around and below the building. There is a pool for kids and adults and a separate splash area for the babies. The Signals restaurant and the bar were closed, but both seemed ok looking through the windows. There is an arcade and a quiet room decorated with life station memorabilia.

The Beach House is set off from the beach by a thicket of myrtle and palms and a Key to the World is required to enter, so it would be private. Big, wide beach. Mike, the bus driver, told us that though the resort fills up in the Summer, between the pools at the resort and Beach House and the beach, it never feels full.

More later...

[DisNut]

We are going to Disney's HHI Resort on February 22nd, so I'm enjoying and looking forward to your reports.

It sounds as if, even thought it is winter time, there was plenty to do (something I was/am a bit worried about) since I'm not counting on spending much time on the beach.

Any recommendations on restaurants or other sites in the area? We plan on going into Savannah one day (I understand it's about 45min - 1 hour) away.

Keep the reports coming!

[SD Price]

Well, we're back in the land of reality.

Stuff to do...
The HH DVC resort has many activities scheduled each day, crafts for the kids, education (shark types, dolphin and kayak excursions) and just fun stuff (pizza and movie nights, campfires, etc.) and of course, music, magic and storytelling with B'Lou and Shadow. At the resort there are bikes and fishing rods to rent and pools, ping pong and foosball. Hilton Head is a resort town and a golf and tennis mecca, so there is plenty of that off site too. Offshore fishing will be heating up as the temps climb.

Things to see...
Nature preserves, some historical on the island (
except in the past it was a pirate hang out and then a lumber site, so not much in the way of really historical sites). Nearby are Beaufort, St. Helena, the Penn Center and several old rice plantations. We like to wander some and took the hour long drive to Hunting Island to see the state park and lighthouse.

Places to eat...
HH is a world class resort town so the dining goes from 5 star to fast food. A word of note here, eating out will cost a buck, but my wife and I had one of the best meals of our lives at a seafood restaurant on the other end of the island.

Staff...
Marvelous...we heard more than one Cast Member tell us that HH DVC is Disney's hidden gem and they prefer it to the WDW venues. They all said that the resort fills up in a hurry, so if you're going to reserve a spot on points, you probably shouldn't tarry.

Scott

PS Savannah is more like "an hour or so" depending on your path. I would highly suggest taking your time driving down the coast roads rather than going back out to I 95.
Savannah is very nice around Bay St, though that's the tourist area too. Beaufort, SC is roughly the same distance and along the waterfront it is very scenic and historic.

[NJGIRL]

Thanks for the report. It sounds like a very nice resort!

[trapper]

We are very interested in going to HH so I am glad to hear you had a great time and of all the fun things there are to do! Thanks for posting

[SD Price]

I've finally manged to figure out image hosting and posting. If the linking part works, we're golden. Click the link below:

Disney HHI Resort Photos

This was our first stay at a DVC property as members, so it was all new and wonderful to us except for the constant rain that weekend. We're headed back for another weekend in March and are counting the days.

[NJGIRL]

It looks like a nice place. Thanks for posting the pictures for others who are thinking about going to see..

[diz_girl]

Thanks for the report. I was wondering if they had most of their activities during the non-summer months, and it looks like yes, according to your report.

[SD Price]

diz_girl,

We just got back from another weekend at DVCHHI (it's good to live so close to the resort we can just 'drop in'). We took my parents and six of us fit very comfortably in a two bedroom cottage.

They keep activities going year 'round; they just add more during the warm weather months. Of course, with the warmer weather, the beach and pools will increasingly offer plenty of fun. They've started up the weekly Low Country Boils (a delicious Southern stew of corn, potatoes, shrimp and sausage) and other warm weather activities. Be sure to sign up for the activities, because they will fill up. The Big Dipper pool is now open until 10:00 pm and the hours have been extended over at the Beach House.

When we were there in January, the Broad Creek Mercantile area was under a refurbishment program. The operation appears to be now running at full capacity.

The DVCHHI resort is on an island on the island. This is nice as we felt comfortable in just letting the kids go have fun.

One of the nicest 'features' is the staff. Many Cast Members remembered us from our previous trip and we had a couple of conversations with B'Lou Crabbe and enjoyed his story telling. The HHI property is fast becoming one of our favorites.

[Mackflava99]

Hi-
We are going to HHI in 3 weeks-
so i have a few quick questions:
How is the beach as far as rules go- can you bring your own towels and beach chairs? can you bring a cooler for water?
Can you go crabbing? do they rent crab nets?
Is there a grocery store close? is it more expensive for groceries on the island than mainland?

Thanks-
Bryan

[SD Price]

Hi Bryan,
You're going to love Hilton Head.

--You can bring beach chairs and towels. The beach in front of the Beach House is one of the widest in South Carolina. You can get to the Beach House three ways: using the shuttle bus, driving your own car or riding a bike. Cooler is ok, no glass or alcohol. I'd rather drive will all of that gear.

--Crabbing is available off the dock at the resort or around the resort and island in the creeks. You won't have any luck if you try to crab from the beach. It'll be tough fishing since you're going in the heat of Summer, but if you get a shady spot early in the morning, you might have luck. You can buy a net at the resort.

--There is a shopping center a short drive beside the resort where we do all of our grocery shopping. You could walk over if you're somewhat athletic. The closest town on the mainland is Bluffton which itself is becoming a resort destination; if there is a difference in the price of groceries, it wouldn't be worth it to me to drive there for them.

Scott

[Mackflava99]

Thanks alot Scott, i really appreciate the info-

I am really looking forward to it.

Bryan

[SD Price]

Bryan,

Since I won't be there while you're there, I'll let you in on a hot little fishing spot. LoL. Take your rod or net, walk out of the resort like you were going to walk under Hwy 278. Right where the path crosses under the bridge, you'll find a dam. Red fish (spot tail bass) hang out there. Get there early.

Also, you might have more fun crabbing by throwing a weighted line into the water. Tie your chicken neck onto the line and hold the line in your fingers, if a crab takes a bite, you'll feel it tug the line, then you can work the line in slowly hand-over-hand. That's old school South Carolina crabbing.

If you have any questions about fishing, ask Mike "the Pool Guy". Ask around at the resort and you'll find him; great guy and he remembers us every time we go down.

sdp