Grande Ocean upcoming visit

Looking forward to our first visit to MGO in a few weeks. Been on HHI before but stayed at other Marriott resorts.
Any building recommendations? Would prefer ocean front followed by ocean view. I have a resort map.
Any buildings recently refurbished? Any buildings to stay away from?
Any other hints or recommendations would be welcome. Appreciate your comments.

Does your stay/reservation entitle you to Oceanfront? Or Oceanside?
Was it obtained through II?

Regarding MGO location... To start off, there is the busier Dolphin pool side, and he quieter lagoon side. Which would you prefer? Have kids with you?

FlyerBobcat said:

Does your stay/reservation entitle you to Oceanfront? Or Oceanside?
Was it obtained through II?

Regarding MGO location... To start off, there is the busier Dolphin pool side, and he quieter lagoon side. Which would you prefer? Have kids with you?

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It was a trade through II, but I am a multiple week Marriott owner (Canyon Villas)
Prefer quiet area (have no kids)

mjbaran said:

It was a trade through II, but I am a multiple week Marriott owner (Canyon Villas)

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On an II exchange you can see your villa type on your History/ exchange tabs at your II account. During summer that does not necessarily mean you will get that view assignment, but if you have an II Ocean Front designation on the exchange you have a better chance.

It should also show up on your Marriott confirmation. We had ocean front Dolphin building at GO, and loved it. That's been a few years, but believe the vegetation has not blocked the view of the unit we had. Last April we exchanged for oceanside, and did receive a lovely distant ocean view. Just be sure to ask for a high floor in most cases, and the balcony we had with the white pillars seemed to be bigger than those without.

Good luck!

HH Marriotts do not honor the unit type shown on the II confirmation certificate. Grande Ocean for sure does not. Each resort says officially that they do assignments according to the pecking order as described many times here on TUG. Traders-in and renters are at the bottom. Chances of getting the better villas increase with the more off-season it is, since it corresponds with percentage of owner occupancy. And GO is among the resorts which have the highest owner occupancy percentage. Still, submit a request. It's all you can do. BTW, there are no "bad" villas at GO....you'll enjoy whatever you get.

Just back from Grande Ocean

Hi, we just returned from a week there (1st visit ever to HH) and had a great time and a very nice unit. We were in the Doplhin building (interestingly its furthest away fro the busy Dolphin pool) unit 8021. It was a corner unit on the 2nd floor although its 3 floors up as the Parking level is the 1st level in each building. We had a very nice Ocean view and it was very quiet and serene. It was easy to walk down right to the north pool and just a courtyard walk away from the marketplace and the bike rental shop. Parking was easy and not an issue and there were tons of carts for move in and out.
The unit was huge and we have nothing bad to say about our stay or the Grande Ocean resort or the staff (except for the concierge).
If you have any other questions or need suggestions for things to do, please let me know.
Brian

Luvtoride said:

Hi, we just returned from a week there (1st visit ever to HH) and had a great time and a very nice unit. We were in the Doplhin building (interestingly its furthest away fro the busy Dolphin pool) unit 8021. It was a corner unit on the 2nd floor although its 3 floors up as the Parking level is the 1st level in each building. We had a very nice Ocean view and it was very quiet and serene. It was easy to walk down right to the north pool and just a courtyard walk away from the marketplace and the bike rental shop. Parking was easy and not an issue and there were tons of carts for move in and out.
The unit was huge and we have nothing bad to say about our stay or the Grande Ocean resort or the staff (except for the concierge).
If you have any other questions or need suggestions for things to do, please let me know.
Brian

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Brian, which direction did your unit balcony face? Did your second bedroom have 2 beds or one bed and a sofa? Thanks.

Diane,
Our balcony faced the ocean and overlooked the jacuzzis at the north pool. The 2nd bedroom had 2 beds which appeared to be queen size. A very nice unit. Can't go wrong in that location on any floor.
Have a great time. I wish we were going back soon.
Brian

Thanks Brian, you must have had an oceanfront exchange. I've only got ocean side. I have stayed on the south side four times, but I am curious about the Dolphin Building as it seems like it would get more sun than the rest of the north side. Does anyone know if that is true? I cannot remember.

We used destination points for our week. I'm not sure what view we exchanged for as my wife did it months ago. This side of the resort was shady and cool. It was really delightful and I'm sure alot quieter than the side by the Dolphin pool with the 6 buildings around it. Only downside was that it was further from Pool Bar Jim's, but we made it there frequently.

We check into GO on Sept 20th and can't wait. We visited HHI for the first time last year and stayed at MBY.... loved the resort and beauty of HHI. TUG member jme provided numerous restaurant recommendations for HHI and we weren't disappointed in any we ate at. We'd love an ocean view, but understand our request may not be honored... which will be OK since we don't spend a ton of time in the villas when we travel. Next year, DH wants to try for a week during the Oyster Fest.

Sue

You will love Grande Ocean. There are tons of great restaurants in HH, but I have to give you one recommendation to try during your stay. Flora's Italian Cafe is a hidden gem that's not on any of the concierge recommended lists but you should definitely try. It is a NJ Italian restaurant (they bill themselves that way) as the owners operated a restaurant in a nearby town to us in NJ for many years before moving down to HH 9 years ago.
It is run by a husband and wife team who oversee everything and assure a great dining experience. Branco the husband is the chef and Flora his wife runs the front and makes all the desserts herself. We had a great dinner topped off by the best and freshest cannoli we have ever tasted (and we have eaten many including in Little Italy in NYC).
Floras is located in a small strip mall along Wm Hilton Parkway, near Palmetto Dunes. It is directly across from Stacks, the pancake/ breakfast place. Give it a try. You will not be disappointed!

jme said:

HH Marriotts do not honor the unit type shown on the II confirmation certificate. Grande Ocean for sure does not. Each resort says officially that they do assignments according to the pecking order as described many times here on TUG. Traders-in and renters are at the bottom. Chances of getting the better villas increase with the more off-season it is, since it corresponds with percentage of owner occupancy. And GO is among the resorts which have the highest owner occupancy percentage. Still, submit a request. It's all you can do. BTW, there are no "bad" villas at GO....you'll enjoy whatever you get.

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I exchanged into Barony this recent May and the exchange was Ocean View, or whatever the middle view is called. The Marriott confirmation downgraded the view to "Garden View" which is Barony's written policy. When we checked in we were upgraded to Ocean Front. Like the OP I am a multi-week owner at another Marriott. My point is that since they can downgrade all exchangers, it can provide room for an upgrade.

That's encouraging Saintsfan! We have an upcoming II Surfwatch trade and I received an email from the resort asking about my villa preference as "do you prefer to be by the elevator? away from the elevator? Or no preference?" so I'm expecting to be pretty low on the assignment list but fingers crossed that we're looking at something other than the elevator

Weimaraner said:

That's encouraging Saintsfan! We have an upcoming II Surfwatch trade and I received an email from the resort asking about my villa preference as "do you prefer to be by the elevator? away from the elevator? Or no preference?" so I'm expecting to be pretty low on the assignment list but fingers crossed that we're looking at something other than the elevator

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I have found villa preference e-mails to be pretty vague. They don't want to give you ideas. They don't ask you things like; "Do you want Ocean Front location or Garden View?". They have very few options outlined, though there is usually an extra box on the form where you can put in anything you want.

Lovetoride... Thank You for the Italian restaurant suggestion. We ate a lot of seafood when in HHI last year. But this year, we are traveling with another couple who both don't care for seafood, but they do love Italian dishes.

travelinduo, my favorite is the Santa Fe Cafe for a romantic dinner at twilight up on the balcony. Enjoy the Painted Desert soup, it's a work of art.

Brian-
Great to hear you enjoyed your trip to Hilton Head. My wife and I will be visiting MGO soon.
Hoping that you or someone on TUG may be able to provide some info on the Grande Ocean resort fitness center and bike rentals.
Did you have an opportunity to visit the resort fitness room and if so, what type of equipment did it have in it, free weights, benches, cable station, elliptical, etc.?
So the resort offer bike rentals, correct? Are they decent bikes (hybrid?) and is there a daily/hourly fee for resort guests?
thanks for any info.

J-

Luvtoride said:

Hi, we just returned from a week there (1st visit ever to HH) and had a great time and a very nice unit. We were in the Doplhin building (interestingly its furthest away fro the busy Dolphin pool) unit 8021. It was a corner unit on the 2nd floor although its 3 floors up as the Parking level is the 1st level in each building. We had a very nice Ocean view and it was very quiet and serene. It was easy to walk down right to the north pool and just a courtyard walk away from the marketplace and the bike rental shop. Parking was easy and not an issue and there were tons of carts for move in and out.
The unit was huge and we have nothing bad to say about our stay or the Grande Ocean resort or the staff (except for the concierge).
If you have any other questions or need suggestions for things to do, please let me know.
Brian

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From memory, the GO fitness room is in the same building where the snack bar and the bike shop is located, ocean front. It is several floors up with floor to ceiling windows and ocean views. It has the usual equipment including four or five elliptical machines. We never paid any resort fees. The bikes are fine, newer. They have several technicians on site to handle any problems. The bikes I rented in our last two trips to GO were much nicer than the bike I rented at the Monarch. They will give you a pass for getting through the gate to Sea Pines, which is just down the street.

Steve A said:

From memory, the GO fitness room is in the same building where the snack bar and the bike shop is located, ocean front. It is several floors up with floor to ceiling windows and ocean views. It has the usual equipment including four or five elliptical machines. We never paid any resort fees. The bikes are fine, newer. They have several technicians on site to handle any problems. The bikes I rented in our last two trips to GO were much nicer than the bike I rented at the Monarch. They will give you a pass for getting through the gate to Sea Pines, which is just down the street.

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Steve-
thanks a lot for the comments!

J-

I love bike riding in Sea Pines. Flat terrain and I enjoy going in all the side streets to look at the houses. I want to move there! Really.

jaym said:

So the resort offer bike rentals, correct? Are they decent bikes (hybrid?) and is there a daily/hourly fee for resort guests?
thanks for any info.

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I recall a rate of $10/day, $30/week per bike...

Steve A said:

I love bike riding in Sea Pines. Flat terrain and I enjoy going in all the side streets to look at the houses. I want to move there! Really.

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really?

yes i know!!!!....us too.

HEY STEVE, if we go in together on a BIG house, we'd never see each other...what do you think? My wife is already packed.

We exchanged into Grand Ocean through II for 4th of July week this year! Submitted our room preference through the standard email and received a phone call from the room assignment people.. They said they would be able to offer us a high floor room if we were interested in the Lagoon side but since we have young children we chose the dolphin pool side.. I told her I didn't mind a lower floor room but would prefer more privacy and don't want to stare at people from the deck in the mornings when we hang out there.. lol..

Our room/location was perfect.. I forgot the name of the building we stayed at but the pool was right downstairs.. the balcony was private due to foliage and we couldn't see the ocean but we can see a view of the pool.. loved the island and the resort.. we will definitely be back!

Well, yesterday's and today's stock market might put a crimp into a really big house.