I Guess Hilton Head Island isn't for Everyone?

We returned last Sunday from our first week long visit to Hilton Head Island. We visited for one night a few years ago, but we didn't get a feel for the island until our recent seven night stay.

Perhaps we are alone in this and I by no means intend to upset those who own at HHI or those that love the island, but it just doesn't seem like our kind of place.

A few notables:

• It is DARK at night. The locals seem to love the lack of light and I am sure those that love HHI do also. However finding anything in the dark isn't easy.
• Even with a GPS we were lost. Sure it would tell us to end at XYZ on the right, but there may not have been an entrance right where it said it was. What we were looking for was hidden behind trees and actually accessed from a road behind the business or restaurant.
• I can't even begin to count the number of times we drove around squinting at small signs to find what we were looking for.
• Bugs. Every night at dusk small insects would come out and BITE. These were not easy to see and were rather irritating. I know other places have these also but they were especially bad in HHI. One night in Harbour Town it was horrible. Perhaps it was also the time of year.
• We stayed at Surfwatch and loved the resort. It is a rather compact resort but is set away from the ocean due to ordnances. We are not huge beach people, but loved the pools and used them pretty much every day. Though we could go just about anywhere and use the resort pools. We could have easily stayed at a non-beach resort and been happy.
• You have to pay to go to Sea Pines? Five dollars? We already knew this, but I am not really sure what this fee is for.
• It was a quick drive to Savannah. We love Savannah and went there for a day. We love the city tours, ate lunch at Lady and Sons and visited Bonaventure Cemetery for the third time. Also fairly quick access to Charleston where we also visited for a day and took a carriage tour.

Don't get me wrong, I can understand why HHI is popular with many families, especially in the summer, it just doesn't seem to be our cup of tea. On our drive back home we found ourselves saying that we probably wouldn't return any time soon. It seems that the action of Orlando and also our visits to the Atlantic coast of Florida are what we seem to love. Even with the added cost of airfare and rental cars, it seems that Florida will continue to be our main goto location.

I am sure the many reasons we found HHI not to our liking are the same reasons that others love the island.

If you're not beach folks then that is a big part of HHI allure for sure. I must say I don't think we would love HHI as much if for some reason we couldn't get into the Grande Ocean.

The GO is just perfectly located on a great beach and very close to the Sea Pines so that biking and walking throught the Preserves is very accessible and enjoyable.

While the SurfWatch and Barony are certainly very nice resorts their locations IMHO is much less desirable then the GO and even the Monarch in my book because of the access to Sea Pines.

What we love about HHI is the OF units at the GO, biking and walking through Sea Pines and the shopping and dining at the various shops and restaurants.

You did enjoy something I have to do for my wife this year, which is to make it to Savannah.

MOXJO7282 said:

If you're not beach folks then that is a big part of HHI allure for sure. I must say I don't think we would love HHI as much if for some reason we couldn't get into the Grande Ocean.

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Dioxide/Moxjo: Good to know (HI feedback and GO). Because kids+dad love the beach, but my wife needs the minimum of civilization (i.e. pool, mall, etc. like in Orlando/Florida coasts).

Question: when is it too hot to go to Florida beaches (vs. Hilton Island)? I can read the weather.com charts, but would like to understand (if July/August is not too hot). HHI is famous during summer months, is that because weather/temp are better than Florida?

MOXJO7282 said:

If you're not beach folks then that is a big part of HHI allure for sure. I must say I don't think we would love HHI as much if for some reason we couldn't get into the Grande Ocean.

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Don't get me wrong, we actually travel to Ocean Pointe once a year. So it isn't that we don't like beach locations, we just don't tend to lounge on the beach.

I think one of the issues for us may have been expectations. After reading on here for the past four years about HHI, I think our expectations were set unusually high and it just didn't live up to those high expectations.

dioxide45 said:

We returned last Sunday from our first week long visit to Hilton Head Island.

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Wish we would've known you were there! We were also there that week (left on Sunday also). In fact, we had a small TUG get-together at the Wild Wing Cafe on Wednesday - would've loved to have met you!

I LOVE HHI but, I agree, it is not for everyone.

dioxide45 said:

It is DARK at night. The locals seem to love the lack of light and I am sure those that love HHI do also. However finding anything in the dark isn't easy.

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Yes, you are right - it is very dark and very hard to find things. But like you said, that is one of the things that I love about the island. We have learned to be back at the resort by dark when on foot or bike and to look for new places only during daylight hours.

dioxide45 said:

I can't even begin to count the number of times we drove around squinting at small signs to find what we were looking for.

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Have done the same MANY times!

dioxide45 said:

Bugs. Every night at dusk small insects would come out and BITE. These were not easy to see and were rather irritating. I know other places have these also but they were especially bad in HHI. One night in Harbour Town it was horrible. Perhaps it was also the time of year.

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This was our first time visiting in the spring and I got eaten alive by the gnats, aka "no-see-ums"! (I actually had over 30 bites!) BTW, we were staying at the Harbortown Yacht Club so we were right on the harbor. We have never had this problem in the summer or the winter so I looked on-line and found out that this is a BIG problem in SC in the spring & fall. (Winter is too cold for these bugs, and summer is too hot!) Also, they are naturally at their worst anywhere near the water.

dioxide45 said:

We stayed at Surfwatch and loved the resort. It is a rather compact resort but is set away from the ocean due to ordnances. We are not huge beach people, but loved the pools and used them pretty much every day. Though we could go just about anywhere and use the resort pools. We could have easily stayed at a non-beach resort and been happy.

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I love Surfwatch! Like you, I am not a big beach person, although I do love to walk on the beach.

dioxide45 said:

You have to pay to go to Sea Pines? Five dollars? We already knew this, but I am not really sure what this fee is for.

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I agree that the fee is outrageous. That's why we only go into Sea Pines when we are staying in that part of the island.


BTW, did you drive through North Carolina on your way home on Sunday? We JUST MISSED the tornado that ran along I95 and ravaged the Lumberton area. We spent over an hour sitting on the highway while they cleared the road of debris. We also saw the damage further up in Dunn area and had to wait on the highway again in the Wilson area (for clean up).

davidn247 said:

Dioxide/Moxjo: Good to know (HI feedback and GO). Because kids+dad love the beach, but my wife needs the minimum of civilization (i.e. pool, mall, etc. like in Orlando/Florida coasts).

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With only a week at HHI we didn't get a lot of time to check out all the shopping options, but a friend staying with us did visit the mall. To them it was a disappointment. It sounded like it was a pretty empty place with only a few stores still open.

There are plenty of little strip plazas with small shops and apparel stores. Of course finding them behind all the trees is a challenge.

Dioxide,

This truly is a matter of personal taste, or "different strokes for different folks". It's nice that there are so many great places to vacation here in the USA. We don't all have to like the same spot.

Indeed, I love Hilton Head Island for many of the reasons that you do not like it. I love the lush foliage and landscaping, the lack of big signs, and the quiet atmosphere. It's so relaxing to me.

On the other hand, I strongly dislike highrise beach resorts such as Marriott's Oceana Palms, Chrystal Shores, and Beachplace Towers. Many people love those resorts, but they do not appeal to me in the least. I'd rather stay home than have to spend a week at one of those resorts.

My point: there is no need for you, or me, or anyone else, to like the same resorts and same locations that others like. Just because Hilton Head is very popular here on TUG doesn't mean you and your family need to like it. I don't feel bad at all for not liking a lot of the Marriotts that others here seem to love. Just find what you enjoy, and have fun vacationing!

Steve

luv2vacation said:

Wish we would've known you were there! We were also there that week (left on Sunday also). In fact, we had a small TUG get-together at the Wild Wing Cafe on Wednesday - would've loved to have met you!

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It would have been great to meet up.

Though, don't get us started on Wild Wing Cafe. We had quite an adventure there. My wife isn't a big wing eater, so this place was more of a visit for me. We arrived around 4:00pm on Saturday and were quickly seated. Our order was taken fast enough. I ordered regular wings and my wife ordered the boneless. Forty-five minutes later they brought us silverware and some small plates in a basket. Guess this was for the bones? The plates were covered in water like they were fresh from a dishwasher and stuck between the plates was food that didn't get washed off, yuck.

Shortly after, our food arrived. We seemed to misunderstand what "virgin wings" meant. This means shriveled up and dry with no sauce. The term "virgin" quickly made sense, but since they had virgin, medium, and hot, we thought virgin meant they were meant for virgin wing eaters and had a mild sauce. The menu didn't indicate no sauce. We asked the waiter about when the food was delivered and he said the virgin wings is what people usually order for their kids, do we look like kids? Not sure why he didn't confirm with us that we wanted no sauce since we were clearly not kids.

Of course the dirty plates and the long wait had my wife at the end of her rope. Even though the manager came over and tried to make things better, we opted to leave and had a wonderful dinner at Carrabba's (even though a visit there earlier in the week wasn't so great).

BTW, did you drive through North Carolina on your way home on Sunday? We JUST MISSED the tornado that ran along I95 and ravaged the Lumberton area. We spent over an hour sitting on the highway while they cleared the road of debris. We also saw the damage further up in Dunn area and had to wait on the highway again in the Wilson area (for clean up).

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We actually drove back through South Carolina to Tennessee. Though we did hear about the violent storms in North Carolina. In fact on the Saturday night on our trip down there were a number of warnings for Spartanburg, SC where we were staying. Luckily we didn't have any problems there except for no AC in our room at the Courtyard hotel we were staying at :annoyed:. They ended up moving us after many complaints. They said they were sold out even though we could pull up rooms on Marriott.com and the parking lot was empty.

We are not beach goers either, but we do love HHI, with our favorite resort being the Grand Ocean (possibly our favorite of all the Marriotts we've been to). If you stay there, you are outside Sea Pines, but are given a free pass for the duration of your stay. Since we don't own there, we have to rely on exchanges to get in, but we've been successful several times already and are hoping hoping hoping for early summer of 2012.

We fully agree about the darkness and the shielding of businesses from the road...the combination of these two features makes it impossible to find anything when you don't know where you're going! Those features make it a beautiful community, though, and a desirable place to live...a quiet and not so blatantly commercial beach community. The searching has become part of the adventure for us when we go there. And, the more we go, the more able we are to find our way around.

We have never been there when there have been bugs, but now know to avoid the Spring. We've been there a couple of times for Thanksgiving and have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. My niece especially likes the black Friday shopping...decent selection of stores on the island or just off, but not the huge crowds. We're not shoppers either, so this is not important to us.

Sorry it wasn't for you, well, sorta...I mean, at least we won't be competing with you for a week there! :rofl:

dioxide45 said:

It would have been great to meet up.

Though, don't get us started on Wild Wing Cafe. We had quite an adventure there. My wife isn't a big wing eater, so this place was more of a visit for me. We arrived around 4:00pm on Saturday and were quickly seated. Our order was taken fast enough. I ordered regular wings and my wife ordered the boneless. Forty-five minutes later they brought us silverware and some small plates in a basket. Guess this was for the bones? The plates were covered in water like they were fresh from a dishwasher and stuck between the plates was food that didn't get washed off, yuck.

Shortly after, our food arrived. We seemed to misunderstand what "virgin wings" meant. This means shriveled up and dry with no sauce. The term "virgin" quickly made sense, but since they had virgin, medium, and hot, we thought virgin meant they were meant for virgin wing eaters and had a mild sauce. The menu didn't indicate no sauce. We asked the waiter about when the food was delivered and he said the virgin wings is what people usually order for their kids, do we look like kids? Not sure why he didn't confirm with us that we wanted no sauce since we were clearly not kids.

Of course the dirty plates and the long wait had my wife at the end of her rope. Even though the manager came over and tried to make things better, we opted to leave and had a wonderful dinner at Carrabba's (even though a visit there earlier in the week wasn't so great).



We actually drove back through South Carolina to Tennessee. Though we did hear about the violent storms in North Carolina. In fact on the Saturday night on our trip down there were a number of warnings for Spartanburg, SC where we were staying. Luckily we didn't have any problems there except for no AC in our room at the Courtyard hotel we were staying at :annoyed:. They ended up moving us after many complaints. They said they were sold out even though we could pull up rooms on Marriott.com and the parking lot was empty.

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Wow, it sounds like your trip just didn't go that well. We had the opposite experience with the Wild Wing Cafe and considered that the best place for casual burger/wing in tshe area. we always stop there first thing as we arrive in HHI.

I wondered if you enjoyed your trip, thanks for posting your thoughts. Isn't it great that even though HHI isn't your cup of tea, now you get to return to one of your favorites or try something else new next time? After all, they do say that variety is the spice of life!

Thanks for the heads-up about the little biting things. We've visited HHI in January, late May, June, September and October (so far) and have managed to miss those delights. Here's hoping that good luck streak continues.

If your friends visited Shelter Cove Mall on the island then I can understand their disappointment. I've read many stories in the island newspaper about how the economy has had a terrible effect on that one mall more than any other in the area. For their next time, if they're planning a next time , the Tanger outlets just off the island on 278 offer much more variety. If I'm remembering correctly, the one section that they recently rebuilt should be open when we get there in June. By the way, next trip we'll be with 28 other family members and many of us plan to do one of the haunted tours in Savannah one night. Looking forward to that for the first time.

And finally, about how dark it is - that's one of the things we love but we've learned to search out new places during daylight. I don't know how anyone can find anything for at least their first ten trips. A few years ago while driving back from dinner one night we found a roosting spot for the egrets that I've never been able to find again. (And now that I have good lighting accessories for my camera it's way up on the top of the list.) It's not that it's small or hidden, either - the place is a stand of trees along the back side of a small pond at the intersection of two or three fairly major roads. I think we were in a Marshland Road area but we've driven around out there probably five or six times since and the dang spot has vanished!

Welcome back, and happy planning for your next adventure.

Sue, I agree with the Shelter Cove Mall, it was disappointing due to so many closed stores when we were there last year.

It must depend on time of year; I didn't have trouble with bugs (we were there in July). The heat was brutal, but we went out in the morning and evenings mostly. I have to say, our first visit to HHI made it clear to us that it would not be our last. I love the little signs all around. Having spent a lot of time at the Jersey and MD shores, I long for a little subtle signage. There are also a lot of things around HHI to do, which I liked.

For me, I just returned from a trip to Branson (stayed at Willow Valley Lodge) and really wouldn't return there. I know there are probably some that love Branson, but it wasn't for us. The resort was okay (good - not great) and it was kind of "off season" in Branson, but it still wasn't anything we'd return to. For us, the shows were mostly unimpressive and campy, the Titanic exhibit was really well done, and we saw the lake, but I've seen lakes. Not worth the drive for us. But that's why it all depends...I'm sure there are many here who love Branson.

dioxide45 said:

. It seems that the action of Orlando and also our visits to the Atlantic coast of Florida are what we seem to love. Even with the added cost of airfare and rental cars, it seems that Florida will continue to be our main goto location.
.

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Whenever I hear of a person making a first trip to HH I tell them to take a good flashlight to read street signs at night. I don't like this of HH either, and wouldn't feel safe walking at night in such darkness.

There's not a lot of 'action' at Ocean Pointe either IMO compared to BeachPlace where you can safely walk the area night and day with tons of interesting people.

My daughter is a shopaholic and loves outlet malls, but the main one in HH was torn down because of mold and was being rebuilt when we were there last Sept. Her first trip to HH with me and was not impressed...she'd take Williamsburg MMC outlet malls anytime. She also found a lot of the sales clerks in stores had attitude in HH.

We stayed in Sea Pines in a 3 BR VRBO private house rental, with private pool, and liked the house but don't know what the fuss is over Sea Pines.

The weather in early Sept was blisteringly hot and humid...I'd take the ocean breads at Ft Lauderdale anytime...and you don't need a car rental.

A lot of these comments are what we experience when we go to HHI. We own at Grand Ocean but usually stay at SurfWatch. We go during the holidays when it gets dark at 4:30pm. In spite of all of its warts HHI is a great place to spend some time. Here are some of my observations that haven't been mentioned on this thread.

Shelter Cove--While it is true the shopping center is a disaster it's also a great place to stay. Good location for just about anything. Has an excellent playhouse there where we saw "Hello Dolly" last year. If you are there when the playhouse is operating, check it out.

Golf--HHI has some excellent golf courses in the area. More than you can play if you stay two or three weeks. They are many signature courses at a reasonable green fee. Marriott has some good discounts at some of them.

Driving--HHI really has only one major roadway that most people use to get anywhere. Most islands have similar setups. We would not consider going there in-season because of the traffic problems. They are bad enough during the holidays. Speed limits appear to be optional.

Bicycles--A big advantage if you go to HHI and like to bicycle. Few places are as good. You can rent them practically anywhere and you can go everywhere because of the bike paths all over the island.

Restaurants--While HHI has some national chains they also have an abundant number of excellent local restaurants. You can go weeks without eating at a national chain restaurant.

All in all HHI is a great place but it's not for everyone. I agree with the OP. If it's not your cup of tea you're better off elsewhere. By the way, Florida is great during the summer because people from the North complain that it's too hot. They won't come here. Please tell everyone about it.

We have enjoyed HHI for thirty years and still marvel that the island has been able to retain the character of restrained lighting, neon signs, big box shopping and high rise hotels on the beach. I guess that's why fantisy land exists in Orlando for those thar need it.

SueDonJ said:

And finally, about how dark it is - that's one of the things we love but we've learned to search out new places during daylight. I don't know how anyone can find anything for at least their first ten trips. A few years ago while driving back from dinner one night we found a roosting spot for the egrets that I've never been able to find again. (And now that I have good lighting accessories for my camera it's way up on the top of the list.) It's not that it's small or hidden, either - the place is a stand of trees along the back side of a small pond at the intersection of two or three fairly major roads. I think we were in a Marshland Road area but we've driven around out there probably five or six times since and the dang spot has vanished!

Welcome back, and happy planning for your next adventure.

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Sue,

If you haven't seen this, I thought you would enjoy this:
The Joy of Birding in Sea Pines
At the end of the article is a recommendation for a Birding Guided Tour that's recommended by the Audubon Society.

Re the egret rookery, if you remember the name of the restaurant, that would help to narrow the locataion. If I had to guess, I would say it's near Marshland Road and Mathews Drive (see goole maps for picture). Or perhaps
at the other end of Marshland Road, near the crosstown.

Richard

terryfic said:

We have enjoyed HHI for thirty years and still marvel that the island has been able to retain the character of restrained lighting, neon signs, big box shopping and high rise hotels on the beach. I guess that's why fantisy land exists in Orlando for those thar need it.

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That's why we like it, but we are not fanatics by any means, despite owning multiple weeks there and adding more recently ( we have only been 3 times in ~11 years of ownership).

I understand the frustration finding things with everything hidden behind trees and tucked away in alcoves, but that is what keeps it feeling low key and charming... we make it a discovery adventure. We will take the trade off.

Our nearest beach is Ocean City, MD, but it is just too commercial for us to bear for more than a weekend ( the kids love it, though).

We prefer the caribbean or the Outer Banks (as a drive-to location), but I think most HHI fans here on TUG, remember, are referring to favorite TIMESHARE locations AND within DRIVING DISTANCE. The timeshares on the OBX are not as nice ( my opinion only) so we reserve that for when we are willing to spend what it takes to get a big beachfront house with full amenities...and florida requires airfare and rental car.... I can go to Hilton for just the cost of a maintenance fee ( or 2 or 3 if bringing friends and family, who can also DRIVE there) and be beachfront, have a couple fully equipped vilas, pools, pool bars and exactly what we are looking for.

So, I think there may be some biases built in to the love of Hilton Head as well. I certainly understand why some would think it is nothing special. It just happens to work for us. Our resorts are nice where we own, the drive is manageable, the pools an beaches are fun for the kids, who are young and don't require much to entertain. That's all there is to it, for us.

We can't always jet off to the caribbean and especially when the children were young, that was too hard. It has been a great decision from the perspective of my family. We bought sight unseen due to many TUG folks' recommendations well before the children were born and have never regretted it. Thank you. But, you know, the children remember it fondly and look forward to returning, so something works for them, too!

Then again, we get alot of alternate use out of our weeks ( rent, trade for points, occasionally exchange) which is also part of the appeal.

If not limited to discussion of timeshare, then stated preferences would likely be quite different. That's just my theory.

Our decision was to use timeshares as a way to have more frequent, high quality family vacations. It limits are choices as times, but we can save for other non timeshare adventures, while not exactly slumming at Marriotts.

Sorry to ramble....
Whirl

I love HHI. It is relaxing and laid back. We are actually thinking of retiring there. The only other resort location that has the same vibe for me is Newport Coast.

It is NOT a vacation spot where you have tons of stuff to do wherever you look. Instead it is a place that requires you to think about what you want to do, find a great place and enjoy.

I just got back from Orlando (Cypress Harbour) and had a blast. I absolutely love Orlando, but for very different reasons than those for HHI. Orlando is a vacation spot. HHI is a lifestyle.

It's a private community that does not receive public money for roads and other ammenities. Residents have to pay yearly fees and they pass it on to visitors. Some restaurants and boat rentals offer pass reimbursement.

From HiltonHeadLife.com forum
Keep in mind that the money collected by Sea Pines is used to pay for road and bike path maintenance, security and other expenses of keeping the place beautiful and safe. It also pays for their excellent trolley system. They have a huge security force. You've also got the cost of maintaining the parks and their huge nature preserve.

When you enter the gates of a plantation, you are driving on private roads and bike paths. Without the fee, the wear and tear of all those tourists would have to be paid for by the owners of the houses and villas inside the gates.

It isn't cheap and it isn't fair for outside tourists to get a free ride.

Most plantations are closed to tourists. You have to be a guest of an owner in Hilton Head Plantation, Wexford, Long Cove, Leamington and Port Royal Plantation to get into those.

Be thankful that Sea Pines is open to tourists at such a nominal fee.

Also be aware that if you enter Sea Pines on bikes from the beach, you are trespassing. You could get arrested if security figures out that you don't belong there. Same for Shipyard and Palmetto Dunes.

MULTIZ321 said:

Sue,

If you haven't seen this, I thought you would enjoy this:
The Joy of Birding in Sea Pines
At the end of the article is a recommendation for a Birding Guided Tour that's recommended by the Audubon Society.

Re the egret rookery, if you remember the name of the restaurant, that would help to narrow the locataion. If I had to guess, I would say it's near Marshland Road and Mathews Drive (see goole maps for picture). Or perhaps
at the other end of Marshland Road, near the crosstown.

Richard

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We were staying at SurfWatch and went out to dinner that night at Boathouse II (which has since been re-named as Skull Creek Boathouse) on Squire Pope Road, but after dinner we went for a little drive and ended up on Marshland Road somewhere. At some point, can't remember which road we were on, we came around a bend and there were hundreds of egrets roosting in the trees with one great blue heron strutting around the edge of the pond. The lighting was perfect, the scene was perfect, my old camera was not. I've looked on googlemaps to see if I can find it that way but no luck yet. Eventually I'll get there again but for now I'm in no hurry.

And Richard, thanks for the fantastic new link! You're the perfect Hilton Head Tourist Information TUGger - so far I've bookmarked links from you for the Stoney-Baynard ruins and tomb, the Sea Pines nature preserve, Fish Haul Creek Park that we found last January, and the Christmas Tour of my favorite house on the beach between Barony and SurfWatch. Every link is very much appreciated.

I'm sitting on the balcony at Barony watching the sun come up and enjoying the sounds of the ocean. Hubby just left for a round of golf. There is not a better tranquilizer than a beach walk early in the morning. Hubby usually rides his bike while I walk. We are very glad that our personalities are such that we don't all like the same experiences. Sure is nice to travel 13 miles to vacation!

The GO is not in Sea Pines, but they gave you a week pass to use to go in and out or at least they did in February-March when were there.

Dark it is, but we have been there seven times so we kind of know our way around. The visit to GO was the first time we have stayed other than at the Barony or the Monarch, the latter of which was looking a little peaked when we there in September 2010. They did give us an ocean front unit so no complaints.

I love seeing Sea Pines from a bike. I have a very intense job and I am old. I never feel quite as relaxed as when I am riding the bike paths in Sea Pines.

I started this thread on another website while I was in HHI a few months ago. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1095398-hilton-head-island.html.

I wish more people didn't like it...

I drove through there once and wondered where everything was. It was all hidden and very hard to see the signs. Went on to GA. and had a great time.

Steve A said:

The GO is not in Sea Pines, but they gave you a week pass to use to go in and out or at least they did in February-March when were there.

Dark it is, but we have been there seven times so we kind of know our way around. The visit to GO was the first time we have stayed other than at the Barony or the Monarch, the latter of which was looking a little peaked when we there in September 2010. They did give us an ocean front unit so no complaints.

I love seeing Sea Pines from a bike. I have a very intense job and I am old. I never feel quite as relaxed as when I am riding the bike paths in Sea Pines.

I started this thread on another website while I was in HHI a few months ago. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1095398-hilton-head-island.html.

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Aside from the wonderful ambience of the resort the proximity to Sea Pines is what makes GO and HHI so enjoyable for us. We also love leisurely riding bikes through the forest and also on the beach.