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Hilton Head visit Grande Ocean, Barony, Surfwatch

jd2601

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We own at these great resorts on Hilton Head. We recently spent a week at Grande Ocean and visited both Barony and Surfwatch with day passes. I noticed changes at all three resorts and each resort is beautiful. I was impressed after all the hurricanes how nice each resort looked.

Grande Ocean is in great shape. We stayed on the South Side looking at the Dolphin Pool and a good view of the Ocean. There is construction North of the resort as the Hilton property is building a parking ramp and additional building.

The lagoon area is a favorite of ours but did not want to deal with construction so requested South side. They are working on installing floating islands in the lagoon area to help with water quality. These islands will have plants on them and a small fence to discourage turtles.

We grilled on the North side to feed turtles while grilling. This was our only disappointment as these grills would not heat very well. Knobs on the grill were broken off and overall in poor shape.

Shopping carts are in each building to move groceries in addition to luggage carts have been added since our last visit. There are also a couple of ice machines across the resort.

The pool bar pool is now heated and had lots of use. (This may have been a few year)s. There is a new roof on the indoor pool that is not as yellow as previous. They are looking at changing a kiddie pool near the Dolphin pool to a splash pad.

Units are in very good shape. Lots of usb and power outlets all through the unit. We were told they are looking at the next renovation in 2020 or 21 to change cabinets and deal with the large Jacuzzi tub. Grande Oceans location cannot be beat and biking in this area is the best.

Barony has had dramatic improvement in the check in building. It looks very open open and clean. The workout room looks very nice and equipment looks in very good shape. Exterior looks like it has been painted recently and looks very good. I was very pleased that they are now heating the garden pool with slide and water temperature seemed very reasonable. This was a big miss in the past when most of gold season this pool with slide was too cold to use.

Surfwatch also looks like it has been recently painted, color looks much better then the pink it has been. Surfwatch always has such friendly front desk staff that make you feel at home. It is a walk to the ocean at Surfwatch but is done very nice and has a different feel in each area of the resort. Indoor pool is being resurfaced and was closed so I expect it to be in good shape.

I heard 13 units had water damage at Grande Ocean and 60 units had damage at Barony. We also were told snow lasted 6 days this winter which is unheard of on HHI.

Hilton Head is such a great destination and I saw great improvements at all three of these resorts.
 

jme

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Resorts Owned
Marriotts:
Grande Ocean x 6
Barony x 2
OceanWatch x 1
Manor Club x 1
.
Waterside by Spin x 2
Sheraton Bdw Pln x2
ChurchSt/Charleston x2
We own at these great resorts on Hilton Head. We recently spent a week at Grande Ocean and visited both Barony and Surfwatch with day passes. I noticed changes at all three resorts and each resort is beautiful. I was impressed after all the hurricanes how nice each resort looked.

Grande Ocean is in great shape. We stayed on the South Side looking at the Dolphin Pool and a good view of the Ocean. There is construction North of the resort as the Hilton property is building a parking ramp and additional building.

The lagoon area is a favorite of ours but did not want to deal with construction so requested South side. They are working on installing floating islands in the lagoon area to help with water quality. These islands will have plants on them and a small fence to discourage turtles.

We grilled on the North side to feed turtles while grilling. This was our only disappointment as these grills would not heat very well. Knobs on the grill were broken off and overall in poor shape.

Shopping carts are in each building to move groceries in addition to luggage carts have been added since our last visit. There are also a couple of ice machines across the resort.

The pool bar pool is now heated and had lots of use. (This may have been a few year)s. There is a new roof on the indoor pool that is not as yellow as previous. They are looking at changing a kiddie pool near the Dolphin pool to a splash pad.

Units are in very good shape. Lots of usb and power outlets all through the unit. We were told they are looking at the next renovation in 2020 or 21 to change cabinets and deal with the large Jacuzzi tub. Grande Oceans location cannot be beat and biking in this area is the best.

Barony has had dramatic improvement in the check in building. It looks very open open and clean. The workout room looks very nice and equipment looks in very good shape. Exterior looks like it has been painted recently and looks very good. I was very pleased that they are now heating the garden pool with slide and water temperature seemed very reasonable. This was a big miss in the past when most of gold season this pool with slide was too cold to use.

Surfwatch also looks like it has been recently painted, color looks much better then the pink it has been. Surfwatch always has such friendly front desk staff that make you feel at home. It is a walk to the ocean at Surfwatch but is done very nice and has a different feel in each area of the resort. Indoor pool is being resurfaced and was closed so I expect it to be in good shape.

I heard 13 units had water damage at Grande Ocean and 60 units had damage at Barony. We also were told snow lasted 6 days this winter which is unheard of on HHI.

Hilton Head is such a great destination and I saw great improvements at all three of these resorts.


Enjoyed reading the comments. Thank you.

We are indeed lucky to have these three great resorts at Hilton Head.
All of the HH Marriotts are nice, but these are outstanding (properties & staff).
The management teams at all of those are doing a good job, both maintaining the integrity of each and upgrading when needed.

Amazingly, Marriott doesn't offer anything else comparable on the East Coast except for Myrtle Beach's OceanWatch
to the north and Ocean Pointe way down south. Nevertheless we enjoy HH immensely, and find our longings for the beach
well satisfied there.
 

JIMinNC

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Resorts Owned
Marriott:
Maui Ocean Club
Waiohai Beach Club
Barony Beach Club
Abound ClubPoints
HGVC:
HGVC at Sea World
Grande Ocean We were told they are looking at the next renovation in 2020 or 21 to change cabinets and deal with the large Jacuzzi tub.

When we were checking out from our stay back in April, I ran into the General Manager at the checkout desk and was told basically the same thing about the renovation. He said they want to reconfigure the bath area similar to what was done at Barony a few years ago, but since they had more space to work with, they were going to keep a smaller soaking tub plus the more updated shower, whereas Barony totally eliminated the tub. He said the shower would be a little smaller than the one at Barony. He said plans were being completed and would be presented to the Board for approval.
 

jme

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Resorts Owned
Marriotts:
Grande Ocean x 6
Barony x 2
OceanWatch x 1
Manor Club x 1
.
Waterside by Spin x 2
Sheraton Bdw Pln x2
ChurchSt/Charleston x2
When we were checking out from our stay back in April, I ran into the General Manager at the checkout desk and was told basically the same thing about the renovation. He said they want to reconfigure the bath area similar to what was done at Barony a few years ago, but since they had more space to work with, they were going to keep a smaller soaking tub plus the more updated shower, whereas Barony totally eliminated the tub. He said the shower would be a little smaller than the one at Barony. He said plans were being completed and would be presented to the Board for approval.

Knew about that but thanks so much for mentioning it!
This is indeed good news because we've all outgrown the popularity & need(?) of a large jetted tub, especially at the beach.
They're great at Park City but definitely take a lot of space, and at GO that could be better spent if replaced----
been waiting 15 years for that, long overdue (it wore off after 5)!!
I do wish the new shower could be like Barony's, though, and not downsized from that one....it's great!
Again, thanks Jim for that. (I think management got tired of hearing about that tub)
 
Last edited:

jd2601

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We are indeed lucky to have these three great resorts at Hilton Head.
All of the HH Marriotts are nice, but these are outstanding (properties & staff).

I was saying the same thing to my wife. Of all the Marriott properties and areas these 3 Hilton Head properties are our favorite.

Easy to get to, lots of amenities, restaurants, groceries, shopping, and the ocean! If I had not read posts on TUG we would have never ended up here. Now this is my happy place! Thanks everyone for your posts that got us interested in Hilton Head!
 

MOXJO7282

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Marriott has at least 5 really nice resorts on HHI that I think personally are outstanding as I include Harbour Point and certainly the Monarch. I bet the others are nice as well but I've never experienced. I put the Grande Ocean and the Monarch on top with HP next because these are the ones I own. I'm sure Barony and SW are top shelf but I've never stayed there and also not my preferred location on the island so I'd rank them 4 and 5.
 

pedro47

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We do not own on HHI, but we enjoy GO, SurfWatch and the Barony. The Barony and SW are excellent resorts. I feel that IMOP, there are no bad Marriott Resorts on The Island.

I would rated all five (5) Marriott resorts 9 + and higher.
 
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pedro47

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Correction there are eight (8) Marriott Resorts on Hilton Head Island according to the II Directory.
My rating of the Marriott Resorts is still the same.
 

JIMinNC

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Maui Ocean Club
Waiohai Beach Club
Barony Beach Club
Abound ClubPoints
HGVC:
HGVC at Sea World
I do wish the new tub could be like Barony's, though, and not downsized from that one....it's great!

It's the shower that will be a little smaller than Barony, not the new tub. Barony totally did away with the tub in the master and replaced it with the mega-shower. What he said was they elected to go with a bigger shower than now, just not quite as big as Barony. That, and the generally larger space they have to work with, will allow them to also include a garden tub at GO.
 

jme

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Resorts Owned
Marriotts:
Grande Ocean x 6
Barony x 2
OceanWatch x 1
Manor Club x 1
.
Waterside by Spin x 2
Sheraton Bdw Pln x2
ChurchSt/Charleston x2
It's the shower that will be a little smaller than Barony, not the new tub. Barony totally did away with the tub in the master and replaced it with the mega-shower. What he said was they elected to go with a bigger shower than now, just not quite as big as Barony. That, and the generally larger space they have to work with, will allow them to also include a garden tub at GO.

Thanks, that's what I meant to say, the shower...(otherwise it made no sense)....I'll amend my remark in previous post.
It's Barony's shower that I like so much. Frankly it's not THAT large, that GO needs to downsize from there----it's a perfect size!
 

AlmostRetired

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Grande Ocean Platinum, 2 x Grand Chateau 3 Bedroom (annual, EOY Odd)
Properties aside for a second, there is a lot to do on Hilton Head Island. Beach, restaurants, biking, tennis, golfing, miniature golfing, crabbing, shopping, sunsets, relaxing, pools and days trips to Savannah or Charleston (which in themselves are multi day vacations). Your mix of activities influence your HHI experience. Time of year also has an influence on your HHI experience. In July and early August traffic around the island can be a challenge. Other then New Years 2000, a golf vacation at the Heritage Club and one 3rd week August vacation, the rest of our stays are in July at the Monarch or GO. Over the years, we have also stayed on Shipyard, Coligny Circle and Plametto Dunes when we extended beyond one week. When we stayed a block or more away from the beach with small kids carrying all we needed to carry it was a big deal for us.

We enjoy beach, restaurants, biking followed by relaxing, crabbing, shopping, golfing and miniature golfing. 75 percent of our lunch restaurants are in Habour town, South beach, Coligny Circle or the areas close to Sea Pines. Many if not all can be biked to. Our dinner restaurants are more spread out. We also try to get to Shelter Cove one night.

Because of what we enjoy doing, when we go and the traffic, this had a strong influence on where we bought (Monarch) and where we will stay (mostly Monarch and GO when we need to sleep 8). If we traveled during different times or other resorts were on the beach and near/on Sea Pines, we would expand our selection of resorts. For my one week, I do not get excited about some resort amenities. Now if it was a part/ full time residence, that is another story,

We own two fixed weeks with one 4th floor Ocean front and one three units away with an ocean view. Sitting on the balcony dust, dawn or during evening summer lightening storms over the ocean are great to watch. My balcony view has 100 percent predictability each and every time I decide to us it.

Every one of the Marriott resorts on HHI have their strengths and weaknesses that are influenced by many individual factors. This is why we all bought where we did and still continue to own.
 
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Old Hickory

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We prefer the northern half of HHI and can visit without ever making it to Coligny Square or Sea Pines/Harbor Town. And to continue (to be odd), we prefer Savannah over Charleston.
 

AlmostRetired

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We prefer the northern half of HHI and can visit without ever making it to Coligny Square or Sea Pines/Harbor Town. And to continue (to be odd), we prefer Savannah over Charleston.

Odd no but personal preference, yes.
 

jd2601

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I have attached a picture of the new islands with plants in the Lagoon side of Grande Ocean. I think it makes a nice addition and does not stand out at all.
Lagoon.jpg
 
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