Hurricane Dorian: Hilton Head Island, SC

[SueDonJ]

WSAV-TV and The Island Packet are reporting tonight at 6:30PM, Governor McMaster has ordered a mandatory evacuation for Beaufort County (includes all of Hilton Head Island) at noon on Monday.

FYI, a mandatory evacuation involves:

- evacuations from medical facilities which are happening now.

- lane reversals on Rte. 278 East with no traffic allowed eastbound - once you leave, you won't be permitted to return until the order is lifted. This applies to residents and tourists alike, excepting only designated emergency personnel.

- mandatory closure of all hotel/timeshare lodging. It doesn't matter if you want to try to ride it out, they will not be able to check you in, and if you're already there you'll be forced to leave. Remember, the staff at the hotels/resorts are locals and they'd like to be with their families taking care of their own homes.

- Govt offices/schools/etc closed Tuesday, at least.

This is a slow-moving storm and the track will determine whether these orders are lifted sooner or later. Having suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Matthew they appear to be making the call sooner but, better safe than sorry. If you're scheduled to be on the island check your resort/company websites for any notices from them, and monitor WSAV.com or The Island Packet for latest info.

 

[SueDonJ]

This was posted to SurfWatch's and Barony Beach's Facebook page, probably the same for all Marriott HHI resorts:

>>Due to Hurricane Dorian’s projected path, the Governor of South Carolina has issued a mandatory evacuation order for the area which includes Marriott’s SurfWatch. Per the government mandated evacuation order, the resort's management team has initiated steps to evacuate the resort by Monday, September 2 at 12 p.m. ET, and the resort will be closed shortly thereafter. Resort staff will not return until the mandatory evacuation order has been lifted and the resort is deemed ready to reopen.

Due to the mandatory evacuation, reservations will be cancelled for arrivals to Marriott's SurfWatch from September 2 through September 5. Owners and guests whose reservations have been impacted will be contacted by Marriott Vacation Club Customer Care.

For those Owners and guests with questions about upcoming reservations beyond September 5, you may contact one of the following for assistance:
• Marriott Vacation Club® Owners using their ownership week(s): Owners with travel insurance coverage should contact their insurance provider to discuss and/or file a claim for disrupted travel plans.
• Marriott Vacation Club Destinations® Owners using Vacation Club Points: Please contact Marriott Vacation Club® Owner Services or 888-682-4862 to discuss available options (Please note there will be limited staffing levels on Labor Day).
• Marriott Vacation Club ® Preview Package Guests: Please contact 800-782-5410 for assistance with rescheduling your upcoming reservation.
• Rental Guests: Please contact Marriott Vacation Club Customer Care at 800-860-9384.
• Interval International Exchange Guests: Please contact Interval International directly at 800-468-3782 to discuss available options.<<

 

[dioxide45]

Marriott Vacation Club Destinations® Owners using Vacation Club Points: Please contact Marriott Vacation Club® Owner Services or 888-682-4862 to discuss available options (Please note there will be limited staffing levels on Labor Day).

This is one reason they need online cancellation ability. Owner Services is closed today and limited tomorrow. With the storm possibly also impacting Orlando, staffing levels could be impacted for several days. Just give us online cancellations already.

 

[Quilter]

This is one reason they need online cancellation ability. Owner Services is closed today and limited tomorrow. With the storm possibly also impacting Orlando, staffing levels could be impacted for several days. Just give us online cancellations already.

Is the chat feature working?

 

[dmharris]

When exchanging through Interval, does the trip protection cover weather-related cancelations? Like when MGO evacuates for a hurricane?

 

[BigMac]

This is one reason they need online cancellation ability. Owner Services is closed today and limited tomorrow. With the storm possibly also impacting Orlando, staffing levels could be impacted for several days. Just give us online cancellations already.

There is another post asking about online cancellations which I posted to in the affirmative. I just did it a couple of days ago. No need to use the chat feature.

 

[SueDonJ]

FYI, just got an Emergency Management alert that the evacuation order for Beaufort County/Hilton Head Island is being lifted as of 3:00PM today, although Town Offices won't reopen until Monday.

 

[JIMinNC]

FYI, just got an Emergency Management alert that the evacuation order for Beaufort County/Hilton Head Island is being lifted as of 3:00PM today, although Town Offices won't reopen until Monday.

That's good news. We were in HHI over Labor Day weekend and were planning to look at some condos in Palmetto Dunes with our realtor on Monday, but then the evacuation order came and she recommended that we leave Monday AM before the traffic jams started around noon. So we're going to need to go back down, hopefully in about a week, to do what we couldn't do due to the evac order.

Here's the latest. Only about 80 trees reported down and most roads are clear.

https://www.islandpacket.com/news/weather-news/article234744862.html

 

[pedro47]

That’s good news. To everyone checking in this weekend please enjoy your stay on The Island.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

That's good news. We were in HHI over Labor Day weekend and were planning to look at some condos in Palmetto Dunes with our realtor on Monday, but then the evacuation order came and she recommended that we leave Monday AM before the traffic jams started around noon. So we're going to need to go back down, hopefully in about a week, to do what we couldn't do due to the evac order.

Here's the latest. Only about 80 trees reported down and most roads are clear.

https://www.islandpacket.com/news/weather-news/article234744862.html

The good news is that "maybe" the seller may be more motivated to sell whatever property you decide to purchase.

Dorian will be fresh on seller's minds...... and "could" result in you obtaining your new property at a more attractive price!





.

 

[JIMinNC]

The good news is that "maybe" the seller may be more motivated to sell whatever property you decide to purchase.

Dorian will be fresh on seller's minds...... and "could" result in you obtaining your new property at a more attractive price!

We should be so lucky!

Given that HHI has had hurricanes come close in three of the last four years, I think they are probably getting used to it.

 

[normab]

Just some info on a real reservation. We are due to check in to Monarch (exchange week) this Saturday. I’ve been regularly checking their Facebook page which says (I’m paraphrasing) they will make an assessment tomorrow but that the initial inspection is that there wasn’t a lot of damage to buildings or facilities. It sounds like there is more debris cleanup than anything upon first look.

Meanwhile, tonight I got a phone call from Interval trying to get me to ‘take’ a certificate because I didn’t buy insurance though them, (I didn’t ask what the cost was)...I responded that I haven’t even heard from the resort that I’m being canceled… but the agent told me that they had information that I don’t have…and that typically the resorts only let owners come back right away. Now, I know that Marriott owns Interval, but I’d like to think that the Facebook posts by the resort are in earnest and that they’re going to make an assessment tomorrow…

So the bottom line here is that Monarch doesn’t seem to have received any extreme damage, and time will tell if Interval really knew something..

 

[JIMinNC]

Just some info on a real reservation. We are due to check in to Monarch (exchange week) this Saturday. I’ve been regularly checking their Facebook page which says (I’m paraphrasing) they will make an assessment tomorrow but that the initial inspection is that there wasn’t a lot of damage to buildings or facilities. It sounds like there is more debris cleanup than anything upon first look.

Meanwhile, tonight I got a phone call from Interval trying to get me to ‘take’ a certificate because I didn’t buy insurance though them, (I didn’t ask what the cost was)...I responded that I haven’t even heard from the resort that I’m being canceled… but the agent told me that they had information that I don’t have…and that typically the resorts only let owners come back right away. Now, I know that Marriott owns Interval, but I’d like to think that the Facebook posts by the resort are in earnest and that they’re going to make an assessment tomorrow…

So the bottom line here is that Monarch doesn’t seem to have received any extreme damage, and time will tell if Interval really knew something..

Based on what happened to us right after Hurricane Irma in 2017, if you are on an II exchange into Monarch, if they have damaged rooms and cannot accommodate all guests, II exchangers will probably be the first to be cancelled. Also, if the resort is not ready to open by your check-in day, II may cancel your reservation. That is what happened to us.

We were scheduled to check-in to Grande Ocean on the Friday after the storm caused HHI to be evacuated. The Wednesday prior to our check-in they announced the resort would open on Saturday and we received a call from the GO concierge who said we would be allowed to check-in a day late and our reservation would be honored. On Friday AM, as we were preparing to leave, we received an email from II saying our exchange had been cancelled because the resort was closed on check-in day. The front desk staff at GO told me on a phone call that all II exchanges into HHI had been cancelled so all owners and guaranteed cash reservations could be accommodated. Several resorts had rooms with minor damage from water intrusion, so since all guests could not be accommodated, II exchangers were the first to go. Owners and cash reservations came first, followed by DC points, and last priority were exchanges. We wound up getting lucky and grabbed a last minute cash reservation for Saturday check-in next door at the new HGVC Ocean Oak, and then had a couple weeks of back-and-forth with MVC and II which eventually led to us getting an II replacement week into our account.

 

[normab]

Thanks Jim for your explanation. That makes sense.

Anyway, we are a ‘go’ for Monarch,, they are welcoming all owners and guests starting tomorrow!

My main concern was that while the Resort was saying that it did not having significant damage, I felt like Interval was prematurely trying to pressure us, before there was a definite closure, and make another $300 off an exchange certificate. And clearly they didn’t have “information” as they said they did. It was just another sales tactic.

However, I can see how some people might benefit from the offer of a certificate, even though we typically let certificates expire, I.e. they don’t hold much value for us.

To the beach!

 

[Big Matt]

normab, please post what you find when you get there. I'm checking in to Monarch in two weeks.

Thanks

 

[MOXJO7282]

What I'm wondering is the updates are saying "we welcome guests with reservations starting Saturday Sept 7". I had heard that II trades that had check-ins Friday Sept 6th when the resort was officially closed would be cancelled but what about owners who had reservations for Fri-Fri? I can't imagine they wouldn't be allowed to use their units for 6 days but the latest updates seem to suggest that.

Anyone know the answer here? I'm good with my reservations at the GO because they start today, but I have a HP that starts today and the HP isn't opening til sunday so I'm hoping my renter isn't going to lose the whole week.

 

[VacationForever]

It looks MVC is using FB to post the latest status of each resort. Heritage Club is fully open today even though Marriott.com travel site shows that it is closed.

Some guests of Oceanwatch at Myrtle Beach have been informed to check in on Sunday instead of their original reservations of Saturday.

I am watching for both because of my stays in the second half of September.

 

[normab]

So we are here at Monarch . The resort looks great and it’s not crowded at all. We may actually get an umbrella at the pool, LOL. They were offering free “welcome back from Dorian” drinks at the gazebo, There were about 10 of us there. That speaks volumes...

(Also, at check-in, I asked the desk agent if they had lots of cancellations, and he just said “it’s pretty quiet”… )

So far, from what we have seen, the island looks pretty good, no trees on the road, the beach here looks good, just a bit of seaweed that is here and there....Seriously, I would never have known a hurricane even came near this beach (growing up in the northeast and spending summers on the beach...)

We went to Harris Teeter and they had no obvious issues with being stocked out of any items, (which we had seen last week in southwest FL), but they do not have enough cashiers, there were really long lines, so not sure if locals have returned?

What’s also still weird—when we arrived and logged on the resort WIFI, the resort home page still says the resort is closed... this was a bit funny...and Interval called us again last night to tell us the resort was opening Sunday, hours after the resort was posting on Facebook that is was open Saturday....so what’s going on?

In the end, communication has not been great, but from what we are seeing, the hurricane did not do tons of damage to Hilton Head, al least not much that couldn't be remedied quickly. DH and I expect to have a great time here.

In my opinion, no one should be concerned unless another hurricane hits.....

 

[Big Matt]

Thanks for the update!

 

[Steve A]

Went over to the Barony to work out (local owner) this morning. The front parking lot at 8:30 AM only had six cars in it. Only three people came into the workout space during the hour I was there. Overall it appears very little damage to the Island especially when compared to Matthew.

 

[JIMinNC]

Went over to the Barony to work out (local owner) this morning. The front parking lot at 8:30 AM only had six cars in it. Only three people came into the workout space during the hour I was there. Overall it appears very little damage to the Island especially when compared to Matthew.

There's no question a lot of the "breathless" media coverage probably caused people to cancel, thinking the island was in shambles because a hurricane passed 80 miles off the coast.

I think the media has an important job in warning people about the potential dangers of a storm and not to focus too much on the precise forecast track. If they minimize the risk too much, then people could put themselves in danger. But I do think it's a fine line to walk between making people well aware of the risks and that forecasts are sometimes wrong, and being alarmist.

 

[dioxide45]

There's no question a lot of the "breathless" media coverage probably caused people to cancel, thinking the island was in shambles because a hurricane passed 80 miles off the coast.

I think the media has an important job in warning people about the potential dangers of a storm and not to focus too much on the precise forecast track. If they minimize the risk too much, then people could put themselves in danger. But I do think it's a fine line to walk between making people well aware of the risks and that forecasts are sometimes wrong, and being alarmist.

THis is a reason we cancelled our SVV stay over labor day weekend. That track was heading straight for Orlando when we cancelled but only a couple updated forecasts later and it was going up the coast. We should have kept it, but when they waived the cancellation fee penalty for our StarOptions, we figured we had nothing to lose.

 

[captbob]

Any word on if the Smokehouse Restaurant will reopen soon after the fire in June?

 

[normab]

Smokehouse still has a sign out front that states it’s close due to fire. Doesn’t Look like anything has been done yet.