Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort in South Carolina is one of two
Disney Vacation Club (DVC) Resorts not located on Walt Disney World (WDW)
property (the other being Disney’s Vero Beach Resort in Florida) and the
only one located outside of Florida.
While the Disney characters are not present here, the quality of the
rooms and the level of service are at least equal to the nicer resorts
at WDW. In fact, due to the small size of the resort, many visitors find
the cast members are consistently friendlier than their counterparts in
Florida.
Front of Building 18, with Grand Villa in the center.
The resort has the usual mix of studios, one-bedroom villas and two-bedroom
villas, but the top of the line would be the five Grand Villas. Designed
to sleep 12 people, these villas are larger than some houses!
Since Hilton Head Island is considered “low country,” there
are no villas on the ground floor, because there is no ground floor. The
first floor is up a short flight of stairs, and the Grand Villas are all
located on the second floor in the center of each of five buildings (extending
to the third floor). There are no elevators in the buildings containing
Grand Villas, so people unable to walk up and down the stairs would need
to stay elsewhere.
Back of Building 18, with guest enjoying the Grand Villa porch and view
of the marsh.
The Grand Villas are few in number, and book very quickly by DVC members.
The odds of one being available for cash rental by a nonmember are very
low, particularly during the busier seasons. Before the resort sold out,
they used to offer coffee in one of the Grand Villas a couple of mornings
each week, which gave people a chance to see one in person. Now, however,
they are all rented to members, so the only way to see one is to stay
in one or look at photographs. From the outside, it’s easy to spot the
five buildings with a Grand Villa. Simply look for a building that has
a third story in the center, which will be the top floor of the two-story
Grand Villa.
Fully-equipped kitchen.
Entrance to the villa is up two flights of stairs, but it is definitely
worth the climb! On the main floor is the large, well-equipped kitchen.
The kitchen contains full-size appliances, pots, pans and dinnerware for
12. The most common small appliances (blender, toaster, and so on) are
all present as well, and there is ample cabinet space to store groceries
for a week. The washer and dryer are located in a separate room off the
kitchen, where any noise will not disturb the rest of the villa.
The large dining room.
The kitchen opens to the dining room, where people can either eat at
the large dining room table or at a small counter looking into the kitchen.
High chairs are available to anyone traveling with babies. Hilton Head
Island has an abundance of excellent restaurants, so many guests might
not use their dining room for much beyond a casual breakfast. However,
we did a complete dinner for six (thanks to a couple of my guests who
love to cook) and it was such a treat to have a nice dinner at “home”
in such nice surroundings.
The fireplace is the focal point of the living room.
The living room is next to the dining area, which is part of the same
large room. With a sofa, love seat and a couple more chairs, seating is
comfortable for groups of six to eight people. Dining room chairs can
always be dragged over for any additional people, or rocking chairs can
be brought inside from the porches. Disney provides all the cut firewood
needed, and a call to housekeeping will result in a cast member delivering a large
load of firewood to the container outside the villa door. During the off-season,
when it’s a little cool outside, the fireplace was a nice treat.
Looking down from upstairs into the living room.
The living room opens to an upper floor with a tall cathedral ceiling.
This design makes it very easy for someone in an upstairs bedroom to talk
to someone sitting by the fireplace, without having to shout! It’s also
really nice to come out of an upstairs bedroom in the morning and see
the rest of the villa on display.
Master bedroom.
Master bedroom armoire.
Looking into the master bathroom from the bedroom.
Also on this floor is the master bedroom suite. This bedroom is quite
large, and does not feel cramped or crowded. There is a king-sized bed
with two nightstands. An armoire holds a television set and has drawers
to store clothing. There is also a chest with a couple of deep drawers,
as well as a chair. The bedroom has its own private porch with a couple
of rocking chairs and small table.
The bathtub is large enough to share.
As in all DVC villas with a master bedroom, there is a window open to
the master bathroom. The window, located above the Jacuzzi-style bathtub,
is large enough to accommodate two people. The master bathroom is very
large, and consists of two separate rooms.
Second room of the master bathroom.
The first contains the tub and a large vanity sink. The second contains
the toilet, shower stall and a pedestal sink. There is plenty of storage
space in the bathroom, and it’s nice to be able to put your toiletries
away instead of having to leave them all over the sink like at many hotels.
Stairs to the second and third bedrooms, from the bottom.
The other bedrooms are located upstairs and, in typical Disney fashion,
they have made the stairs attractive as well as functional. The wooden
floors and railings are very nice looking, as are the prints that adorn
the walls leading up the stairs.
Staircase, from the top.
Each of the upstairs bedrooms sleeps up to four people in two queen-size
beds. Each bedroom also has its own full bathroom, television and telephone.
There are no porches off either bedroom, but each has a window. One room
feels a little larger than the other does, but they are very similar.
An upstairs bedroom.
Off the living room and dining room is a large porch containing a picnic
table and a couple of rocking chairs. Our villa in building 18 overlooked
the marsh, and the porch was a great place for morning coffee and quiet
conversation before the day got busy. Originally one of the grand villas
was a “smoking optional” unit, but I believe they converted
that building to nonsmoking. Assuming that’s the case, the porch would
be the only place for smokers to have a cigarette.
Guests Sheila and Nancy enjoy the porch.
Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort continues to be one of my favorite
places to visit, and the Grand Villa is a great way for me to share this
resort with friends. If you ever have the chance to stay in one, you’ll
be in for a real treat!
