SC Hilton Head Island Westin

[mcbider]

Hotel was great. Love the Westin Heavenly Bed.

They had us booked for two doubles, but changed us to a King with no hassle.

Has underground parking, which is nice to keep your vehicle out of the sun. Expedition barly fits, so be careful if you drive anything higher.

Hotel charges silly $10/day resort fee, and uses silly "towel cards" which you exchange for towels, then return to get your card again. As the resort is on the beach, this probably makes sense, because non-guests could just come up from the beach and grab the towels otherwise.

I wrote to priceline complaining about the resort fee. Theoretically, with these hidden fees, the hotel could lower its price, and charge $100/day. I would have happily paid an extra $10 to priceline, it is not the money, it is the principal. When you bid, you should be confident that that is what you will pay. Parking was free at the hotel, but I feel the same way about parking, it should always be free at a hotel.

Or, priceline could say "your bid has been accepted, however the hotel has these following fees: $10/day resort fee, $10/day peanut fee, $15/day breathing fee. Do you want to continue with this bid???"

The above concept woudl then allow you to know what you were going to actually pay.

[gruntlumber]

Our dates were September 23-27, 2006.

After reading some of the reviews on Trip Advisor, I was expecting it to be very sub-par. While many of the complaints regarding this place are valid, it's not nearly as bad as I expected. Overall, we were quite pleased with everything.

Finding the place was a little tricky, as well as finding most things on Hilton Head for that matter. It just seemed odd to drive through such a long windy road through golf courses to find the resort, but the signs are clearly labeled if you can read them (small). Beautiful grounds, and a very inviting lobby area. We were given a king room on the second floor with a pull-out couch (there are no smoking rooms at the resort). The view was mostly of a large magnolia tree, but I guess they have to save the good rooms for people who pay more than $70/night. The hotel sits a good distance away from the ocean (even though it is oceanside), so even the higher floors probably don't have the greatest views that you would expect.

Compared to other Westins, this one is a little grimier and not as well kept. The actual room was well appointed, but the carpet was frayed in several places around the edges and one of the headboard spires was broken. Of course the Bed from Hell is the best feature (or is it Heavenly Bed? I can't remember. Great bed though). The water in Hilton Head is gross, so we stocked up on bottled water at the local Piggly Wiggly.

As many reviewers have pointed out, the pool is in need of repairs. This is certainly true, but it's not so bad that it affects your experience here. There are three pools (2 outside and one indoor) and a hottub. The edges around the pool are the worst part: cracked concrete, missing tiles, peeling paint, etc. Sounds bad, but the water is great and the landscaping is super. The beach is a short jaunt over a patio walkway. Towels can be checked out as part of your MANDATORY $10/day resort fee (what a joke). One big disappointment is the fact that you must pay extra, A LOT extra, for an umbrella and chairs on the beach: $27 first day, $17 each additional day (approximately). Unreal. The alternative is to buy some el-cheapos at Wal-Mart, which is nearby, and just leave them or give them to someone before you leave. Many people had their own chairs or just sunbathed on towels.

The Westin, along with most of Hilton Head for that matter, has a very secluded, relaxing feel to it. The beach was lined with condos and private homes, no other resorts/hotels in the area. Since the sand is extremely dense/hard, it's easy to run and bike. We've been to other beaches that have a more beautiful look and feel, but this did not disappoint. Ocean water was warm, and strong waves rolled in for most of our visit.

We spent much of our time exploring the island and Savannah, so we didn't eat at any of the hotel restaurants, except to order drinks by the pool. The fitness center looked nice, although we didn't use it. Bikes are available for checkout for about $25/day, and we noticed fitness classes at random times. Hilton Head is a very pet-friendly place, and dogs are allowed in the hotel...we saw several. Valet parking is available, but it seems wasteful since free parking is directly next to the valet lot. We didn't golf so I can't comment on that, although the courses looked sweet.

Overall a great stay, minus a few of the cosmetic issues with the room and pool. This concludes my marathon review.

[geoherb]

We had a very nice stay at the Westin Hilton Head Island Resort and Spa. The resort fee is now $16 plus tax, which brought it to almost $18 a day. They no longer require you to check out towels with a card. You can just pick up as many as you need.

As with a lot of beach hotels, the Westin needs a bit of work. They were working on the indoor pool during the four days we were there. It looks like it will be a few weeks or months to have it open again. There are bits of frayed carpeting in the hallways. Overall, though, the hotel is nice.

Our room was on the second floor overlooking the pool area. I could barely see the ocean if I stood on my tiptoes. The hotel now has a rule against smoking. It would have been great except that the staff did not enforce this rule. The people above us smoked on their balcony. We reported them several times.

The bed was nice. If we had stayed longer than three nights, I would have requested all feather pillows for it. The bathroom was slightly shabby--the sink was cracked and also slow to drain and the shower had some discoloration. We also had a problem with housekeeping not cleaning our room on our last full day. A housekeeper knocked around 8:30 before we were ready for her. We spent the morning on the beach, drove away for lunch, and then went back out on the beach early in the afternoon. She did not come back until I was returning from the beach and about to take a shower. I asked her just for clean towels and more soap.

The beach in front of the hotel is beautiful. We did not rent the chairs and umbrellas, although plenty of people did. The company that runs the rental concession pays for the contract to the town of Hilton Head--not the Westin. The pools are also beautifully landscaped and in better repair than last reported. There were plenty of lounge chairs around them. We never had a problem finding available ones.