SC Hilton Head Island Hilton Oceanfront Resort

[Desirees]

Just got back from a stay at Hilton Head, here are some observations about the resort.

Bellhop services amazing, even though they were very busy, each one was polite and smiling, ever-ready with advice on where to go and with directions. When we checked in, as well as when we were leaving, service was prompt and efficient.

Checking-in went very bad. After receiving the incredible service by the bellhops, we went into the lobby enveloped in a warm haze, and stood in line for about 3 mins and then were asked to come up to the desk. The employee did not smile, did not look up, and simply asked for our name. I gave her mine and she started typing stuff (checking us in) and asked for a credit card. As I was taking it out I asked her if an oceanfront room was available. She said "You paid for a standard room and that is what you will get". I will not be able to explain exactly the tone but it was very very condescending...I asked her if we could get an upgrade and how much would it be, she said $80 per night. While she was doing all the stuff needed to check us in, no eye contact was made at any time, no smile, basically nothing to make us feel welcome. Completely taken aback by the behavior ( I had read about treatment like this meted out to HW and PL customers but had never experienced this) I then asked again if , after we went to the room and decided we would like to upgrade do we need to call down? She again stressed it would be $80 per night, making sure we knew that it would be more.

Once we reached the room we were pleased with the layout. It is really nice, the king bed was very comfortable, they brought in a crib within 5 mins and housekeeping showed up in 10 mins to make the bed on the sofa for my son. The kitchenette consisted of a microwave, coffeemaker and there was a toaster in one of the cupboards. There were 4 glasses, 4 cups, plates and flatware for 4. For some reason, I had assumed there would be a stove as well, but it was no big deal, the kitchenette really served my purpose. The countertops were granite, was very nice. There were kitchen towels as well as dishwashing detergent. The bathroom was really nice, had a lot of towels, and had Neutrogena toiletries.

Friday morning, when I woke up and realized I was still smarting from the behavior received from the front desk employee, I called the Hilton Perfect Stay hotline. Not sure how they would take my comment, however was very pleasantly surprised when the executive manager interrupted me just as I finished mentioning the line "you paid for a standard room,etc" with a "that is terrible, I am so sorry you had to hear that". I pointed out that not only did I hear that but a lot of other guests standing around also heard it. She offered to move us to an oceanfront room immediately, however I had already decided that I did not want to move since my main point of complaining was not to move to a better one but to make sure the employee did not behave like this to future HW or PL guests...The executive manager apologized profusely on her behalf and assured me this wont happen in the future. We came back in the evening to a very elaborate fruit basket left in our room and a note from the front desk manager apologizing again for the behavior of one of our employees. I feel this was very well handled. I did, however tell the executive manager about the wonderful service provided by the bell hop and housekeeping...housekeepers were very cheerful, friendly and prompt about cleaning.

Housekeeping was good most of the time. The first day was very good, everything done right, second day they forgot to replace the bag in the ice chest and refill the coffee and the creamers; we had to call and ask for it. They did call in an hr wanting to know if everything got to us ok.

Did not go to any of the restaurants at the resort so cannot say anything. Very pretty layout, really beautiful. Parking got tight during Fri night and sat night; in fact Sat night we used the valet service since parking was full. Valet is complimentary, $6 per day is charged for parking.

Concierge was very helpful supplying us with maps and literature or anything we wanted to know. There is a business center with internet access which was free even though it said there would be charges.

This is a good place to stay with kids, and the room is nice. Management handled my complaint very well and I will stay here again.

Hope I have touched on everything, please let me know if there are any more questions about the place.