The Weekly Flyer

Any recent Platinum status stays at this hotel? Wondering about their upgrade % as a Platinum and to what type of room.

Appreciate any response with a recent stay.

bankingguy

We have stayed here every summer for the last 12-14 years. The recent remodel was much needed and done reasonably well.

Regarding upgrades, we use points and haven't gotten any kind of upgrade the last number of years. This year we used a few extra points to get a oceanview room. We got exactly what we reserved.

They give you a voucher for breakfast at Carolina cafe. It is much better than it was in previous years. The buffet is a smaller but the food is of much better quality.

They supposedly replaced the heavenly beds but they seemed really soft -too soft for my tastes.

While in HHI, be sure to go to The Backyard restaurant. It's near the entrance to Sea Pines - just north of it. It's a great local place. http://hhbackyard.com/

Last thing - as a plat you get free valet parking. I skip it though and park in the deck. Valet is too slow and the deck parking is really convenient.

bankingguy

Before anyone corrects me and makes fun of the banker, Backyard is located northwest of the roundabout leading into seapines. Basically like you're headed off island on the cross island parkway.

Also, try Harold's Diner for breakfast. Not suitable for kids due to poor language of owner but a good spot for food.

Last one is Island Bagel Company. Great bagels made on site.

Points Surfer

Too bad about the poor Plat recognition on upgrades....was considering the Westin HHI for redemptions but if its that bad I'm having second thoughts. How many extra points were needed for the oceanview room?

bankingguy

[QUOTE=Points Surfer;21155421]Too bad about the poor Plat recognition on upgrades....was considering the Westin HHI for redemptions but if its that bad I'm having second thoughts. How many extra points were needed for the oceanview room?[/

In their defense, we are usually there for 5 to 6 nights - usually a tough upgrade. At the same time, we weren't expecting a huge suite either.

In any event , it wasn't many points for the upgrade - like 1 to 1.5k per night. This got us an oceanview room. I'm not sure how many points for direct oceanfront. They have very few oceanfront rooms.

FD1971

It is more a lack of suites and not sub-par Plat recognition at this property that results in disappointing upgrades

If one of the friendly lurkers find some time, he might give us an idea about the number of suites available for Plat upgrades. Thanks a lot in advance.

thor17

Booked a 5 night stay here on points. As a gold, wasn't expecting any type of upgrade, so I responded to their offer of an upgrade to a suite for $80/night. My confirmation showed an "Executive Suite". Upon check-in, they indicated they upgraded me to a "VIP Suite". It's huge! It has a standard bedroom connected to a living room and small dining table. It's got 2.5 bathrooms. Will post pics when I return in a few days. The rest of the hotel is pretty nice. Beach is decent for east coast standards. Pool is nice and heated. It's not too crowded, but may be due to the time of the year.

jmriegel

I stayed here over the 4th of July week, so as you can imagine the property was at capacity most of the week. I had 2 rooms booked on points for 5 nights each. I booked the traditional Island view rooms (10k/night, 5th night free, so only 80k for both rooms for 5 nights), they did not have any suites available when I checked in, but both rooms got upgraded to connecting the Premium Ocean Front view which was very nice. As someone said above, they do not have a ton of Ocean Front rooms based on how the property is set up, a lot of the ocean view rooms though.

thor17

This is the "VIP Suite" we were upgraded to. It was called the "Beaufort Suite".

Entryway:


Powder Room:



Living Room:



Behind those frosted glass doors is a king (I think) bed that folds down.





Hall to Bathroom #2:



Bathroom#2:





Bedroom (the bedroom has its own balcony):



Bathroom #3:



Balcony (outside living room):



View from Balcony:

adisneyfan2

Wow- nice suite. Do you remember the room number? I would like to book it by number since most of the suites do not over look the pool. From your pictures, this one did, correct?

Thanks for the post!!!

rpk113

Did you solicite the offer or did the GM come to you? I would so do this with my family

thor17

It was room 4060, the Beaufort suite. I wouldn't say it overlooked the pool. I think what you are seeing is the koi fish pond. You can kind of see the pool through the trees, but it doesn't really overlook it.

Upon booking with points, the email confirmation from the hotel had the upgrade offer, but YMMV. It gave several different room options and how much extra they would cost per night. The executive/junior suite (Carolina suite) was the highest you could get - for $80 extra per night from a resort view room (what you get with points). Upon requesting this offer, I got confirmed into an executive suite. Then a few days before checking in, I couldn't view my confirmation on spg.com anymore (which sometimes means you got upgraded) I suspect I got upgraded to the VIP suite so that they could increase junior suite inventory for free plat upgrades I wouldn't count on another upgrade like this as I believe I got very lucky.

micahdaniel

I'm thinking about booking a reward res here. I see there's a $20 resort fee and a $1 something else fee. Is this the same for all tiers? I saw in a previous post that plats get free valet, but in the resort fee explanation it says the fee covers parking.

Hmbrglar

Staying here next week as a Plat. Want to confirm that breakfast is still a plat option upon check-in. Also - was anyone able to use the Access your 24? We arrive around 11am - and would hate to have to wait until 3 or 4 to check-in.

plc44

Got tickets through the lottery for Thursday at the 2015 Masters. We're planning on heading here on Thursday night and playing golf on Friday. Any experience booking a tee time through the hotel? Should I start taking care of it now or can I do it when I arrive?