Spinnaker Resort in Hilton Head, South Carolina
Written: Jan 15 '06
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Nice, fully- furnished units; Large bathrooms with jacuzzis in each
Cons: Must pay to use fitness facility and indoor pool; Not located on the oceanfront.
The Bottom Line: This is a nice resort overall, but a few small changes would make it even better.
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| Bryan_Carey's Full Review: Waterside Spinnaker Resort/Hilton Head SC |
Beach front resorts areas are popular among tourists and I have had the luxury of staying at several of them during my vacation time. One place I had not visited until recently is Hilton Head Island and the resort I stayed at while on this Atlantic ocean- front island is Waterside by Spinnaker, a condo resort.
Location:
This resort is located on Hilton Head Island, close to the Georgia border. The resort itself isn’t directly on the ocean front. It is actually located inland just a little bit and it requires a good walk to get to the waterfront.
This resort is located on South Forest Beach Dr., toward the west end of the island. Check in doesn’t take place here- you must drive a short distance to the Player’s Club located at 35 Deallyon Av. to register and get your room keys.
To get to this resort by car, one needs to take Interstate 95 to State Route 278. This State Route goes directly to the island and it is located about 20 miles from the Interstate. To get here by plane, one can either fly into the Hilton Head Airport (not recommended- high prices) or fly to nearby Savannah airport (40 miles away) or Charleston airport (90 miles away).
Rooms:
This resort offers 1, 2, and 3 bedroom condo units. Each unit is fully equipped with a full kitchen (refrigerator, stove, microwave, dishwasher, coffee maker, blender, and toaster) that includes a full set of dishes, pots and pans, and eating utensils. There is also a washer and dryer in all units; iron and ironing board; and vacuum cleaner. Air conditioning, telephone, and a living room/dining room area complete with television sets, CD players, DVD players, furniture, and a dining room table are also part of every unit.
Depending on the number of bedrooms that comes with your unit, you may have multiple bathrooms and Jacuzzi tubs. There is only one bathroom and Jacuzzi with a one bedroom unit but the larger units include a full bath and Jacuzzi with each bathroom. Also, each bedroom has its own television set and at least one chair in addition to a king size bed. To sleep even more guests, the couch in the living room pulls out into a full size bed. A balcony complete with lawn chairs and a table rounds out the setup.
Amenities:
Some of the amenities found at this resort include three pools (one heated in the winter months), a whirlpool, an activities center, and game room. There is a fitness facility at the Player’s Club, but none at the immediate location. Most other activities (shopping, dining, beach, etc.) are found within a five minute drive.
Pricing:
This resort is ordinarily offered only as a timeshare unit but it is possible to find it for sale in some travel web sites. The price per night depends on the season and the size of the unit. A two- bedroom unit, for example, rents for about $229 per night in the high season (March through October) and for as little as $159 during the rest of the year. One bedroom units and three bedroom units will cost slightly less or slightly more than the two bedroom standard.
Final Thoughts:
Waterside by Spinnaker is a nice resort located on the western end of Hilton Head Island. This resort is owned and operated by Spinnaker resorts- a company with resort locations in Florida, Missouri, South Carolina, and Colorado. Week- long stays at Spinnaker can be obtained through RCI (Resort Condominium International) timeshare exchange and sometimes by purchasing a week outright, if space happens to be available.
I have visited many ocean front resort destinations in the past but I had never been to Hilton Head Island until recently when I booked a vacation during the holiday season. I am a member of RCI and I was able to reserve one week in a two- bedroom unit. The week of Christmas- even though it is during the cooler time of the year- is actually not the lowest point in the tourism season here at Hilton Head. The holidays are considered to have a medium (or “White Time”, as RCI refers to it) level of demand, so it usually isn’t too difficult to book a rental at this resort during the Christmas/New Year’s season.
Taking a closer look at the inside of this resort, I found it to be relaxing and homey. All units at this resort include everything you would need to make this your home away from home, including a full kitchen with all appliances and four large rooms- kitchen, living/dining room, and two bedrooms. The large bathroom located close to the kitchen and main entrance has two doors: one that leads to the living area and one that leads to the master bedroom. This bathroom is a little larger in size than the other bathroom. But the fact is that the two bedrooms are both very large and they both have a Jacuzzi tub and separate shower- making it possible for several people to get ready for the day all at once. I really like the large showers in each bedroom. Unlike some other lodging units, these showers are very big- large enough that you can move all around without bumping into the walls. I didn’t measure when I was there, but I would estimate them at about 4 feet by four feet.
The coloring scheme of the inside of these units is semi- tropical, with a few bright colors mixed in with darker colors normally associated with a cooler climate. This gives the rooms a feel that falls somewhere between the tropical and the rustic- a combination that is very much like one would find in their own home. A few painting can be found on the walls for added decoration.
I like the layout of these condo units and I like having all the necessities right there, in your unit, so that you can sit back and treat it like your normal living quarters. But there are a few oversights in the interior amenities that make it a little less than perfect. First of all, I think it would be nice to have some ceiling fans. There are no fans at all on the inside of these units except for the fan provided as part of the central air conditioning. Hilton Head is prone to getting quite warm, and the addition of fans would help to keep the air moving and might even reduce the air conditioning costs for the resort.
Another thing I noticed that was less than satisfactory was the television cabinets in the two bedrooms. It is nice to have additional televisions, but unlike the television cabinet in the living room, the cabinets in the bedrooms feature doors that do not open up all the way and cannot be pushed back inside the cabinet on the sides of the television set. What this means is that the television sets cannot be viewed from any angle. You have to view them more or less straight on thanks to the faulty design of the cabinets. The doors are always sticking out so if you try to view the television from the side of the bedroom, the doors will be blocking your view. Again, this is a simple oversight that could/should have been eliminated with more careful planning.
On the exterior, this resort is mostly pleasing with only a few exceptions. I like having the parking garage located underneath each of the buildings. You can get out of your car and walk directly to the elevator without worrying about rain falling on top of you. It also shortens the walking distance considerably, making it much simpler to get things to and from your room.
The pools and whirlpool tub here are nice and they are located within a short walk from the different units. One pool is heated during the winter months and it’s a good thing it is, because there is no indoor pool offered here. Actually, there is an indoor pool located at the Player’s Club (part of the resort and the place where you check in) but you have to walk or drive to use it. This brings me to another oversight at this resort: The lack of a fitness facility on- site. You can use the one at the Player’s Club and also use the indoor pool, but you have to go out of your way to get there and to make matters worse, you have to pay a surcharge ($20 when I was there) to use these facilities. I could probably overlook having to drive to the other place, but why would the resort charge an additional $20 for this? They really need to rethink this policy. They also charge you for maid service. At other condo resorts, there is at least one day per week when maid service is offered free of charge. Here, you do not get any free days at all.
This resort isn’t located directly on the beach (there is another resort between it and the beach), so you will have to either walk over to the water or get in your car and make the short drive. I didn’t find this too bad, but I know that beach bums will find it unacceptable. It isn’t far away at all- less than one mile to drive to a parking place by the beach and a couple of blocks to walk. But there are still those who will reject this resort outright due to its lack of Oceanside accommodations.
Overall, I found this to be a nice, relaxing place to spend a week on Hilton Head Island. It isn’t the perfect resort and there are a few things about it that should be changed (like the lack of ceiling fans and the poorly designed television cabinets). But all things considered, this is a nice resort and it offers all the in- room amenities one could ever need to make it a home away from home.
Recommended:
Yes
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