My husban and I are highly considerin buying into DVC. I am not a huge Disneyfan but my husband and kids love Disney. I have done a lot of research. I understand how it works. I want to buy in a HH resort bc i can see us going there every other year and then Disney in between. I feel like its harder to get into and that would allow us to get in easier, and we could use the points at the 7 month mark to a disney property such as AKL. I just dont see many people using HH as their home base. Why is this? Is it just bc they love Disney a lot more?
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Please. I need the experts advice.
- Thread starter stacyk556789
- Start date
Hilton Head dues are a bit higher than theme park resorts but not nearly as high as Vero. Aulani is also higher than HHI. HHI is only about $.20 higher than Boardwalk, $.30 higher than Animal Kingdom.
A list of all resorts for 2014 can be found here:
http://dvcnews.com/index.php/dvc-pr...ews-19220/2439-2014-disney-vacation-club-dues
Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort is a lovely property and it has many fans. I just don't think you find them hanging around discussion boards too much. Hilton Head is a big leisure / golf destination. No need to continuously chat about attractions, parades, fireworks, MagicBands, etc.
HHI can be a very difficult resort to book, particularly during the summer months. The vast majority of the rooms are Two Bedroom villas, so smaller rooms are especially hard to get. The resort consists of 76 dedicated two bedroom villas, 21 lock off 2B (which can be separated into a Studio and a One Bedroom), plus 5 Grand Villas. So if you want to book a Studio or One Bedroom there are only 21 TOTAL rooms available every single night.
I've been to HHI a couple times. My biggest complaint--which I think most people share--is that it's not located on the beach. The resort is on a sort of marshy area a bit inland. Disney has a separate Beach House about a mile away right on the Atlantic. The Beach House is nice--it has a pool, restaurant (seasonal), some indoor facilities and direct access to the beach. A shuttle van runs between the resort and Beach House on a regular schedule. You can also drive or bike over.
Honestly I would probably recommend visiting the Disney resort before buying there. Just make sure it's the right destination for you.
Overall, HHI, Vero and Aulani (Hawaii) make for some nice non-theme park destinations in the DVC portfolio.
The other approach you could consider is just buying enough DVC points for your theme park vacations, and pair it with cash stays or a non-DVC timeshare. The Banking and Borrowing provisions of Disney Vacation Club provide enough flexibility that you don't have to visit a DVC resort every single year.
A list of all resorts for 2014 can be found here:
http://dvcnews.com/index.php/dvc-pr...ews-19220/2439-2014-disney-vacation-club-dues
Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort is a lovely property and it has many fans. I just don't think you find them hanging around discussion boards too much. Hilton Head is a big leisure / golf destination. No need to continuously chat about attractions, parades, fireworks, MagicBands, etc.
HHI can be a very difficult resort to book, particularly during the summer months. The vast majority of the rooms are Two Bedroom villas, so smaller rooms are especially hard to get. The resort consists of 76 dedicated two bedroom villas, 21 lock off 2B (which can be separated into a Studio and a One Bedroom), plus 5 Grand Villas. So if you want to book a Studio or One Bedroom there are only 21 TOTAL rooms available every single night.
I've been to HHI a couple times. My biggest complaint--which I think most people share--is that it's not located on the beach. The resort is on a sort of marshy area a bit inland. Disney has a separate Beach House about a mile away right on the Atlantic. The Beach House is nice--it has a pool, restaurant (seasonal), some indoor facilities and direct access to the beach. A shuttle van runs between the resort and Beach House on a regular schedule. You can also drive or bike over.
Honestly I would probably recommend visiting the Disney resort before buying there. Just make sure it's the right destination for you.
Overall, HHI, Vero and Aulani (Hawaii) make for some nice non-theme park destinations in the DVC portfolio.
The other approach you could consider is just buying enough DVC points for your theme park vacations, and pair it with cash stays or a non-DVC timeshare. The Banking and Borrowing provisions of Disney Vacation Club provide enough flexibility that you don't have to visit a DVC resort every single year.
slappy magoo
Well-Known Member
I like Hilton Head a lot but it's not our home resort. We've stayed 3 times and never had a problem booking at 7 months (or less), but our only summer trip there was only 3 nights long, in late August. Otherwise it's been Spring trips.
What I would worry about if HHI were your home resort (and this is just a gut feeling, no real evidence) is that because there are so few units, the maintenance fees risk jumping up considerably because there are fewer owners to absorb the costs, especially if hard core maintenance needs doing that wouldn't be covered under any insurance policy (wear and tear versus an act of god) or if just the cost of insurance skyrockets for any reason.
One nice thing about owning in Saratoga - the MF increases seem to be fairly small compared to the other resorts. They've gone up $1.11 since 2004; BLT has gone up that much since 2009. AKV has gone up $1.33 since 2007, and all the other DVC resorts that opened prior to 2004 have seen MFs go up more than $1.11 since 2004. Somewhat understandable, older resort might need more maintenance. But since 2004, HHI fees went from $3.70 (LESS than SSR its first year) to $6.28. So if you bought 150 SSR points at resale, your MFs this year would be $736.50. The same 150 points resale from HHI would be 942, over a $200 difference. And the difference in purchase price would probably be 1-2K. Just throwing that out there. Good luck however you decide.
What I would worry about if HHI were your home resort (and this is just a gut feeling, no real evidence) is that because there are so few units, the maintenance fees risk jumping up considerably because there are fewer owners to absorb the costs, especially if hard core maintenance needs doing that wouldn't be covered under any insurance policy (wear and tear versus an act of god) or if just the cost of insurance skyrockets for any reason.
One nice thing about owning in Saratoga - the MF increases seem to be fairly small compared to the other resorts. They've gone up $1.11 since 2004; BLT has gone up that much since 2009. AKV has gone up $1.33 since 2007, and all the other DVC resorts that opened prior to 2004 have seen MFs go up more than $1.11 since 2004. Somewhat understandable, older resort might need more maintenance. But since 2004, HHI fees went from $3.70 (LESS than SSR its first year) to $6.28. So if you bought 150 SSR points at resale, your MFs this year would be $736.50. The same 150 points resale from HHI would be 942, over a $200 difference. And the difference in purchase price would probably be 1-2K. Just throwing that out there. Good luck however you decide.
toolsnspools
Well-Known Member
If you're committing to going to HHI every other year (or so), I like the idea of buying your points there. There are a number of options at WDW for you to find a room at at the seven month window, but only one resort at HHI. I've only stayed 2 nights at HHI, but we plan to go back for a week next year. We loved it. It's never a bad idea to try it yourself before buying though.
We stayed at HHI in May and really enjoyed it. The room was spotlessly clean which is important to me. The room kind of reminded me of OKW. Customer service was also excellent. Total costs of the trip were small in comparison to WDW.
Parking was a bit of a problem. Several times we had to park near the checkin and walk to our unit. The beach location did not bother us. We love the marsh with the birds. Watching the tide come in and out is kind of like watching grass grow, but on vacation.
We are looking to buy more points, and have been considering HHI points. The increasing maintenance is worrying us and so we haven't pulled the trigger. We don't like SSR, but it might be better to buy points there to use at HHI than actual HHI points. We are not sure and so have bought nothing yet.
Parking was a bit of a problem. Several times we had to park near the checkin and walk to our unit. The beach location did not bother us. We love the marsh with the birds. Watching the tide come in and out is kind of like watching grass grow, but on vacation.
We are looking to buy more points, and have been considering HHI points. The increasing maintenance is worrying us and so we haven't pulled the trigger. We don't like SSR, but it might be better to buy points there to use at HHI than actual HHI points. We are not sure and so have bought nothing yet.
slappy magoo
Well-Known Member
You could apply this idea to buying points at Hilton Head AND at a WDW resort. If for example someone is selling 100 Hilton Head points and someone else is selling 100 Saratoga points, and you buy both, then by banking and borrowing the necessary points, you can keep taking vacations at each location every other year. This also allows you to book ate each resort every other year at the 11 month mark, but if one resort winds up costing you much more in maintenance fees, you've helped mitigate the damage to your bank account by only owning 100 points in that particular resort. 200 points (plus maybe a few extra points you can rent for a one-time fee direct from DVC, less than 100 bucks worth) could get you a 6 night stay at Hilton Head during the popular summer season, and the same holds true for Saratoga for most times of the year except Spring break and Christmas weeks. If you opt to go to either resort during less crowded times, you may be able to get a full week in a 1BR for the points you'd own in this scenario. And of course, if you opted to stay in studios, you'd have more days to spend. Or you could do something like 8 summer nights in a 1BR at Hilton Head (roughly 290 points, borrowing some Saratoga points to do so), then a 1 week stay in a studio at Saratoga during the summer, you'd either have just enough (106 points in late august) or you'd have to spend $150 for a one time rental of points (120 points in July or early August).
Another reason that we haven't bought HHI points yet is the expiration date. You pay a lot for those points considering that so many years of the contract are gone. The newer resorts have much longer until expiration. I wonder if Disney might come up with an offer to extend the contracts.
In favor of HHI is our age. We are not that young and I have found the last couple of trips to WDW to be quite taxing. HHI does not involve walking around parks. Biking is not as hard for me as walking long distances.
Eventually, we may have grandchildren who would like WDW, but at the present time we have none.
My guess is that we will find a good deal and impulsively buy it.
We are also considering AKV because it has longer on the contract and the maintenance is still less than HHI, though not as low as SSR.
In favor of HHI is our age. We are not that young and I have found the last couple of trips to WDW to be quite taxing. HHI does not involve walking around parks. Biking is not as hard for me as walking long distances.
Eventually, we may have grandchildren who would like WDW, but at the present time we have none.
My guess is that we will find a good deal and impulsively buy it.
We are also considering AKV because it has longer on the contract and the maintenance is still less than HHI, though not as low as SSR.
This is a good way to always get the 11 month window. The 11 month window is very important for HHI In the summer and WDW resorts at busy times of year. By cleverly using banking, borrowing, and two contracts, you can get the reservations you want every year.
My only warning is to be sure to get the same use year on both contracts. This will cut down on administrative issues.
Sorry! The quote did not make its way into this post. I was referring to the suggestion to buy at two resorts and bank and borrow for every other year trips.
My only warning is to be sure to get the same use year on both contracts. This will cut down on administrative issues.
Sorry! The quote did not make its way into this post. I was referring to the suggestion to buy at two resorts and bank and borrow for every other year trips.
BhamDisney
New Member
I would do a WDW resort. Our home resort is Saratoga Springs...pound for pound--in my opinion...the best resort out there. There are plenty of rooms...all types...no worrying about getting the Grand Villa...has multiple pools...it's next to Downtown Disney.
The other resorts are great...but it's nice not having to fight to get reservations...our group is big...so we always stay in the 3-bedroom.
The other resorts are great...but it's nice not having to fight to get reservations...our group is big...so we always stay in the 3-bedroom.