So, our vacation’s first half has been partially business (isn’t it always). So, our hotel stay was dictated by where our friends at Hilton Grand Vacations told us to. They are building a new resort, so we agreed to see it and listen to their sales pitch in return for a pretty much free three nights at Hilton Head.

The hotel is, to say the least, interesting. It just happens to be across the street from the resort, so it’s perfect to host potential vacation club members, but apparently was in such bad shape that it was embarrassing (I’m not naming it, but let’s say the pre-renovation reviews were pretty off-putting). The Hilton folks took it over in some way (not clear), and needed a plan.

So, they renovated the place. Yep, they did. More recent hotel reviews were complaining about the renovation. We lucked out and arrived very soon after the renovation was completed.

First, the staff at this place is outstanding. Friendly and helpful doesn’t begin to cover it. They are like old friends, and have really made the stay worth it.

However…

It’s abundantly clear that the renovations to the hotel were done very quickly, with inexpensive materials, and on a very tight budget. We think the contractors got paid before anyone looked the work over. Sigh.

The colors are nice and modern, and the bathroom looks beautiful. But.

Here’s our evidence of poor workmanship and cost cutting:

• The transition between the vinyl plank and wood-look tile in the bedroom wasn’t glued down.
• The shower controls are backwards. I’m glad I eventually figured that out. That “hot” water wasn’t going to happen until
  

  The first thing I saw was this mis-glued trim.

  it got turned to cold.

• The shower head guard is not exactly attached. That lets water in. Mold is coming!
• Lee says the shower door is in backward, but it has to be or the door would open at the toilet. On the other hand, it’s a nice door and works well.
• Most sad, to me, is the fact that they didn’t pull up the blue painters’ tape around the edges of the walls completely. There is blue tape everywhere.
• They painted the doors and trim a black or very dark blue. It’s a great color. However, every time something bumps into it, the paint falls off. Think hotel trolleys and how well people drive them. Sigh.
• There are no closet doors. This may be supposed to be trendy. I’m already tired of looking at my clothing. I’m sure this also saved a lot of money.

• 

  You really can’t miss the poorly removed tape.

• The cabinet that is supposed to hold the fridge is empty. The fridge is sitting in an alcove that I’m pretty sure used to hold the coffee service. The coffee is on the desk, leaving little work room. I guess this saved a lot of money on cheap laminate cabinetry.

The point I want to make here is that there’s nothing wrong with doing an economical renovation. This one even makes sense, since Hilton is only going to be using this hotel until they sell out of the units in this resort (then they are going off to another SC resort they are building).

Contrast

We looked at the condo units, like good citizens. It was quite the contrast. They did not skimp. I looked pretty hard at the kitchen and bathroom finishes, and they are very well done. They even had high-end appliances. I was interested to learn that they change them out every few years as part of the ownership deal. Huh.

Now we can vacation. So far that’s involved looking at fancy houses, reading about the vacation rental industry here, finding where on earth the regular people live on this island, and looking at nature. More soon!

 

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