S.R. Hotel

The grounds were lovely and the room was large, with a spacious bathroom. It was fairly quiet, too. We were glad to be on the first floor since there’s no elevator, and carrying our big O2 concentrator up the stairs would have been difficult. Finding our group of rooms was the hard part. The office directions were confusing, and we drove around for about 20 minutes before spotting it by chance. Parking was a challenge, but we managed. Our GPS seemed to send us a different way into the complex every day. Seeing the beach from the room would have made the stay even better.

Maintenance were great, and check-in at the main office went smoothly. After that, the stay was a mess. Check-in at the hotel was supposed to be at 4, but we didn’t hear that our room was ready until 5:30. The key barely worked, the door could be almost impossible to open, and the security deadbolt didn’t work at all. The ground-floor sliding door wouldn’t lock either, so maintenance cut a 2x4 to wedge into its track. The whole room was run down and badly in need of renovation. We were shown a unit with a kitchenette and washer and dryer when buying the vacation, but ours had no kitchenette, and the roughly 50-room building shared just one washer and one dryer. Both were in terrible shape, and the dryer still cost $1 to use. The sales pitch didn’t help. The salesperson they described as their best spent the first hour talking about himself. When we finally saw the properties, they looked extremely nice, and I assumed that was what we were meant to stay in. The presentation ran more than three hours, twice as long as we’d been told. After we declined to buy, the salesperson went from excited and happy to talk to us to very angry. I’m still waiting for an email explaining how to use the other two vacations, more than two weeks later. If this was meant to sell us a timeshare, it was a really poor start. I could have had a better stay at a Motel 6. I can’t recommend Spinaker, and would give negative stars if I could.

The front desk staff member was courteous and said maintenance would try to fix the problems, or move me if they couldn’t. But I felt I was profiled as a single woman arriving at Spinnaker resort. In bldg 100 the outer security door didn’t work. My first room was so hard to open I had to ram it with my shoulder. The toilet kept running, and the shower and tub both ran at once until water reached my calves. The phone was also out, which felt like a safety issue. My cellphone had poor reception in the room, so I had to go to the desk to report everything. At the timeshare presentation, a Colombian woman started talking about foreclosures even though I hadn’t asked about or requested a foreclosed property. That added to the feeling that I’d been singled out, put in a trash hotel room, then shown a luxury condo and asked to spend thousands of dollars. I said no. Maintenance couldn’t fix the shower and tub, so I was moved to bldg 400. The security door worked there, and the room was nicer, with vaulted ceilings, newer furnishings, two beds plus a sleeper sofa, and an upgraded bathroom with a walk-in shower and ambient-light mirror. Still, we had to strip our own beds and take out our own trash, with no maid service. In a place where homes sell for over 800K, the accommodation felt like a cheap inn. I’d been looking forward to Hilton Head, but after this I don’t want to do business with Spinnaker and can’t recommend it. Aside from the kind front desk staff, I’d give it zero.

We spent three nights here with our infant, just minutes from Coligny Beach. The location made for a lovely first family getaway. We even drove to Savannah for a day trip, then took our baby swimming for the first time at Coligny Beach. The rooms were clean, comfortable, and welcoming, and the coffee maker helped us get going in the morning. Our porch was a perfect spot to sit and watch the turtles. They’ll swim toward you if you feed them, and they’re adorable. The Spanish moss was mesmerizing, and the grounds were well kept. There’s a barbecue area with clean charcoal grills and tables. Staff were helpful, though we only needed them at check-in. Thanks for the memories, until next time :)