Kingston Plantation&Gloucester Terrace Apartment 4

Mrs. Shirley from Atlanta, GA made my trip with her amazing service at check-in. I booked a 4 night, 3 day stay through Hilton Grand Vacations that included a timeshare appointment. Two different people had told me online that I’d reserved an ocean condo, but when I arrived, Mrs. Shirley explained it was a villa. I’d thought it meant a condo building by the ocean, not a room in a building farther away. I told her about the mix-up, and she found me a room in one of the oceanfront buildings so the stay matched what I’d been led to expect. It took some time, but she was great the whole way through and went above and beyond.

The condo and building were both very nice, and we had a two-bedroom, two-bathroom place with a full kitchen and beds for 10. Each room opened onto the balcony, which had seating for six. The ocean view wasn’t straight on, but it was close enough for me. My wife and I stayed three nights over Christmas weekend, arriving on Christmas Day, and checked in at the Embassy Suites building before heading to condo #1720 in North Tower. The $300 deposit could go toward parking or Room Service, which meant we could have a pizza delivered at 9pm on Christmas. The resort fee also includes 78 Fitness, a nice gym with an indoor pool. There’s also a heated indoor pool and hot tub in the building, though you need a $20 deposit to get a pool pass from the building manager. The weather was perfect, but we didn’t use the resort pools or visit the onsite brewery. I’d highly recommend this condo stay.

I’ve never been so disappointed with a Hilton, and I don’t want to return to this hotel or Myrtle Beach. The room was bare bones for the price, nothing like the photos, and not very clean. The tub was dirty or worn, there was nowhere to put clothes, and we had to ask for washcloths and coffee. Getting ice meant two elevator rides and a long walk to another building. The K-cup coffee maker was so slimy it was unusable, even after I emptied the standing water, ran water through it, and cleaned it with a washcloth that came away black. Check-in took forever, though the Honors line saved us from waiting hours. We received a small compensation, but it wasn’t enough, and when we explained what happened, all we got was “Oops, sorry.” Tyneshia was nice and gave us a small comp, which is why I gave it a high two.

Our condo was fantastic, with three different balcony areas, and the gated property felt more like a community. It’s well away from the busy tourist side of town, though choices for entertainment and restaurants were limited. Most places were closed by 9:30, and even the ones that were open took a 15-20 minute drive to reach. Noise was a problem: we could hear yelling, loud music, and kids running through the walls. Nearby construction also got very loud early in the morning, with nowhere to get away from it.