Fresh off a $30 million renovation a visit to the Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa sounded like a great way to spend a weekend. It was a chance to relax, play some great golf courses and introduce Baby Weekly Flyer to the beach on a little island with 12 miles of beachfront.

I had 10 suite night reservations on my SPG account thanks to earning Platinum status, so I booked one room and added a suite night upgrade certificate to the reservation. But from prior experience and being unable to use even 1 suite night award all year, I decided to book a second room as a hedge for extra family space. The Westin is a SPG category 4 which requires 10,000 SPG points per night per room. So adding a second room meant an additional 30,000 Starpoints. Without the extra space the trip just didn’t make sense to us. Our plan was to keep both reservations and if the suite night upgrade cleared, we’d cancel the second reservation.

Hotel

The hotel is located about 20 miles north of Savannah, GA and about 95 miles south of Charleston, SC. The entrance is a quick drive off the main road in Hilton Head. You’ll pass a few Marriott properties on the way. We must have pulled up after a large group of people arrived, because the car valet line was extremely backed up. We waited about 10 minutes for our bags and vehicle to be picked up and then headed inside the lobby.

The lobby felt fresh and had the typical Westin smell mixed with ocean air.

The hotel has several pools including one covered by the pavilion in the picture below.

Complimentary breakfast in the Caroline cafe is offered as check-in amenity to SPG Platinum members. We selected this option and had complimentary breakfast buffet with omelette station each morning of our stay.

Happy hour by the pool included live music on the weekends. We grabbed a table under the covered overhang near the bar to enjoy the music under the shade. There are a few televisions setup by the bar which are good if you want to catch a game outside. 

Ocean/Pool Guest Room

We were upgraded to two Ocean View King rooms upon check-in. Our strategy to get a suite with the SPG suite night upgrades didn’t work, but we were thankful for the extra space with the second room.

The rooms were adjoined by a door between them. So it was easy to walk back and forth. We simply locked Baby Weekly Flyer’s room door and kept the doors open to have access to both rooms when not enjoying the beach. 

Carolina Suite

On the second day a Carolina Suite opened up and we were offered a complimentary upgrade to the suite based on my SPG Platinum status. It took a little while to re-pack and move to the larger room but we were glad we did. Since we had two reservations, they gave us a suite with another adjoining King room.

The Carolina Suite is basically one large room with a divider between the bedroom and the living room / bar / dining area. This room would have been enough for a family with a small child. A pack and play could have easily been setup on the other side of the divider or in the living room. But since we had a second room, we used that room for the pack and play.

The dining table was a great amenity. It came in handy during snack time with Baby Weekly Flyer.

A view of the bar before we stocked it up. It came complete with a sink and small refrigerator.

Both rooms in our suite had nice views of the ocean. Each balcony had two chairs and a small table.

Beach

The beach was definitely the highlight for our trip. This was the first time Baby Weekly Flyer had been to a beach. So we were determined to make it a special trip. We brought all the gear needed to make the best first sand castle.

Since it was Baby Weekly Flyer’s first trip to the beach, I like to tell Mrs. Weekly Flyer that I arranged a private bi-plane fly by for our arrival evening. So after check-in we headed to the beach and the plane show was just beginning. It was spectacular to be that close to the plane as it flew along the beach. 

Checkout the video of the plane flying by in the video below.

Bottom Line

Overall the Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa didn’t disappoint. We received a complimentary upgrades to Ocean View rooms and a Suite during our stay. The room and resort renovation looks good. It will be interested to see how the proposed new Hyatt Jekyll Island compares.

Related Posts

• Private Bi Plane Fly By At Hilton Head Beach Is Sure To Impress…
• SPG Year in Review
• How To Search SPG Award Availability By Day Of Month
• SPG Platinum Members To Get Unlimited Delta Upgrades
• No Suite Upgrades All Year And SPG’s Apology
• Starwood – SPG Platinum Members To Get Unlimited Delta Upgrades
• Starwood – Starwood Crossover Rewards With Delta
• Starwood – Starwood Nights & Flights Plus Airline Transfer Award Redemption Option
• Starwood – Starwood’s Cash + Points Option Plus Hotel Award Chart
• Starwood – How to earn 1,000 to 1,500 extra points per Sheraton stay
• Starwood – How to request a suite upgrade
• Starwood – Gold status match request
• Starwood – Starwood Preferred Guest program overview
• Starwood – Collect cash back with every Starwood hotel booking
• Starwood – Award for reaching Platinum elite level
• Starwood – 35% code for the W hotel store
• Starwood – Increase your suite size, look closely at suite descriptions
• Starwood – Use SPG points for priceless VIP moments
• Starwood – Lifetime status
• Starwood – Top 10 complimentary suite upgrades on award stays

Sign up for Email || Twitter || Facebook || Tips & Tricks

Hotel Offers || Airline Offers || Bank Offers || Cash Back Offers

Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express- Up to 25,000 Bonus Points