The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa — Hotel in Hilton Head Island

HORRIBLE!! AVOID THIS PLACE! OVERALL, IF YOU ARE DEBATING BETWEEN THE WESTIN AND THE OMNI IN HILTON HEAD, DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND STAY AT THE OMNI. DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE THAT WE DID IN TRYING THEM BOTH. I WOULD NEVER CONSIDER STAYING AT THIS WESTING AGAIN AND YOU SHOULD AVOID THIS PLACE UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE DISAPPOINTED.

We made the mistake of staying at the Westin Hilton Head 7/1/23 – 7/3/23, after having a wonderful stay at the Omni Hilton Head 6/29-/23-7/1/23. We had read the reviews before coming down and decided to try them both for a couple of days. The Omni was perhaps the best place that we have ever stayed, was perfect for families with children and couples alike, had employees dedicated to customer service who were kind and accommodating, had larger rooms, was much cleaner and more updated with much better restaurants and poolside service.

The Westin was a mess from before check in. Had requested an early check in at the time of reservation (as we had done with Omni and received), only to find that the Westin had no intention of honoring or even trying for this. Texted through the Marriot Bonvoy app with front desk and was provided no information other than “we don’t guarantee early check in.” Asked them to call me and provided my number but they refused. Arrived at the hotel to find a chaotic front desk with lots of unhappy customers. Unlike the Omni, the front desk staff at the Westin was pretentious and unaccommodating. After speaking to 2 managers they were finally able to get us into our room just 20 minutes early (ie 3:40pm).

The room was #1050 and was dated, with a running toilet and barely functioning sliding glass door to the patio. The caulking around the tub was cracked and dark black (? Moldy). This side of the hotel is not updated and seems to house lots of families who bring dogs, which we did not know prior to booking. At night we tried to watch TV with our kids and had a broken remote control so the TV didn’t work. It took 1 hour to get this fixed after visiting the front desk twice and calling the service desk to get an “engineer” to come fix the remote. While waiting in line to talk to a manager at night, there were several people in front of me who were also waiting to talk with the manager on duty. At the front was a couple who had a flea infested room (they had video of the fleas and showed hotel staff and others in line), and the front desk was not accommodating to them and was trying to charge them still for this room!

The exterior and pool areas were OK. They also seemed dated and in need of updating. They have a pool that is in shade which is nice for young kids, but it was closed 1 of the 2 days because a kid had pooped in it. The poolside staff was professional and accommodating, but overall much less so than the Omni. The pools at the Westin are far worse than the Omni. The beach was perhaps a little nicer but this was negligible, and it was significantly more crowded. Having multiple dogs on the property was a turn off as well and not good for families with young children, or for the general cleanliness of the hotel.

In the end, despite talking with the front desk several times, including managers on duty, the Westin gave a measly $200 credit /discount for the troubles (this as a joke as the room was $650 per night). I gave them several opportunities to make things right but they were unwilling. I advised that they close dose room #1050 to fix it before renting it out again (broken sliding glass door, running toilet, caulking around tub, dated carpet, etc). Unfortunately, the attitude at the Westin is poor, overall pretentious and not acceptable for a place of its cost and supposed caliber.

IF YOU ARE DEBATING BETWEEN THE WESTIN AND THE OMNI IN HILTON HEAD, DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND STAY AT THE OMNI. DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE THAT WE DID IN TRYING THEM BOTH. I WOULD NEVER CONSIDER STAYING AT THIS WESTING AGAIN AND YOU SHOULD AVOID THIS PLACE UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE...

Overall this hotel has so much potential however there are some areas that need significant improvement. My biggest issue was I paid to have an oceanfront room only to have a view of a cement wall unless you sit on the bar height chairs. If you sit on the bed or the chair in the room, there is no view- just a cement wall. We were on the second floor which seemed to be the only floor affected and not at all what is shown in pictures on the Westin website of the room views. I requested to change rooms however no other oceanfront rooms were available. I also booked through a 3rd party website (Delta) so the manager said she couldn't reduce the rate but offered us free breakfast, which we only ate one morning. The manager said the wall was a hurricane wall, however the floor below us had open balconies so it does't make sense a hurricane wall would only be on the second floor. Very disappointed and I feel it is false advertising to charge the premium rate for a room with an obstructed view. We were offered a downgraded room to ocean view but there wasn't a room with a king size bed, only two queens so we chose to just stay where we were. If I stay here again I would only book oceanfront on a higher floor.

As we were checking in, another guest was complaining that the room next to them was smoking and it is unfortunate that there were several rooms we passed going to and from our room that definitely smelled like weed. I have been to other hotels where guests were asked to leave once it was discovered but the smell never seemed to go away.

The hallways which are very long, are very dark and depressing. This could easily be remedied with some lighter paint and better lighting. Also, the door to the employee only area which is one of the first you have to walk past was always cracked open showing what I assume was the laundry area etc. There is only one very small elevator at the very end of the long hallway.

What I did enjoy about the property were the amenities and activities on site. The pool grounds and outdoor restaurant (View 22) was very enjoyable- didn't catch the name of the bartender but he gave excellent service. Also enjoyed the beachfront which was nice and quiet and not overcrowded. The book trading post and beach toy bin that were on the walk out to the beach were nice touches.

it is just a shame the room situation is what it is, because this could be a perfect place to...

We have not even been here for more than a day yet and I’m completely unhappy with our stay so far. The check in process took forever with a long line, my husband was asked to move the car since we weren’t using valet - he was with two kids under two by himself while I was waiting in line (very rude), there was no changing station for a baby in the bathrooms off of the lobby, two of the bathroom stalls were a complete mess, there was a flood in one of the hallways from a room and no wet floor sign was out or anything being done about the huge puddle of water blocking the walkway (it had been there for at least an hour, as we passed by it twice), the lack of elevators in the hotel is absurd, the upcharge of products in the store are ridiculous, the ice cream had freezer burn and was absolutely disgusting, the self parking is awful and it took forever to find a space, we had to park on the side one time and were told to come back an hour later and move our car - no one has time for that on vacation, absolutely nothing is included in your stay that is worth having - every thing is an extra charge and super upcharged; I’m sure there will be more as we aren’t even halfway through our stay. For paying the amount of money we are and staying at a high star hotel as we “thought” this was, this place does not measure up whatsoever. I have photos of many of the complaints. I’ve never been so unhappy or frustrated with a stay before - to the point that I want to leave and would rather go home. I will never recommend this place to anyone else and I will never stay at another Marriott. Very unsatisfied customer.

Also to add - the water stopped working in the whole hotel ( I was told it was a city problem which is fine) but when I called the front desk to ask about it, I was given an attitude by the employee. Also I have baby bottles and stuff to wash and I was never told if the water was safe to use after it came back on. The water appeared dirty for quite awhile. Also when something like this happens, communication is best and giving your customers bottles of water would be ideal. Nothing...