Wild Dunes Resort - Sweetgrass Inn and Boardwalk Inn, a Destination by Hyatt Hotel — Hotel in Isle of Palms

TLDR: utterly ridiculous parking which forces you to pay for valet or drive in circles, mismanagement resulting in too young and not enough staff, primary goal is to charge you more fees, not worth paying money to stay here.

One ply toilet paper in the room, ridiculous for any resort. Steep resort fees with MINIMAL free parking, valet would be $35 a night. During the weekend expect to join the line of cars circling the tiny double parked lot hoping for someone to leave. You may find parking along back court rd where there are no signs specifying what parking pass is required, if any. I still showed our BWI pass on the dash. What a great way to relax when you're stressed to even leave a spot If you get it otherwise you're adding money to your bill. Yet they have AMPLE employee parking in the lot down the road. It questions what the resort fees are even for when when free activities to do are severely limited. Family based activities can be completed in a day, so any extended vacation becomes repetitive and they still are not free. Beach chairs are for members only or for steep rental fees. The Boardwalk inn room that was booked was a king bedroom, our bed was made up of two combined twin mattresses, which is shorter than a king and frankly false advertising. Housekeeping obeys do not disturb signs but didn't replenish our robes or fill up the shower supplies. When we got into the room we had three towels for four guests but housekeeping gave us the correct number after a cleaning. There is also no ability to cast devices to the TV. Hyatt status typically comes with a preferred room upgrade, we got a level one room that faced a side street with a shared balcony. Disappointing but not something to expect to happen everytime. We did have two young children on our booking with the ages shown, yet we were booked in a room with a shower instead of a tub. Hyatt status also comes with late checkout, however, the front desk and information documents says this comes with a fee. We also were not given the free waters that come with status. You'd be surprised how little water fill-up stations there are throughout the resort. There is also a lack of online ordering at restaurants so you can order wherever you are. All of the charges from various restaurants have the same billing label so don't plan on organizing your expenses. We did not find out that you could bill to your room until the last day, it would have made it easier to not carry around a wallet. Information that should be presented during check-in. There is not really any pool side service for any restaurants or bars, probably due to the lack of staff. The pool at the sweet grass inn is the best for kids, the boardwalk inn is adults only, and the beach pools are kid friendly but can be crowded. The towel systems are nice so you don't have to worry about bringing any, if they have towels or the hamper isn't full. It's a $25 fee if you do not return the towel, but at times the return hamper was so full you couldn't even fit any inside. Indicative that staff is low or not doing their job. It's quite obvious that management is poor when the entire staff is basically made up of high school students and during rush hour only two people are running an entire store. If you go into the sweet shop after dinner or the coffee shop in the morning, the line wraps around the inside of the store because two people are working and most likely one is an inexperienced high school student. It's not their fault either, it's the managements fault who scheduled not enough people. We were at the pizza shop one night and were told a 45 min wait, it happened to only be about 15 mins, but after we got sat down no one came to take our order for 20 mins. During that 20 mins I watched as friends of the younger wait staff asked if they could get a table, they immediately got sat next to us and proceeded to order, eat, pay, and leave before we got food. With younger inexperienced staff comes the chance of lower or preferred service. Management needs a...

Samantha Ellyn was our direct contact. Her communication was GREAT and all my questions were answered. Sam and I worked well together and finalized everything in the E.O (Event Order) Execution & Safety is where our Wedding Day fell extremely short. First of our Day-of problems, We had our guests arrive through the rooftop bar go through the terrace to the ceremony space. When I arrived to line up, people were being directed through the reception space, missing the decor & seeing me prior to walking down the aisle. They had locked the doors with chain locks until I got there and fussed. The AC was broken & we were sweating until about 9:30pm. Service- Cocktail hour FOOD was fantastic. Our guests LOVED it and the view was great. We had arranged for a bourbon bar with smoked drinks. Bartender didn't know what he was doing. This was the grooms non-negotiable for booking. RECEPTION- Our EO stated that our cocktail hour items would be at our SH table. They were not. We noticed a lack of professionalism & attire of the staff. They were mismatched, untucked & looked out of sorts. We only found out after we met with the Events Dir. they had 7 people call out & had to call in a staffing company. The inside bar didnt have the upgraded Wine we had paid for. Cake- We chose the Cookie Dough flavor with edible pieces. THIS IS NOT WHAT WE GOT. We got vanilla cake w/ vanilla frosting. Also, we were sent home with another couple's top tier. The cake was to accompany coffee and tea service. The staff cut the cake & left it for my guests to go pick up from a serving tray. Coffee & tea was not served. Not a waiter in sight. They had been relieved to go help the larger wedding downstairs. Late-night bites. They were to be served but were left on a table with to-go containers for guests. We did not receive all the items we contracted either. Wedding Crashers- My bridal party had to escort them out as they had come up to me multiple times, tried to take photos, stepped on my dress, drank alcohol and ate food. They were found bragging the next day upon check out. There were several noise complaints that evening. The 6th floor venue is not well soundproofed. We obliged by noise ordinance regulations & the rules set forth by the resort. I went to use the restroom & saw a police officer outside the reception room. I asked if everything was ok & she said she was just patrolling. Next, 4 police officers standing inside our reception attracting everyone’s attention. RUINING OUR NIGHT. A guest called them since the Resort had not resolved her issue & proceeded to take matters into her own hands. She found herself entitled to come upstairs & unplug the DJ equipment & make a scene. The police said they had seen nothing wrong with our wedding. Instead of celebrating more & saying goodbye to our guests, I had to speak with the mgr on duty & cops bc they failed to protect us from guests. Imagine had she been armed with a weapon or worse? The hotel did nothing to mediate the situation. Access to the venue should have been regulated. The Mgr was disrespectful, he tried to make us feel bad for what he had been through with noise complaints. It was all everyone could talk about the rest of the weekend. We met with Jeffrey Payne. He said he did everything in his power to make it better as he came back with a best and final subpar solution. Ask me if this was the best day of my life and I will tell you, No.

Hotel Accommodations: All of our guests liked the accommodations aside from those that rented condos through the resort. They were told they would be close and within walking distance but were placed miles away. They were guaranteed the shuttle and most of them were stood up several times. Causing many guests to arrive late to the wedding. I even had groomsmen walking to the Sweetgrass Inn from Lagoon Villas, carrying their suits because the shuttle never showed. The kicker, I now checked my credit card to find I was duplicate charged for...

While there are plenty of family-friendly resorts on the Pacific Coast and Gulf of America coast, Wild Dunes Resort is the only one we have found on the Atlantic coast outside of the Florida Keys. ||As an oceanfront family resort, Wild Dunes checks all the boxes: guard gated, multiple heated pools, plenty of restaurants, beachfront access, games, activities, and an ice cream parlor. The grounds are beautiful, tranquil, relaxing and nicely laid out. The limited access provides a feeling of safety to let older kids roam about on their own.||Globalist are given vouchers for complimentary breakfast at three of the onsite food and beverage outlets, so one can switch it up each morning for variety.||We were there to celebrate the birthday of a family member who raved about the top notch treatment and amenities in the Sweetgrass Spa during our visit.||Given the previous disastrous TA reviews, the accommodations far exceeded expectations. Our family had two two-bedroom two bath suites and one studio suite. Both floor plans had washer, dryer, and dishwashers ensuite. The two-bedroom units have full kitchens while the studios have a kitchenette. All three units we had were nicely renovated. The studio had plenty of bathroom lighting but had low illumination, which made the bathroom darker than it should have been. Ok, for guys but possibly problematic for women putting on make up. The studio bath also had what looked like an original vanity that was well worn an out of place with the refreshed aesthetic.||The two bedroom suites are more thoroughly remodeled with large, bright bathrooms; generously sized kitchens, and large dining tables. Bedrooms are spacious with smallish TVs. These suites are comfortably suited for families on vacation who want to prepare meals, or grab takeout and dine in.||Although the rooms have been recently updated, the TV in the living room of our 2 BR suite did not work nor did the dishwasher. More significantly, the Residences at Sweetgrass doesn’t have a proper cleaning program for the rugs in the rooms. All of the rugs had stains or were soiled to some degree. Moreover, signs of mold and mildew in the shower are indicative shoddy housekeeping. Razorblade needed to strip out the old caulk, thorough cleaning with bleach, then recaulking with silicon.||Service here is solid! Expect near Four Seasons level hospitality. The folks here really try hard to ensure you have an enjoyable experience. Valet and bell staff are prompt and courteous as were the shuttle drivers. There were some real standouts that deserve mentioning by name: Thomas in the Oystercatcher Restaurant for insuring oatmeal was specially prepared for my son each morning although it is not on the menu; and Bojpelo at the front desk for making sure we were well cared for during our stay.||I would surely put Wild Dunes Residences at Sweetgrass on regular resort rotation if we lived on the east coast. It is so relaxing! Unfortunately, with no direct flights from other parts of the country it requires a lot more work to get to than the Florida resorts if you don’t live...