Pleasantly surprised by improvements since last visit. We are owners at Grande Ocean but had not been back for 7 years. Last time we stayed there were huge mold spots on the mattresses (they had to actually switch out mattresses as it was that bad), mold on lamp shades, torn and wet carpets, broken appliances just to name a few problems. Took photos and sent to the GM. We swore never to return and have been using vacation exchanges since then. Good reviews on this site encouraged us to return. Glad we did. What a difference. Clean, much updated, new tiles in bath, no mold, new appliances, the villas look great. Had a pleasant week.

To start, checkin was a breeze with very friendly rep. No timeshare mention during the entire stay. Nice underground parking. The rooms were beautiful, large and clean. Nice balcony overlooking one of the pools. New HDTV with HD channels. It was very uncrowded and quiet. Supposedly there was major renovations going on but we did not see or hear any evidence of it. It is located conveniently to everything - restaurants, shopping and free access to Sea Pines resort. The weather was in the low 70's - real comfy. That made for great walks on the hardpacked beach. Lots of scheduled activities for those interested. All employees went out of their way to be friendly. A really great vacation at an exceptional property. We really enjoy Hilton Head and now are going to have to choose between this and Surfwatch - both outstanding Marriott properties.

Our family of six found this vacation exchange on interval. We had never been to Hilton head before so we were looking forward to seeing why all our friends rave about the area. From check in to check out the staff was helpful and very courteous. Our rooms were clean and while a little dated, they were very efficient and comfortable. The view of the beach was gorgeous even though we were in a building farthest from the beach. We were there the week before Christmas and had beautiful weather. We rented bikes from the hotel and had a fun day riding through Sea Pines. We enjoyed the hot tubs and the indoor pool. My children liked the shuffle board and ping pong tables. Our teens loved the shopping available in the area. This was a terrific time to go, it was relaxing and not crowed at all. We would definately go back and stay again.

The Marriott Grand Ocean was a large resort, with a very good location because you could walk right out onto the beach. The condo was well appointed with nice furnishings however the rooms were not cleaned properly. There were dark smudges of hands on both sides of the bathroom door and the windows and patio doors needed to be properly cleaned. We found this affected the beautiful view of the gardens. The grounds outside were really beautiful and the water features and outdoor pools and hot tub was well maintained and clean.This is perfectly located along the main strip so you can bike in the direction to the shops etc. downtown, or into the Sea Pines park. The staff at reception were very helpful and friendly and there were a number of activities planned to meet and greet by the resort. We had a wonderful time....the management just needs to bump up their standards on cleaning.