We stayed a week at Seaside Villas for the first time over Memorial Day. This complex is right on the beach and the pool and grounds are sparkling clean and well landscaped. The proximity to restaurants, markets and shops can't be beat and it's right down the street from SeaPine's back entrance. We've been coming to the Island for nine years and have always stayed in the Marriott hotel and their timeshare properties.

The important thing to know about Seaside is that all units are individually owned. We booked through VRBO, relied on the owner's pictures on their site and requested extra pictures from the owner. Once there, we found the unit to be basicaly as depicted but not very clean. Had I performed an internet search on that particular unit number I would have discovered other helpful posts about that particular unit and the user's experience with the owners.

Here are some helpful tips:

1. Ask for extra pictures of the unit from the owner. Make sure that the bathroom has been renovated as this is an older property. There is nothing worse that an old, scummy bathroom.
2. Rent a unit that is managed by a local company. Our unit was clearly a "you clean it yourself" situation; however, the owners had represented it as if they used a cleaning service and had charged a cleaning fee. There was no local contact.
3. Bring your own sheets, towels, and cleaning supplies if you have high standards of cleanliness. We brought our own and ended up using them as the owners' sheets and towels were not up to par.
4. Approach another vacationer and ask if you could take a peek inside of their unit. Note the bathroom (renovated or not, quality of bedding and furniture. Inquire about their experience with the owners. Make note of that particular unit number for future visits.
5. Be wary if the price is too affordable and the unit picture appear too generic. You get what you pay for and you don't want to be staying in a flop house.
6. Rent units that have positive comments listed. Make note if there are comments from repeat customers. There were no comments listed for our unit which was telling.
7. Do an internet search of the actual unit number and the owner's name. We found very helpful comments about our actual unit from other sites after the fact.

I hope that this post is useful. We are going back to Seaside for Labor Day. You simply can't beat the price for the location!!

My husband and I stayed here in May of 2007. We had no reservations and looked at alot of different places in hilton head that we turned down. We finally were pleasantly surprised with the Seaside Villas. We did not secure our keys at the complex however, we payed/got our keys offsite at another location who owned/managed a few of the condos here at Seaside. We did see a few different ones in this same building, and all are individually owned, so you are going to get different furniture/decor at each unit. Villa 127 had a newer kitchen and was bright and airy. The pool faced the front lot area and was not oceanfront but it was very nice and relaxing. The condo itself was nice and clean and was a 1 bedroom & really was all we needed. Our view was farther off, side ocean view, not directly facing the ocean, but it could still be seen from the balcony if you turned to the left. I uploaded a few pictures so you can see the view. they had a lovely wooden deck walk that you got to the beach from and it was really a gorgeous walk. Hilton Head has a much different atmosphere compared to other beaches. We as a quiet and laid back younger couple found that there is a much older age span of travelers and locals than people in their 20s and 30s. While Seaside Villas are nice, it may be a while before we visit Hilton Head again. The locals really catered to a much Older crowd.

We booked Seaside Villa #138 through vrbo. The first thing you notice is the security gates which you can not get through without a key fob. Then, it was difficult to get the door unlocked. That's okay though; good security. The condo is small for a family of four, but we have managed just fine. The coffee table is so large we actually are using it to eat meals on since the table area is tight. The little kitchen area has granite countertops, neutral colors in the villa are calming, and (most importantly) it is relatively clean with a comfortable couch and bed. My youngest son loves the hallway bunkbed. There are several BBQ grills here underneath a nice shaded area, and the pool area gates are difficult to open for kids (you have to be tall to unlock the gates). We have an ocean view and the website photo appears to be a closer view, and the web page states "oceanfront beach villa", but it is misleading. Most of our view is of the parking lot, but we would prefer to have a direct oceanfront view. The price was reasonable for HHI and the villas are very close to Coligny Plaza. We love the location, and that is probably it's best selling point. See this webpage for more information on this villa: http://www.vrbo.com/51710

We had a wonderful time at Seaside Villas-----we enjoyed the pool (practically had it to ourselves) and the ocean and just sitting on the beach and watching the night sky.

We also enjoyed checking out things to do in the area and traveling to some nearby towns we'd heard or read about,.

The condo where we stayed was in excellent shape.