Sonesta Resort Hilton Head Island

Clean, updated rooms, nice pool, nice beach

The hotel is right on the beach and has a great location.

The staff at this hotel were very unfriendly and unprofessional. I had booked a deluxe queen room, but upon arrival, the only room available was an accessible room. We were told the only difference was a larger bathroom, but that was misleading. The room was extremely basic - just two queen beds, with no cabinets, no wardrobe, no hangers, no iron or ironing board, and barely any space in the bathroom to place toiletries. On top of that, we were charged the resort fees twice and had to return to reception with our booking confirmation to get reimbursed. The staff handled this poorly. When I raised concerns about the room, the receptionist was dismissive, even laughing and saying he didn’t care, and that we would have to pay extra for a better room. The restaurant service was equally disappointing. We waited over 40 minutes just to place an order, and eventually gave up and went to the buffet because no one came to assist us. Additionally, beach access is not as convenient as expected - you have to pay extra for chairs and umbrellas, and even then, they may be sold out. Overall, the hotel is overpriced for what it offers, and there is a clear need for better staff training and customer service.

This hotel is NOT a four-star resort. Good luck getting ahold of anyone. And when you do, they are incredibly rude and disorganized. My entire family came in to surprise my mom for her birthday, and we did not get the rooms we booked because they "overbooked" themselves (their words) Easter weekend. The "breathtaking views" they advertised for our suite was a full view of a massive roof emiting steam and foul odors, my parents got a view of the parking lot, and my sister got a king bed instead of two queens for her family. We were treated like garbage by the assistant manager, who said, "Do you want it or not?" and offered no discount, solution, or even a simple apology. Beware that apparently this is a common theme here and you are not guaranteed what you book, but you will be expected to pay full price for it!

Customer service was top notch. We loved the dining options, the poolside bar, the adult pool and hot tub. The location and proximity to the beach with all the showers and restroom was fantastic. Loved that we could bring our pet. Loved the dog bones at check-in and the water bowls around. Valet was very good. Checkout and the bellman was very fast and good. The breakfast buffet at Patio was wonderful. We would love to return for a longer stay!

The activity area was low on balls for ping pong and badminton. We had fun putting on the green. The badminton racquets were all broken except one. We still had fun but wished it were kept up better.

Looks great, but that’s about it. Check in time is 4 PM and we arrived at 5 (so not early especially when checkout is 11 am) and our room was not ready and was not ready until after 6 PM. Best we were offered for the delay was a $50 credit or free breakfast after I complained (no offer had I not complained). Was told the manager would call us to make things right. Women’s lobby bathroom was in horrendous condition for my children and I to change into swim attire. Men’s restroom was completely closed so my husband had go across the property for a bathroom. Kids enjoyed the pool. Service at the patio restaurant was extremely slow but the food was good once it arrived. Sofa bed sheets were 2 flat sheets (no fitted and no blanket) and only 1 pillow. Only hot 3 bath towels for a family of 4. Called housekeeping for towels, pillows, and blankets and never received any despite an in person follow-up at the front desk. (You’ll be shocked the manager never called us either.) Breakfast buffet did not have pancakes which disappointed my children. I also heard a staff member arguing with someone else’s child about syrup being on the table or not. One of the three elevators had a coffee spill in it which made it practically unusable (only 2 out of the 3 elevators seemed to be in service at all) and further delayed us trying to escape this hotel that claims to be a four diamond AAA hotel. Will not stay again and will be sharing feedback with AAA as well.

Make it easy on yourself and your family and DO NOT BOOK at Sonesta Hiton Head. We arrived after booking 8 months in advance to learn that our room had one bed for a family of 4. The check in assistant was rude and only offered a free roll away. The other family that travelled booked an ocean front suite and if they were given a parking lot view suite. the pool closes early, the pool bar closes at 6. This place isn’t worth it.