View of May River from the Town Green at Palmetto Bluff

       At The Vacation Company, we try to inform our guests and friends of everything there is to do and add our own recommendations, yet there is always something more, and extraordinarily suitable for all tastes and ages, like the jazz concert we experienced last night on the Palmetto Bluff town green with about six hundred other music lovers.  This lovely development along the May River is home to the award-winning five-star boutique hotel known as the Inn at Palmetto Bluff, and is arranged around the burned ruins of a prior mansion.  The lamplit streets and reconstructed buildings surround the town square where the house once stood, and is now a gorgeous landscaped park perfect for outdoor events overlooking the water.

The Inn at Palmetto Bluff & Jazz Lovers

 Kudos to the organizers, sponsors, and performers who made this classy, family event both affordable, and noteworthy.  The $25/car donation went to Bob & Lois Masteller’s (owners of The Jazz Corner), philanthropic outreach program, the Junior Jazz Foundation (JFF), whose dual missions are, ”the preservation of the American art form of jazz through the education of young musicians by supplying instruments, scholarships, classes, seminars, a summer jazz camp AND presenting quality live music performances to the community to continue to ‘Keep Jazz Alive’”.  Concerts and events outdoors at Palmetto Bluff occur every so often throughout the season, so if you are visiting with us, please check the newspaper, or here at HiltonHeadsUp, or one of the many local online event calendars.  It’s a blast!

48 Kingston Road, Shipyard Resort

View of Dock Behind Swimming Pool at 48 Kinston

This lovely home nestled within Shipyard Resort  has a gorgeous lagoon view with sundeck on the bank, just past the large swimming pool that’s surrounded by decking, with a gas grill and covered patio dining table (seating for 6).  Phew… did I forget anything?  And that’s just the back yard of this beautifully upgraded home.  Inside, you will be treated to elegant decor, with a delightful cozy, Colonial touch.  Rich textures and colors are off-set by a fresh coat of light yellow paint, white moldings and pillars, and accents that prepare you for the gorgeous swimming pool and surrounding sundeck.  Just take a look here if you don’t believe me.  And if you take a look now and call, you might still get the 20% discount we are offering on the 1st 3 reservations.

Or maybe, you want a high-rise ocean-oriented corner view in Palmetto Dunes for the same 20% off instead?  Then check out the next one…

3427 Villamare, Oceanfront, Palmetto Dunes       

Master BR with Stylish Upgrades

This 2 BR, 2 BA 4th floor REMODELED OCEANFRONT  CORNER UNIT, is exactly what you are looking for.  You will love the open floor plan, where the white-tiled kitchen overlooks the living area, right out to the balcony.  My favorite touch is the master bedroom that is accessed through French doors just past the kitchen, which has a private sliding glass door to the balcony, AND  has an en-suite bath, with separate standing shower.  You’ll feel like you’re living like the Romans did back in the day… only without a bunch of people watching while you bathe.  You won’t miss out here, because the guest room has its own private balcony and queen bed and new carpet and furnishings as well, plus a mini fridge!  Can we think of anything else?  Okay, I won’t ask.  Just check out the 20% special.

The Villamare complex, is front and central to all things Palmetto Dunes; swimming pool, new fitness center & sandy beach, Marriott and Hilton Resort Hotels, bike trails, kayak rentals, golf courses, tennis courts… and if you don’t know where to turn, just take a free ride on the Palmetto Dunes Buggy to Shelter Cove Marina where you can shop & dine till you drop, go charter fishing on the Bayrunner Fishing Charter, or simply enjoy seasonal live entertainment and weekly fireworks.

       You will love the newest members of The Vacation Company family, just as I love writing about them.  All remodeled and enhanced for optimum vacation fun.  Don’t let these get away from you this year, if you’re still debating the summer vacation question.  In fact, we’re so sure you will love these new properties, we’re offering a 20% discount to the first five reservations on each one.  How do you like those apples?  Pretty good apples, right?

         Today, I’m introducing two glorious South Beach winners.  If you want to see ALL the new properties, because you can’t possibly wait until the next property blog report, then check out the new rentals here, and don’t hesitate to call us at 855.845.7018 with any questions.  If you can contain yourself for a few days, the rest of the properties will be highlighted here.

1468 Sound Villa

Is that the Atlantic beyond those trees?

South Beach, Sea Pines, Hilton Head Island

4 BR, 4 BA

OCEANFRONT

FREE TENNIS, FREE SWIMMING

Did we mention the Atlantic Ocean at the end of the private pathway?

Breakfast room of champions!

  1746 Bluff Villa

South Beach, Sea Pines, Hilton Head Island

3 BR, 2 BA

SOUND VIEW

FREE TENNIS, FREE SWIMMING

You don’t have to look towards the ocean every morning, only the ones that you spend here.

 Check us out on Facebook, as these and more new properties get posted.  Any questions?  Email us any time.  Have a great day!

Spirit of RBC Heritage, Willie Innes, Waves to Fans in the St. Patrick's Day Parade 2011

Just a reminder to our guests and visitors who are arriving today – thinking they will miss St. Patrick’s Day events back home next weekend because they will be traveling back from their Hilton Head vacation on the 17th - fret not, islanders have thought of this and will be hosting a celebration for you tomorrow, March 11, 2012.  The Hilton Head Island St. Patrick’s Day parade begins at 3:00 pm on Sunday, and each year it gets bigger and more fun. 

Vacation Company guests will be especially pleased because all of our rental properties are on the south end of the island, which is also the location of the parade route; the whole length of Pope Avenue.  And lest you think we schedule this a week prior to the real St. Patrick’s Day event so we will have an excuse to drink outside in the street in the middle of the day twice in a week – once here and once on the Savannah parade route, six days later – I have it on good authority, that this is not the case.  In fact, I was told, islanders do not need a reason to drink outside in the middle of the day twice in a week, thank you very much, they do it as a matter of principle.  Just kidding… sort of. 

No. The real reason is that we don’t want to interfere with the Savannah Green River Deluge Festival which falls directly on the calendar holiday, nor do we want to clog up the streets on a Saturday, which is the traditional check-in day for vacationers who travel lo’ those many miles to enjoy a week of sunshine and sand.  Of course, one could argue, that visitors traveling in on a Sunday might wonder whether or not they took a wrong turn off 95 and wound up in the local booby hatch. 

The Local Booby Hatch

Which brings me to this very funny cartoon, a base fraternity-level joke that I was hoping I could resist posting, but am sadly not yet evolved enough to withstand the childish urge to share.  I’m sorry if I have let down my supporters.  Please undo your top button and laugh.

AND FROM ALL OF US AT THE VACATION COMPANY,

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!

This is not the case, so if you peruse this blog and see a number of exclamation points, it is because I’m reviewing the restaurant Eat! (which almost makes me want to follow with the word “now!” or to actually shout the name of the restaurant whenever I say it, which would give my friends pause, wondering if I was telling them to meet me there shortly.  It also complicates the fundamentals of punctuation that we Type A’s try to follow, making us use less dots and dashes throughout our copy but then we’re always wondering if readers will understand where and what we mean to emphasize - sorry, digressing). 

Drink! now! the lounge at Eat!, Hilton Head, SC

Robert Irvine’s other restaurant is nosh, which tells you he’s not hung up on stylized prose and frills.  This is a good thing, because he obviously puts his gray matter energy into the cuisine, which you will totally get after just one meal.  We, of course, have enjoyed many more than one meal at Eat!, located in the Village at Wexford – adjacent to the Jazz Corner  (very convenient for music lovers) - where you will be treated to a delectable array of tapas, entrees, and desserts, in a very chi-chi, but not at all pretentious atmosphere. Everything fits the bill as it should, without over or underdoing any details.  For example, booths are round and comfortable, with high backs, so you feel as though you are in an intimate setting, while not being cut off from civil society, which would be the extreme of intimate dining; as in, ’”Honey is this the time-out room?  I told you not to scarf down all those olives at the bar.”  The decor is a little New York deco, with really cool stone, cave-like, very clean bathrooms with water dripping down the walls, and sensored gadgets that always seem to work; another pleasant surprise meaning it is a well-maintained restaurant.

Now to the food, which has never let us down (“It’s about time,” you’re thinking to yourself, “When is she going to get to the food?”). First of all, I get she crab bisque every time, perfectly seasoned with big lumps of crabmeat.  We also have the prime rib sliders at every visit with brie and a sliced pickle, always perfectly cooked.  We also like the tuna tartare, very zesty and fresh adding a tantalizing chill to the palate which offsets the savory warmth of the other appetizers.  Other appetizer winners are paneed blue crab cakes, bacon & shallot compote topped oysters, creole barbeque prawns with bacon & horseradish, fried green tomatoes with brown butter & feta cheese, and baked brie, which pretty much covers all the appetizers on the menu, I just noticed.

My favorite entrees have been, in no particular order, blackened snapper & tomato harvarti grits with bay shrimp & a red pepper goat cheese coulis, char-grilled N.Y Strip – prepared different ways,  and whatever fish special they are offering.  Another fave is the pan-roasted free-range chicken roulade stuffed with pork sausage, drizzled with pan jus, and served with yukon mashed potato.  This is Johnny’s standard that he orders every time, and every time he tells our server, “You know, I never order chicken when we’re out except when we come here, it’s that good.”  And every time the same waiter, being a good sport, says, “Really?  That’s high praise, thanks for telling me.”  The  menu changes frequently, and the aforementioned dishes may be served a little differently if you go there in a few weeks.  Please remember this when looking over the menu and thinking to yourself, “Boy, that The Vacation Company blogger really doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

Finally the desserts, again never fail to delight.  And again we have a constant, the sweet potato bread pudding with tabasco ice cream, a surprisingly great blend of flavors if you haven’t ventured into the fairly recent trend of totally out-of-your-head ice cream combinations (others that I have tried and loved are basil ice cream and feta cheese).  Please try these at any fine restaurant when you see them.  I’ve never been disappointed.

The service is excellent, and our guy Nathan, who works early in the week, is the go-to front house man always looking after us, even when we’ve called too late or just showed up, unprepared, and you can see the pained wrinkles around the corners of his ears and you know he’s thinking to himself, “Can’t these idiots even organize themselves around a simple dinner reservation?” while he graciously smiles, shakes my husband’s hand and says, “Of course, no problem Johnny, if you don’t mind waiting at the bar, I’m sure we will have a table for you in a moment.”  And he always does.  What a guy.  In case you didn’t know, Nathan is Johnny’s guy at Eat!  (Johnny has a guy for everything; the car - both buying and fixing -, the hair, the clothes, and of course, eating out.  Price over at Truffles is his other guy for eating out.  And in case you were wondering, Bob is the guy for fixing the car, Frank in Providence is for buying the car, Charlie is the hair guy, and Hughey at Knickers is one of his many guys for buying clothes.)

Telegenic Chef Robert Irvine Flexing His Career Muscle

 The owner, very telegenic Robert Irvine, has his own website describing his career, as well as four television shows, and recipe books, making it hard to imagine how he does all that while maintaining such high standards in his restaurants; actually, one imagines he has a marvelous team of chef’s in-training, interns, and p.r. minions excited to just be part of his organization.  This is evidenced by the wonderful staff at the Hilton Head restaurant.  And if he hasn’t already, he should definitely consider doing a tv show here (and if he has, he should do several more) because the place is filled with marvelously telegenic employees from the hostesses, servers, to the busboys, bartenders, and even the cute kid who waited on us in the lounge the last couple of times we were there.  And of course, don’t forget Nathan, Johnny’s guy at the front.  Very charming.  Of course, tv shows would really pack the place out more than it already is, and Johnny and I would have to get it together and better organize ourselves around dinner reservations. 

Menu prices are on the high-end-ish ranging from $18-$36 for an entree on any given day (high, only if you’re from around here or the mid-west; deli-counter prices if you are from New York, Boston, California, or Providence, Rhode Island),  but well worth it for the quality, service, and ambience.  For more information, details, and directions, go to Eat!’s website, now!  Ha, ha, get it? Or just call for reservations, 843.785.4850 (ahead of time, please.  Just because last-minute works for the Legendary Johnny D, I can’t promise it will work for you).  Or, if you’d like to take one of their cooking classes, check out the Eat! events calendar for dates and times.

P.S.  And don’t forget to tip well (I have to say that, having worked in Hilton Head restaurants a while back – not that long ago, smarty-pants – and know that I would be shot on-sight if I didn’t remind everyone to remember your servers and bartenders).

Driving Around Hilton Head With the Top Down in February

Yesterday, after taking my dog Sam, for a run on the beach wearing shorts(me wearing shorts, not Sam), I decided to take a ride with my husband across the island, over the bridge with scenic marsh grasses and swooping fishing birds rushing by in our convertible WITH THE TOP DOWN, BECAUSE IT WAS 84 DEGREES.  Yessss. 

Now, you may be wondering why I didn’t just post a picture of myself driving across the bridge in my husband’s convertible with the top down, rather than Googling an image of movie stars to illustrate my point, and that would be a valid wonderment.  The answer to that is, I tried; but almost got pulled over by our overly alert police cruisers for weaving across the dividing lines while holding my smartphone out in the air like a self-absorbed bimbo taking her own picture of herself in order to show off on Facebook (three things I was going to show off; 1. my husband’s cool black Mercedes E350 A cabriolet, 2. my new hair-do which was whipping across my face, blinding me to on-coming traffic, and 3. how warm it is on Hilton Head Island in February that I can ride around in the car with the top down, smiling into my IPhone like an idiot). 

Why didn’t my husband snap the picture, you ask in even more valid wonderment? Because Johnny D has not mastered the forward/backward face-time camera thingy on his smart phone, yet.  We are working on that and will regale our future guests and viewers with a video of Johnny using his smart phone to search The Vacation Company’s cool new mobile platform for a fabulous vacation rental that may also be included in our fabulous winter/spring specials offer, if we ever figure out how to use it.

And, for those of you who landed on this blog by mistake because you were Googling “Who’s driving in that convertible with Paris Hilton?” , that’s a record-setting 84 degrees, February 23, 2012 on Hilton Head Island.  I’ll save you the trouble of hitting the back-button on your browser, and just show you Paris’ BFF here in her Bentley Convertible:

Paris Hilton and Her BFF Ride in Her Pink Bentley Convertible With the Top Down, Not Anywhere Near Hilton Head Island.

Now, if you’re still reading this, stay with me because you will get a reward for being so trusting and patient. You can ride bikes, drive your convertible with the top down, play tennis & golf, and loll on the beach, right now on Hilton Head WITH  a discounted rate of $100/bedroom off your weekly vacation rental* between now and May 17, 2012.  Now that’s a deal, right? Check out our available properties, because spring is selling out quickly, what with Hilton Head being the second most favorite place to golf, voted by the Pros (GolfWorld Poll, January, 2012), right behind Augusta, and coincidentally, we follow immediately after the Masters tournament on the PGA tour schedule – April 9-15, 2012.  Is that a sign from above, or what! 

Whew… What in the world will I yammer on and on about next week? Hilton Head is such a fun place, I want everyone to know about it.  So send this to your friends and family, Like us on Facebook and Twitter, and call us about our special vacation rentals, before they get scooped up by Paris Hilton’s fans who landed here by mistake.  NOW.

But I digress.

In an effort to share our joy of mid-winter beach days on Hilton Head, we’d like to lure you in with an early spring incentive to really yank your boss’ tail and take off a whole week, just for kicks!  How about $100 off any of our weekly vacation rentals? Not good enough?  Okay, how about $100 PER BEDROOM OFF  from February 25th through May 17th, 2012*?  Is that better? 

Thought so.

13 Man O'War, Patio View... Perfect for a Mid-winter Happy Dance.

Now here’s the kicker, call a Guardian Angel today for details: 855.845.7018, and you might get lucky enough to snag an OCEANFRONT WINNER LIKE THIS ONE AT 13 MAN O’WAR  IN PALMETTO DUNES.  Make sure to bring all your electronic gizmos to take pictures and send back to your colleagues immediately - in real time -  just to stir up the pot a little further at the office.  Your kids will love you, your husband/wife will love you, and your boss will probably stew a bit, but who cares?  He’s there, you’re here.  You can even do a happy dance singing nah… nah… nah-nah… nah, right on your back patio in front of the beachfront infinity pool, in your birthday suit, and he won’t even see you.  Of course, the residents here might see you, and your kids, and the landscaper guy, and then, well you’d have to spend the rest of your vacation in the Beaufort clink where you only get clumpy grits and water day in/ day out, and not even with cheese or butter or salt even if you ask nicely… not that I would know.  Might as well forget the whole thing and stay home for a latte daiquiri eye-opener and bar-rista’s phone number on the way to work…    Just kidding. 

But seriously, wouldn’t you rather have that daiquiri down here with us? 

BOOK NOW.

*This offer is not valid with any other discount and excludes Easter and Heritage Weeks

View from SeaCrest PH 5

For more pictures and description, click here and be wowed! Or, call a Vacation Company Guardian Angel for more information: 800.845.7018.

Restaurant Week, HHI, SC, 1/21 - 1/27/2012

Welcome to a week of savory fun at participating Hilton Head restaurants! 

A group of our famous restaurants will be offering prix fixe dinners at discounted menu prices from January 21 – January 27, 2012 to celebrate and inspire great island cusine, while galvanizing the public to get out of their winter caves and try places they haven’t been.

This year a contest has been added for restaurant-goers to vote for their favorite Restaurant Week establishment.  Everyone who votes will also be included in a random drawing for dinner for two at one of the participating restaurants.  Also new this year is a partnership with Foodspotting, an online picture gallery of dishes from foodies’ favorite places.  The website invites diners to upload pictures of the dishes they are about to eat, and then also send in a review for others to evaluate before they head out to a Restaurant Week business and make their own choices.

The whole celebration is much more interactive this year, engaging customers and restaurants in website activities to keep everyone informed and bring word-of-mouth advertising to our popular local restaurants. For more information, lists of restaurants and menus, go to the Chamber of Commerce Restaurant Week web page.

From all of your friends and Guardian Angels at The Vacation Company, Bon Appetit!