Island Links Resort by Palmera

The 3-BR Villa was adequate, but very poorly designed. The master bedroom has no windows and minimal privacy. Two baths are not adequate for 9 people. The beds are less than average quality and the sofa bed is terrible. The furnishings are old and the TV in the living area is worn out. Pool towels are better distributed at the pool and then left there for washing. The grounds are not well kept and our view from the patio door was uninviting.

We wanted to stay in Hilton Head and chose Island Links Resort through an RCI timeshare exchange.

The resort itself is nice, embedded in a rustic setting filled with trees. It is spread out and some sections appear much nicer than others, with views on the pond and golf course.

Our unit (135) was on the ground floor. It was clean and furnished nicely.

BUT, the front window faced the elevator tower and the view was a wall and people getting into and out of the elevator (three story building).

The rear faced the communal barbecue area and a well-trodden path and “pit”.

So much for keeping the shades open and enjoying any view and privacy at all.

If we knew we were staying more than 3 nights we would have insisted on a room change. This must be the worst unit (again #135) in the complex and by far the worst unit we have ever stayed in over our 25 years with RCI.

Spent a week with the family at the Island Links Resort. Spacious unit, adequate kitchen supplies for a few in-house meals and comfortable beds. Resort grounds were kept nice and the pool area was good. It is close to some nice beaches but a little far from the more popular areas like Coligny and Sea Pines. Would have definitely recommended this resort if it wasn’t for the roaches, and I mean plural. Killed several during our stay which soured an otherwise great vacation.

We stayed in the Island Links resort recently and while it was nice, spacious and clean there are a couple drawbacks:

– Distance from beach: If you want to take anything other than a towel and small beach bag, you have to drive. We didn’t try the shuttle because we felt like we had too many items (pop-up tent, chairs, coolers, etc.). Definitely NOT within walking distance!

– We had a 2-bedroom, bath unit which was nice, but the listing says it sleeps 8 with 6 of those privately. I hardly consider having a pull-out couch in the smaller bedroom equating to sleeping privately. Plus this second room was pretty cramped to expect to sleep 4 people with all their “stuff”

The first couple of days, we thought this resort was very nice. Nice convenient pool and hot tub. The third morning we went to the hot tub—it was closed—for 2 weeks for resurfacing. No word of this in the literature we received from the resort prior to our stay. Their response was–“you can use the one at the Westin” a mile or so away. Very inconvenient if you just want to run out to the hot tub with a glass of wine after a day of biking, etc.

Also, the parking area is gravel and sand–that certainly cheapens the place. We own in a different plantation but decided we would give Island Links a look. But because of the inconsideration regarding the hot tub, we will go back to our plantation and that area.

We previously stayed at Island Links three years ago and had a 2 bedroom unit with a screened balcony. We really enjoyed it and returned this year to try a 3 bedroom. As mentioned in other reviews the 3 bedroom is a very unusual layout with the third bedroom connected by pocket doors to the master bedroom.

Given our situation of traveling with extended family this layout did not work well for us. The beds also were very hard. We found out by accident (saw housekeeping walking with one) that you could request a cover top for the beds. We did that but Grandma still went out to buy additional padding. The Westin would not allow us to park there so it was more convenient to drive to a different beach than to use the one “offered” by the resort. Even with all that we would have been okay, but then we had the bugs… Inside the unit itself we had many occasions of cockroaches, two in the kitchen.

We also frequently had spiders (I have a spider phobia). Supposedly they came to spray but my nephew/teenager left sleeping in the unit said he never saw/heard anyone. Then again, he was a sleeping teenager, so… Anyway, we had to buy Ziploc bags to make sure everything was safe. We tried to keep bread in the microwave but the light was left on underneath the microwave and it made the microwave too hot and ruined all the bread (sandwich, hotdog buns, bagels, etc.).

It really ruined our stay frequently watching for a bug to come out. One cockroach was found in the closet where the luggage was so we were concerned we might be bringing friends home with us…

Also, since the balcony was not screened on this unit (like on our previous unit), trying to use the balcony was pointless. The bugs out back were horrible, especially at night. My sister in law joked it was a movie – attack of the bugs on the balcony – you could see them all coming towards you in a swarm as night approached.

I don’t understand why all the units don’t have screened porches. It was something we were looking forward to. Basically, this was our last stay at Island Links. Most of the office staff was ok, but one person in particular on four different occasions (one on phone before our stay began) was particularly rude (prob not allowed to give names) but she should not be working in customer service.

We stayed a second week at a friend’s house near Charleston and never saw one bug in her house so I know even though it’s the south it’s possible.

We also frequently visit Florida and never had a cockroach problem there.

Our advice – so many places to stay on Hilton Head – try somewhere else who hopefully sprays for bugs more often.