Hilton Head Car Enthusiasts Welcome the Concours d’Elegance Motoring Festival to Hilton Head Island

Widely considered one of the top four vintage car exhibitions in the nation, the Concours d’Elegance Motoring Festival will showcase over 150 vintage vehicles competing for various awards. ResortQuest Hilton Head Island is offering Concours d’Elegance vacation packages and rental specials on their selection of over 500 vacation rentals, villas and private beach homes on the premier resort destination, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Hilton Head Island, SC (PRWEB) September 26, 2009 – Once again, the Concours d’Elegance will make Hilton Head Island it’s resort of choice, as over 150 vintage cars descend upon the island in an impeccable display of elegance. Part of the larger four-part series, including the Savannah/Hilton Head Speed Classic, the Motoring Midway and the Car Club Jamboree, the Concours d’Elegance is a crowd favorite, showcasing only the most rare and pristine vintage cars in the nation.

Believed to be by many Concours d'Elegance judges, exhibitors and enthusiasts as one of the top four events in the country, Hilton Head Island will celebrate a majestic automotive history with Mercedes-Benz selected as the 2009 Honored Marque. Plus, Hilton Head Island will also feature classes to celebrate Brass Era Cars, Motorcycles, Micro Cars plus the 100-Year Anniversary of the Hudson and so much more.

ResortQuest Hilton Head Island is offering Concours d’Elegance lodging specials from 15% off premier island resorts. Choose from a selection of over 500 villas and private homes in exclusive locations, including Palmetto Dunes and Sea Pines. All ResortQuest Hilton Head vacation rentals offer fully-equipped kitchens and all the amenities of home, ideal for an extended stay. They also include immediate access to beaches, tennis, golf and water sports.

Plus, all ResortQuest Hilton Head guests enjoy the benefits of the exclusive ResortQuest Recommends Program which offers deals and discounts on over 160 restaurants, shops and activities year-round. All Hilton Head guests also enjoy a host of other perks including discounted golf rates, free tennis, free DVD rentals and discounted bike rentals. For more information on Hilton Head rentals, visit the ResortQuest Hilton Head website at resortquesthiltonhead.com or call 800-875-8726.

SNOWBIRDS REJOICE! EXTEND YOUR WINTER VACATION WITH MONTHLY RENTALS ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND

ResortQuest Hilton Head Island offers over 500 vacation rentals, villas and private beach homes on the premier resort destination, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. With a year-round temperate climate, Hilton Head Island is the perfect winter escape for snowbirds looking for a warm getaway this winter. ResortQuest Hilton Head offers monthly villa and home rentals on Hilton Head Island, SC.


Hilton Head Island, SC (PRWEB) September 23, 2009 – Unlike many other beach destinations, the year-round temperate climate on Hilton Head Island keeps the island beaches and activities open any time of year. The balmy winter weather has kept Hilton Head Island one of the top destinations for snowbirds looking for a warm weather escape. With the island’s signature activities, golf and tennis, continuing in full force throughout the winter months, there’s no shortage of activities and entertainment during the fall and winter on Hilton Head.

ResortQuest Hilton Head Island offers deeply discounted monthly rentals from October through March, a perfect solution for an extended winter vacation. Choose from a selection of over 500 villas and private homes in premier locations, including Palmetto Dunes and Sea Pines. All ResortQuest Hilton Head vacation rentals offer fully-equipped kitchens and all the amenities of home, ideal for an extended stay. They also include immediate access to beaches, tennis, golf and water sports. Hilton Head monthly rentals start as low as $1100 a month* and these discounted rates are available for stays over 28 days. (*Restrictions apply)

In addition to reduced rates for monthly rentals, ResortQuest Hilton Head offers winter travelers a host of other perks, including discounted golf rates, free tennis, free DVD rentals and discounted bike rentals. Palmetto Dunes extends ResortQuest Hilton Head monthly rental guests discounted monthly golf rates of $630 for 30 days of unlimited golf (including cart and green fee) for individuals, or $1050 for 30 days of golf for up to two family members.

Plus, all ResortQuest Hilton Head guests enjoy the benefits of the exclusive ResortQuest Recommends Program which offers deals and discounts on over 160 restaurants, shops and activities year-round. For more information on Hilton Head monthly rentals, visit the ResortQuest Hilton Head website at resortquesthiltonhead.com or call 800-875-8726.

Foodies! Don't miss the Seafood, Jazz & Brew Fest, September 14 - 19, 2009!

September 11, 2009

HILTON HEAD HOSPITALITY ASSOCIATION

MEDIA UPDATE

Contact: Ann-Marie Adams
Office: 843.686.4944 Cellular: 843.247.2283
Email: execdirector@hiltonheadhospitalityassociation.com

New Events, Family Friendly Options, Six Days of Brews~SJB Festival turns year three into major island activity, September 14-19, 2009

Hilton Head Island, SC – The Seafood Jazz and Brew Festival (SJB) is a six-day destination event showcasing the island’s food and beverage market with craft brews playing the supporting role throughout the week. The activities associated with the festival vary by price tag and venue, but the intent remains true to the mission. That is, to introduce every pleasure available on the island while at the same time pairing great culinary destination locations with superb beers.

The 3rd annual SJB festival includes several new offerings for attendees in 2010. The first new offering takes the form of more beer selections at the public tasting. The public beer tasting on Saturday, September 19th beginning at 2 o’clock will showcase 25 beer booths each with five to six product offerings (16 booths in 2008). Another new offering is a weeklong series of beer and food pairings at island dining locations. The Lakehouse at Sea Pines Resort serves as the signature kick-off event on Monday, September 14th and the German Beer Garden at the Hilton Oceanfront Resort and Spa provides the perfect cap note to the festival. The third new offering in 2010 is the availability of family-friendly options incorporated into the weekend timeframe of the festival. The first family friendly option comes with the picnic and jazz event “Jazz at the Park” transpiring at Shelter Cove Community Park and is hosted by the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra on Friday, September 18th beginning at 6 p.m. Another family friendly activity transpires from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 19th as part of the Brews on the Harbour public tasting and includes active learn and play options for children 9 years and younger. That area is hosted by the Waddell Mariculture Center, the SandBox, and Puppet Factory/Kidstown. Finally the island’s food and beverage community brings together a host of later evening options through an activity blotter called “Brewing After 8.” The complete event summary for the festival can be found at: www.hiltonheadhospitalityassociation.com

The Hilton Head Hospitality Association (HHHA) extends an invitation to all media to attend and participate in the activities associated with the Hilton Head Island Seafood Jazz & Brew Festival. The promotional period for this destination event begins on September 14, 2009 and continues through September 19, 2009. For more information or to notify the Association of your presence at any of the events associated with the Seafood Jazz & Brew Festival please contact Ann-Marie Adams, executive director for the Hilton Head Hospitality Association at 843.686.4944 or 800.424.3387.


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“The Hilton Head Hospitality Association is a non-profit organization serving the hospitality industry and related businesses in the Hilton Head region. The Association actively represents its members to national, state and local agencies and organizations, provides members networking opportunities, develops and implements industry workforce training, and produces acclaimed destination related festivals to enhance the region’s tourism.”

Website: www.hiltonheadhospitalityassociation.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HHISeafoodJazzandBrew
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MenDrinkingBeer

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If you're looking for the best Hilton Head vacation deals during the Seafood, Jazz & Brew Fest, visit www.resortquesthiltonhead.com

Hilton Head Vacation Rentals

Hilton Head Traveler Reviews: Sea Pines Guest Service

From: Brent Messmer, June 2009

To Whom It May Concern;

I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to ResortQuest, and especially an employee named Stacy. We stayed at one of your rental homes in Sea Pines the week of June 13th. On our return home I realized I had left several personal items, including cash and an Ipod in a drawer of the nightstand next to my bed. It was my first thought that I would never see these items again.

I immediately called ResortQuest and explained my situation. Within 20 minutes I received a call back from Stacy who had personally gone to the home and recovered my items. The next business day I received my items via FedEx.

Thank you Stacy and thank you ResortQuest! I appreciate the extra effort and honesty of your staff. You can count on us as a return customer and look forward to a return trip next summer.

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Hilton Head Rentals

Hilton Head Traveler Reviews: Excellent Reservations Process

From: Janet Schmitz, Newnan, GA; July 2009

I wanted to write a quick note to inform you about one of your reservations/sales associate Heather Wise. While making my reservation with Resort Quest, Heather was extremely helpful and very courteous. She answered all of my questions and handled my reservation in a very professional manner. Heather is definetely an asset to your company.

In this time of hustle and bustle it is good to know that there are still some caring and considerate people. Please let Heather know I appreciate her kindness and it was a pleasure talking to her.

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Hilton Head Vacation Rentals

Hilton Head Traveler Reviews: Thank you for the exemplary service!

From: Mr. Thomas Martin, Anderson, SC.

Mr. Stenhammer: My family and I have stayed at the Palmetto Dunes villas during the S.C. Association of Counties annual meetings forever. We stay at Hickory Cove each year, but have recently discovered Centrecourt and fallen in love with it. I am not sure when ResortQuest took over the bookings for those units – whether it was when checkin was still at the entrance to Palmetto Dunes, or later – but in recent years I have had the pleasure of working with Shani Harris for our bookings, and, frankly, have been amazed at how pleasant she is to work with. I should have written you, or her supervisor earlier and said so, because now you’re likely to think that I’m just making that up, because of the remainder of this note. But I assure you that that is the truth – she has been a true pleasure to work with, even in a day and age when customer service, and just plain courtesy, seem to be lost arts. We have never had a single complaint when working with Shani – to the contrary, she is an exemplary model of customer relations, always building great customer confidence, satisfaction, and appreciation.

However, this year’s trip, ending Sunday, has forced me to add to my list of kudos for you and your staff. We stayed in Centrecourt 7804, as we have the last couple of years – and loved it again. We enjoyed the new keyless entry and the DVD rentals – and all the old, familiar accoutrements of that unit with which we are so familiar. We truly hated to have to check out Sunday morning. On the way home, my wife, Terry, noted that she didn’t have on her engagement ring – but confidently remembered she had put it into her jewelry bag, along with her other jewelry, as she was packing up. When we got home, she discovered that the ring was not in the jewelry bag. Panic city. MAJOR panic – not just because of the cost – by Hilton Head standards, the ring probably isn’t all that valuable – but as a piece of personal jewelry, of course, it is unimaginably precious. She called your housekeeping Sunday night and got the emergency housekeeper – a female, whose name I wish I had. That person was as assuring as she could be – stating “You’ll get it back!!” She told us to call housekeeping at 9:00 yesterday (Monday).

Terry did call housekeeping at 9:00, but the line was busy and she got a message. She was going to call back, but in the meantime called the regular reservation number and got Stacey. I could make this easy and tell you that was the end of the problem. In fact, I’ll do that. We told Stacey where we thought the ring was hiding, Stacey contacted Talley, and within the hour we had received one of the happiest calls we have gotten recently. Stacey literally took care of everything, from retrieving the ring from Talley (who actually delivered it, I think), to getting all the shipping info, packing the ring ultra carefully, and getting it in next day UPS to us. The ring was safely delivered this morning.

I cannot begin to tell you how grateful we are, to your entire staff, for many, many pleasant stays at Palmetto Dunes, for always being accommodating and courteous, and for giving exemplary service. I also can’t tell you how well they represent you. BUT, for right now, and because of the singular events of the past 48 hours, all I can tell you is “Thank you!!!”, from the bottom of our hearts!!

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Hilton Head Rentals

Hilton Head Island: 09.09.09 Moment for Peace

I've been noticing lots of shirts around town with the 09.09.09 date on it, and I wasn't sure what it was for, but a little research turned up that it's a movement by the organization Imagine Peace, for a Worldwide Moment of PEACE.

From their website: www.imaginepeace.com...

"Worldwide Moment is a non-profit arts organization which encourages people around the world to celebrate peace and international collaboration by taking simultaneous photographs and sharing their stories. 2009’s Moment occurs when the time is Wednesday September 9, 2009 at 9:09AM in the +09GMT time zone, or 09.09.09+09GMT@09:09.

After the Moment occurs, upload your photo, location, and a short description of your Moment, to the Worldwide Moment website www.WorldwideMoment.org. The photo collection will then be available online, and will eventually premier in-person at a gallery, soon-to-be determined. If you are a gallery owner or representative interested in showing the photos please contact us.

Whether amateur or professional, film or digital, Polaroid or camera phone, young or old, this is for EVERYONE. All you have to do is take a photograph at the specified Moment. And for those who want to participate but don’t have a camera? WE WANT TO GIVE YOU ONE. Contact us.
To see Worldwide Moment’s 2008 exhibit of 270 photographs from 20 countries visit our Gallery.

Created by University of Southern California School of Cinema/TV graduate Brett Brownell in 2007, Worldwide Moment is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions in behalf of Worldwide Moment may be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law."

So - do with it what you will, but to me a cause for peace is a good cause.

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Hilton Head Rentals

Hilton Head Town Seeks to Honor Native Islanders

Article courtesy of Islandpacket.com - a complete news resource for Hilton Head Island.

Town seeks way to honor native islanders
Ferrymen Simmons, Frazier among first Councilman Ferguson would like to recognize

By DANIEL BROWNSTEIN
dbrownstein@islandpacket.com
843-706-8125
Published Monday, September 7, 2009
Well before the first bridge to Hilton Head Island was built in 1956, two native islanders helped connect the remote barrier island with the rest of the world.

Many in the native island community would like the Town of Hilton Head Island to memorialize Charlie Simmons Sr. and Arthur Frazier, two men who worked around the clock to ensure islanders had the supplies they needed to survive on an island far from the nearest department store or hospital.

Both ran ferries and filled countless other roles, such as merchant, banker, public works department and ambulance service before development brought those modern institutions to the island.

Bill Ferguson, who represents the native island communities on Hilton Head Town Council, wants to build a monument honoring the contributions of native islanders -- beginning with Simmons and Frazier -- at Mitchelville Beach Park.

Ferguson said the entire community owes a debt of gratitude to the two men, not just the dozens of native island families and affluent visitors who used their services.

"Without them, Sea Pines and Port Royal wouldn't be here as it is today," he said, "because (the developers) used these fellows as an instrument of transportation before the bridge was built."

Ferguson's idea involves renaming the park to something like "Mitchelville Memorial Park for Native Islanders." Last week, Mayor Tom Peeples asked for Ferguson's help to build consensus among the island's black community for a potential name.

"It's a sublime piece of property with a generic name on it," Ferguson said of the park.

The town built Compass Rose Park in 2008 as an homage to Sea Pines founder Charles Fraser and others instrumental in making Hilton Head a premier resort.

But some believe not enough is being done to highlight the history of native islanders, many of whom are the direct descendants of freed slaves, said Emory Campbell, former director of the Penn Center and owner of Gullah Tours.

"Despite what National Geographic says, this island does have a soul," Campbell said referring to the magazine's 2007 ranking of beach communities that slammed the island. "It goes back a long way to even the Indians. History is so important. Folks who are coming in now are looking for history and unfortunately don't know how important this island is to United States history."

Hilton Head was home to the South's first freed slaves, and Mitchelville, a fully-functioning village for those released from bondage, was the nation's early experiment at Reconstruction.

After the Civil War, the island was a close-knit agrarian community. Families were rich with land that produced crops and estuaries that provided a bounty of shellfish, but were cash poor and largely disconnected from the mainland.

Simmons, who worked on ferries as a young boy, began his own service in the 1920s using a sailboat to get between Hilton Head and Savannah. In 1927, he upgraded to the Lola, a 33-foot boat with a 15 horsepower engine.

He transported wealthy northerners to Honey Horn, then a hunting preserve, and helped islanders haul their produce, seafood and livestock to Savannah, where he sold the cargo at City Market and use the proceeds to fulfill families' shopping lists.

Simmons died in 2005 at the age of 99.

Frazier came along a bit after Simmons. In 1944, he began operating a boat service between Jenkins Island -- near where the J. Wilton Graves Bridge today connects to Hilton Head Island -- to Buckingham Landing, where the Sea Trawler restaurant recently opened. He also owned several trucks and a barge that could carry cars.

When he was drafted for World War II, residents successfully lobbied the government to give him a waiver because his services were so vital to their way of life.

In 1968, Frazier lost a leg in an automobile accident, and in 1985, he was shot in the face during the robbery of his convenience store along William Hilton Parkway. The cream- and rust-colored commercial buildings he owned still stand and are home to a produce market and a massage parlor. A wooden, homemade sign still marks Frazier's Holiness Temple.

He died in 2003 at the age of 89.

"I knew them both," Campbell said. "They were outstanding men."

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Hilton Head Vacation Rentals

Hilton Head Island: The Farmer's Market of Bluffton

If you're like me, nothing beats the taste of fruits and veggies straight from the garden. And, if your REALLY like me (and that means NO green thumb), that means that the best veggies are coming from someone elses garden!

Check out the weekly Farmer's Market of Bluffton for an awesome selection of seasonal fruits and veggies, honey, pasta and more. Not to mention the best local barbeque, gumbo, seafood, baked goods and icey goodness. And, not that I'm biased, but one thig I love is that the Bluffton market does not allow craft vendors, so it's just what you can eat - and that's what you WANT at a farmer's market, isn't it?

Plus, you get live music, a great place to take the kids and the charm of Old Town Bluffton. Now that's a combo that's hard to beat!

Here's the nitty gritty details:

April 23-November 19, 2009

On Thursdays; 2-6 pm

843-290-6831

blufftonmarket@aol.com


location:

40 Calhoun St, Carson Cottages

Old Town Bluffton, SC


Hilton Head Island

Hilton Head Island: Tropical Storm Erika Update

September 2, 2009
Tropical Storm Erika Update

Dear ResortQuest Homeowner;

We are currently monitoring Tropical Storm Erika in the North Atlantic Ocean. As of Thursday September 2, Erika is located about 160 miles east-southeast of the Leeward Islands and is traveling generally westward at 7 mph. Erika has maximized sustained winds of 45 mph and computer models indicated the Storm is expected to move west-northwest at a slightly faster speed over the next day or two.


At this time there is no expected threat to Hilton Head Island and while our Team here is on alert, there will be no modifications to our normal course of business. If you have any current concerns regarding your property, please call our ResortQuest Homeowner Hotline at 800-806-5697.

We will update this situation again if conditions warrant.

Thank You,

Robert

Robert E. Stenhammer
GM-ResortQuest Vacation Rentals
21 Pope Ave - Exec Pk Rd
Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
Office: 843-686-8120



Hilton Head Island