My wife and three children just returned from a 7 night trip to HHI. I had high expectations after hearing a great deal about the island from others who had visited there previously. Well, my expectations were surpassed. I should point out that we had excellent weather - better than usual is what I was told by the "locals". Even so, it was a very enjoyable trip and one that is likely to be made annually!
I will point out, however, that we stayed at the Marriott Vacation Club at Barony Beach the first three nights and also visited their other resort at Grand Ocean. In my humble opinion, both surpassed Disney's property (where we stayed for the remaining 4 nights/5 days) in several ways. First, the number and quality of the pools. Disney has one at the resort and one at the beach. Both are rather small and can become filled easily. The slide is a bonus, howver. The Marriott properties have much larger and overall, nicer pools. The other issue is the that the Disney property is not on the ocean. The beach at HHI is excellent and is a real draw. However, having to take a shuttle or car back and forth can, and does, become a real drag. The pool house is nice but the food is very expensive and of poor quality (I felt like I was back in MK!). The rooms were different in style but comperable in quality and size. I would not hesitate to return to the Disney resort at HHI but, given the choice, would elect to stay at one of the Marriott's instead.