Highwood 5 Piece Hamilton Round Dining Set Review 2024

Are you a bit on the heavier side, or do you regularly entertain family and friends who are? If so, you know how much of a challenge it can be to find great quality furniture that’s built ruggedly enough to provide proper support. The sad reality is that most of the furniture being sold today, whether for indoor or outdoor use, doesn’t support much beyond 300-pounds.

That’s great for a broad swath of the market, but it leaves those who weigh more than that with relatively few options. Worse, the available options can be notoriously difficult to find.

If you’ve experienced that frustration, then what you read in this review will make you smile. Highwood is a great company making and selling good quality outdoor furniture built for heavier people, and this five-piece outdoor dining set is an excellent example of their work.

We’ll be quick to admit that while the Highwood 5 Piece Hamilton Round Dining set is quite good, it’s not perfect, and it won’t be right for everyone. Even so, by the time you reach the end of this review, even if you opt to go in some other direction, we think you’ll be impressed! If your interest is piqued, let’s jump right in and take a closer look at what this set has to offer.

An Overview of the Highwood Hamilton 5pc Round Dining Set

The first thing you’ll notice when you see the Highwood 5 Piece Hamilton Round Dining set for the first time is that it’s big and imposing. You’ll need quite a lot of space to make proper use of it. Given that, before we say anything more, let’s take a quick look at the core stats that define the set. Here are the basics:

There’s quite a lot to talk about where these numbers are concerned. First, we love the fact that the set is offered in two different configurations: The shorter ‘dining height’ or the taller ‘counter height’ depending on your preferences.

The chair height varies depending on the table height and amounts to a six-inch difference between dining and counter height configurations.

Note that the dining chairs are Adirondack style. While most Adirondack chairs are distressingly low to the ground and are a relatively poor fit for people who have mobility issues, even the shorter of these chairs (dining height) sit surprisingly high off the ground and are much easier to get into and out of.

If you love the Adirondack styling, but the relatively low seat height has been keeping you from investing in some, then the Highwood Hamilton 5pc Round Dining set will be very much to your liking.

The chairs are capable of supporting an impressive five hundred pounds of user weight, but there’s a small catch to be aware of here. If you weigh anywhere close to the maximum supported weight limit, you’ll want to take a quick measurement of yourself before you commit to a purchase because the seat width is a somewhat underwhelming 20.”

The table is enormous, with a span (diameter) of 48,” so you’ll have plenty of room for everyone to spread out. Even better, the table is outfitted with an umbrella hole in the center. Although an umbrella is not included with the set, it’s a simple matter to add one if you wish.

If you decide you want a set, you can order yours either counter height or dining height, and in a wide range of colors, including:

The fact that you can choose from two different height configurations and 14 different color options gives you tons of flexibility and enables you to get exactly the furniture you want. You’ll have no trouble whatsoever blending this set with the rest of your outdoor décor scheme, or, if you prefer, buy this to serve as the centerpiece of your outdoor décor and build everything else around it.

The Highwood 5 Piece Hamilton Round Counter Height dining set is made of eco-friendly composite material. At first glance, it has a look and feel that’s similar to wood in the same way that composite decking and fencing materials have the appearance of wood. Still, you’ll find this furniture to be much more low-maintenance and longer-lasting than wooden furniture. In fact, the company offers an impressive 12-year warranty on this product!

Even better, where wooden furniture requires periodic staining and resealing to keep it looking like new and keep it protected from the elements, about the only thing you’ll have to do with this furniture is wipe it down periodically with a damp cloth. That’s about as low maintenance as it gets.

Adjustability and Comfort

There’s nothing adjustable about either the table or the chairs, but Adirondack chairs are generally more comfortable than average. Keeping in mind that the chairs that come with this outdoor dining set were designed as occasional seating and designed to support people sitting in the chairs for relatively short periods, you shouldn’t need any sort of padding here.

If you want to enhance the comfort of the chairs to facilitate lounging for extended periods, that’s easy to do. Just add a seat and/or seatback pad of whatever thickness you like, and you’re all set. There’s no real downside to doing so, as is the case with wooden furniture since many people are reluctant to cover the natural beauty of the wood.

Assembly is Required

Let’s talk about assembly. As is the case with most of the furniture you can buy online today, if you decide to get the Hamilton 5pc Round Counter-Height Dining set, it will arrive at your door packed in half a dozen large boxes. It will probably take the better part of an hour to unbox and sort everything to get ready to put the table and chairs together.

Once you’re ready to proceed, some of the assembly will go smoothly, and other parts of the process will test your patience because of the way the pieces fit together. The production quality is high, but the screws are difficult to get to, which means that tightening each piece takes an inordinate amount of time.

The assembly process itself will probably take a little over two hours, so counting the initial unboxing and sorting, you’re looking at 3+ hours to get the set ready for first use. Given that this is heavy, durable furniture, the individual pieces are heavy enough that they can be cumbersome to work with, so you’ll probably want an extra pair of hands to assist with the assembly process and make it go more smoothly.

The company does offer an expert assembly option, and this is one of the times when we’d recommend taking advantage of it. The option only adds about 10% to the price of the set, and it gives you about three hours of your life back.

Pros & Cons of the Highwood Hamilton 5pc Round Dining Set

In no particular order, here are the things we think you’ll like best about this furniture set:

On the flip side:

Highwood 5 Piece Hamilton Round Dining Set Review Conclusion

Overall, the Highwood 5 Piece Hamilton round dining set is an outstanding furniture set. There’s a lot to like. Unfortunately, two of the three negatives (the somewhat disappointing seat width) and the high price are going to be deal-breakers for some.

The relative difficulty where the assembly is concerned isn’t as big of an issue because the expert assembly option represents only a small fraction of the total price and is a good value for the money. As long as you’re fully aware of what you’re getting into, we recommend it.

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Official Manufacturer Support

REFERENCES & RESOURCES:

• Highwood, Official Brand Website.
• Simple $20 DIY Outdoor Dining Table, Anika’s DIY Life.
• DIY Outdoor Dining Table, Craving Some Creativity.
• The Pros and Cons of Outdoor Furniture Materials, Journal Star.