Myrtle Beach

I am back from the beach again, we found a cheapo room for June and decided we'd try it out. After going to Myrtle Beach so many times, I thought I would share my wisdom with the world :)

The first thing to keep in mind is that Myrtle Beach is not a classy beach. You should not be spending a lot of money on your room or on your food. Its a quantity verses quality thing..pack in the people and send them to buffets.

I like to go the week before bike week in May. Sometimes that is the first week, sometimes the second week. I usually leave the Fri/Sat that everyone starts to roll in. Another great time is to go the last week of August before labor day or anytime in Sept. You'll notice that I try to avoid times when kids are out of school. When I say kids, I mean the 19 year old ones that are really excited to be sneaking a beer at the pool. Shoot, I'd give them a beer if they'd just be quiet! ;) But anyway, rooms are in the $40-60 range during these times and the weather is great.

Where to stay....
Dayton House. Yup that's it. I have statyed at several "resorts" over the years and Dayton House is very clean modest proprty in the northern section of Myrtle Beach. The rooms are older but very clean, and they come with a full kitchen. I was in an ocean angle side view room, two from the end, and it was just as good as an ocean front room. Other benefits of this room were the comfortable beds, full fridge, large TV, large kitchen table with a fold out leaf and the sink area in the bathroom being separate from the shower area allowing two people to get ready at the same time. Our room also had new carpet, fluffy pillows, a fully stocked kitchen (we didn't need any of the kitchen stuff we brought) and a housekeeper that did a great job. So you are probably thinking why on earth stay at a place with an older room? Pools! They have the best pool, I loved it. They also had several hot tubs, a couple of indoor pools and a sauna. More great features included a grassy area between the pool and beach, gazebos with swings and picnic tables that you could use all day for your family (with umbrellas!). They also had an excellent "pool cop" that made sure people could quietly rest at the pool if they wanted.

So where else have I stayed?
Sand Castle - South = I was very disapointed in our room last week. It was just dirty. The pools were dirty. It was obvious that they hadn't done anything to the "resort" since the last time we stayed there, over three years ago. Three years ago it was sqeaky clean and so nice, I was horrified to see its condition, especially since I had recommended it to one of my friends who stayed there two weeks ago. She was nice enough not to say anything. It amazes me that they are trying to sell rooms in the building for 180K..maybe they should focus on the GLASS in the swimming pool and the tiles that had fallen off the lazy river?

Best Resorts - This was the cleanest hotel room I had ever been in my whole life. They called it a green room, there were air purifiers, water filters and real plants in the room. When we drove past it last week, it seemed like they were adding on a lot to this property. The reason we stayed there in 2001 was I didn't have the money to go to the beach and really wanted to go. The room was $30 a night in August because they didn't have a pool. We spent our time on the beach, it was great.

Blue Water Resort = This is my second choice on the beach. They have many different types of rooms and a lot of pools but it is always so busy (busy=loud).

Sand Castle - North - Smaller pool and lazy river but a nicer (cleaner room). I would stay here again if I had a really good deal.

Where to eat- New China in North Myrtle Beach. For $10 you get chinese with a lot of good seafood and sushi. Be sure to look for the 20% off your bill or $1 off early bird coupons.
Dennys - Yup, I said Denny's. They have great breakfast food and they give you so much you end up eating the leftovers for lunch! Note- I don't eat at the $25 buffets at the beach, I think that's stupid. That is another night I can add to my trip since I split the room with someone.

I think that's it for now, I will add more as I think of things. :) - Kim