Affordable Myrtle Beach vacation, possible???

[butterflygirl3]

Hey, can anyone please help me??? We were wanting to do Myrtle Beach this summer (ok, hubby was. I voted for Disney World again ), but anyways that's another story . Are there any moderately priced places to stay at least walking distance to the beach? I was really wanting something on the beach, but price wise i think that is out I was looking into a condo or beach home, but again I think price wise that might be out too I realize its gonna be more expensive than say your regular hotel stay, but is there anything decent out there that is less than 175 - 200 a night????? Please if you know of anything will you help me? I would greatly appreciate it!!!! Mary

A little bit of info : there are five of us. Two adults and three kids: 8, 5 and just over 2. If we have to we can put all of them on one bed, thats not a big deal. Or we can make a pallet on the floor with our own blankets I would like some kind of kitchen area so we can cook some meals. It doesn't have to be super close to stores and such we will have our own vehicle. Thank you sooo very much for any help!!!

Dates are negotiable, I was thinking end of July.

 

[okeydokey]

I have stayed at the Sea Watch in N Myrtle Beach. It is not the most modern property but it is right on the beach and the amenities are great,

They offer an early bird discount if you book by March 31 and put down a deposit. You can get a one bedroom condo with full kitchen for about 200 a night.

 

[butterflygirl3]

I have stayed at the Sea Watch in N Myrtle Beach. It is not the most modern property but it is right on the beach and the amenities are great,

They offer an early bird discount if you book by March 31 and put down a deposit. You can get a one bedroom condo with full kitchen for about 200 a night.

So that would probably be about the price I am gonna be finding? K, I was hoping for lower, but we have never done a beach vacation so I honestly didn't know And I can definitely save on food costs with a kitchen thank you!!! Mary

 

[teller80]

I always found Myrtle Beach to be kind of a money pit type place, all those activities added up really quickly. Putt putt, carnival rides, Ripleys, souvenir shops, yada yada. I found the restaurants to be poor quality, have bad service and be expensive.

I wonder if you'd be better looking at a condo?

 

[minushka72]

We usually stay at the Coral Beach hotel. Very nice property and right on the beach. Your family could probably manage in an Angle Oceanfront Efficiency-2 Double Beds which was just quoted at 166.60 a night mid July. It is close to lots of places. Walking distance to Family Kingdom amusement park and water park. Pretty close to Broadway at the Beach which has lots of shopping and the Ripley's Aquarium. Short drive to the SC Children's Museum and lots of other places!

http://www.myrtlebeach-resorts.com/coral-beach/?iid=cb/

 

[GoofyMomInOhio]

We usually stay at the Coral Beach hotel. Very nice property and right on the beach. Your family could probably manage in an Angle Oceanfront Efficiency-2 Double Beds which was just quoted at 166.60 a night mid July. It is close to lots of places. Walking distance to Family Kingdom amusement park and water park. Pretty close to Broadway at the Beach which has lots of shopping and the Ripley's Aquarium. Short drive to the SC Children's Museum and lots of other places!

http://www.myrtlebeach-resorts.com/coral-beach/?iid=cb/

We stayed here last March and loved it. The staff was great, it was clean, and the amenities were good. Your kids would love the kids splash area and the beach is right out the back door. We choose Coral Beach based on a Diser's recommendation. Watch their website and Facebook pages for specials. We paid less than $60 per night over spring break for the room type listed above plus received resort credit that we used for bowling and snacks.

 

[JDX4]

We have stayed at the Breakers. It's great for kids. It's right on the water and has beautiful grounds with a long lazy river, several pools, and a d.j. during the day. There are several buildings and some are less expensive than others. Some have kitchens, some don't. Paradise Tower is the newest and nicest looking, but all of the buildings have equal access to the resort grounds.

I just looked at their website and they are running a 20% off sale if you book by the end of Feb. Also, the rates drop dramatically the last week in August (the 17th) if you are able to go then. The least expensive room that week is $89, but I don't think there is a kitchen with that one. In Paradise Tower, which all have kitchens, the rooms are about $140 that week.

Have fun with your planning!

 

[Promomx2]

Check out groupon vacations. I thought I saw a listing for Myrtle Beach the other day. Also check out the condos in Cherry Grove which is just north of MB on vrbo.com or homeaway.com

 

[D L and K's Mom]

Im curious too!!

 

[littlezar]

We've stayed at The Caravelle Resort a few times in an oceanfront suite that had a small kitchen.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

We stayed at the Sea Mist last year. Really liked it. Lots for the kids, great beach. We were in one of the newer building and it was nice.....older ones looked run down though.

 

[MrsPete]

Try The Grand Atlantic in South Myrtle Beach. It's an older property, but well-kept. It has rooms in a variety of sizes, and most have small kitchens. They also have a stack-up washer/dryer in the units. It's on the beach in a quiet, family area, and they have a couple pools and a lazy river. It's not dirt-cheap, but it's a good value for a moderate place to stay.

Since you've never been to Myrtle Beach, I will second Teller80's comment that it's a money-pit. It is a nickel-and-dime type of place: The aquarium's worth visiting, and my kids used to love MagiQuest. I don't agree that all the restaurants are poor quality, but you definitely have to choose carefully. Myrtle Beach's nickname is "The Redneck Riviera", and it's well-earned.

Also, you do not want to stay in Myrtle Beach itself -- it's a rough place, not for families. Instead, either North Myrtle or South Myrtle will be a better choice.

 

[Jessica527]

I highly recommend looking into a rental house,you can get a really nice one in walking distance to the beach for less then $1500.

We have found the best deals to be the week after Labor Day. The weather is still great but prices are low.

 

[princesskimberella]

We have stayed at a few different places the most recent were The Caribbean and Ocean Reef . For us a beach vacation is just that we get up have breakfast in the room and hang by the beach or pool all day. We have dinner out and pick one night to do putt putt and hit the shops at Broadway. Look into efficiency rooms, we are a family of 5 and those work for us

 

[formill]

We have stayed at Myrtle Beach Resort and booked privately through the condo owner. We stayed in 109 B-could park right under the balcony- walk to the beach in just a minute and see the ocean from balcony. Some of the condos there are a LONG walk from your car or beach-not what I like to do with groceries etc. The resort itself has a few pools-at least one indoor- a little water park area in the middle of the lazy river. The condo we had was very clean, well stocked with dishes etc- had 2 bedrooms-one bedroom a bunk bed plus another twin- the other bedroom a queen bed-there were 2 bathrooms and a futon in the living room. We had no problems at all-there was a lock box with the key and we got the code a couple weeks before we left.
http://www.mbrprivaterentals.com/myrtle_beach_rental_condos.htm

 

[MaggieBailey]

DH and I lived in MB for a year, and before that would visit pretty regularly (he was in the Marines, we weren't that far away !) but it was almost always in the off season... In the summer, the room rates are crazy! We only live about 2 hours away now, and will go down on occasion when we have extra... an ocean front room that has the full kitchen, $35 a night. In the summer? That same room is over $200 a night! Eeek! Anyway, that being said... We really loved the Ocean Park, as well as... The Ocean Reef (I think?) if beach is important, make sure it is ocean front, and that you book an ocean front room. If you pick ocean view to save some moola, your view is most likely from leaning out over a side balcony, standing on a chair that in reality faces a parking lot.

We were actually just down there on Friday, it was gorgeous! 74 degrees! Wow! good luck to yall!

 

[butterflygirl3]

OP here, thank you VERY much for all of the suggestions I GREATLY appreciate it!!!!! I am taking today and narrowing down my choices and hubby gets to decide tonight (he doesn't know it yet hahaha). Thank you for the tips on the surrounding ammenities. I pretty much planned on beach days, maybe a couple of extra excursions. My kids are little still so building sandcastles, looking for seashells and swimming will keep them entertained for days!!!! And I will definitely be making use of the the kitchen that is a MUST for me. We can generally eat for about 25 bucks or so at a nice sit down restaurant here at home and I figure it would probably be double that in Myrtle Beach. I have planned to eat out a few nights, to give me a break . Again, thank you soooo very much for all of the help!!! And if anyone knows of cool family friendly relatively affordable )) things to do could you pass it on? Mary

 

[minnie1012]

I too voted for Disney but my husband and kids want to go to Myrtle Beach
: ( We are staying at the Embassy Suites (so far) but its not cheap. I'm starting to re think it but we have stayed there before and I'm sort of afraid to stay somewhere new.

Someone on another board recommended this one:

http://www.caribbeanresort.com/

 

[dancin Disney style]

I've been to MB many times. You have to be very careful with the hotels there. Many are old and run down but they will still charge you $200/night. The last time we went we were with a large group of people and everyone booked there own accomodation. I spent hours online researching and chose the Sea Crest....HUGE mistake. Upon arrival we discovered that it was not at all what they presented themselves to be. It was old and very dirty. We ended up getting a refund and moving to the Dunes Village (paid triple to stay there). It was FABULOUS...it's in a residential area right on the beach. They have 2 indoor waterparks, restaurants and indoor parking. It's less than 5 minutes away from the main street where you have easy access to many restaurants, grocery stores, entertainment and shopping.

We also had other friends stay at the Anderson Ocean Club and we visitied with them. This property is also very nice but it was more expensive than the Dunes village.

I can tell you for certain that the nicer properties are located from the cross street that the Breakers is located on and north of that. The Sheraton with the convention center is also on that same cross street but up from the beach a little. This Sheraton is nice as well....we were there at a convention and I was in a friends room.

If you can wait and go around mid August the prices will be a little lower....not much though July and August are peak season.

 

[mrodgers]

Unless you are a hotel snob, there's plenty of places to stay depending on when in the summer you stay.

We go the 2nd or 3rd week of June after the kids are done with school. 2 years ago I paid $580 for 6 nights with oceanfront balcony, 2 bed bedroom, full kitchen, and living room suite. There were a good handful priced like that, but seems they all went up last year and are now on par with everywhere else. Now I'm seeing for the same type of 2 room suite oceanfront around $1100 for 6 nights.

That's less than $200/night. Price only goes down from an oceanfront 2 room suite (1 room oceanfront, ocean view, regular no view room in descending order.)