Myrtle Beach Recommendations?

[Cruiser1969]

Does anyone have recommendations for which Myrtle Beach hotel is best for a quick family vacation in August. I would like to use the DVC -RCI trade option to book this. I already know that this is not the best use of my points ... just looking for any advice in picking the best resort. Thanks for any info you can provide!!!

 

[jade1]

Not sure what's in RCI, but the north end of MB had a bunch of hotels that were kind of working together if I remember right (its been about 3 years and our only trip). We were in the Hilton and it had a very nice deck/bar/pool area on the ocean, I think the Marriot was nicer a couple spots further south-but all were great access to the ocean, and not a big deal to drive about 10 min to downtown MB. There were a lot of shops/dining etc on the north end as well.

In front of the Hilton early AM:

From our balcony full moon:

Hilton pool:

 

[Cruiser1969]

Thanks for the reply! Gorgeous pictures

However, these are the resorts I can exchange with RCI:

Carolina Grande
Club Regency at Regency Towers
Harbour Lights
Holiday Inn Club Vacations South Beach Resort
Schooner II Beach and Racquet Club
Sheraton Broadway Plantation
Wyndham SeaWatch Plantation
Wyndham Ocean Boulevard


Does anyone have any experience exchanging with any of these.

Thanks so much for any input.

 

[dvc_john]

However, these are the resorts I can exchange with RCI:

Carolina Grande
Club Regency at Regency Towers
Harbour Lights
Holiday Inn Club Vacations South Beach Resort
Schooner II Beach and Racquet Club
Sheraton Broadway Plantation
Wyndham SeaWatch Plantation
Wyndham Ocean Boulevard

My favorite Myrlte Beach timeshare is Marriott's Ocean Watch (stayed there 3 times so far), but unfortunately that's with II, not RCI.

Of the ones mentioned above, the only one I've personally stayed at is Sheraton Broadway Plantation. It was very nice and had great pools, but was not on the beach. It is across the street (more or less) from Broadway at the Beach shopping/dining/entertainment area.

I haven't stayed at Harbour Lights, but do know that it is not on the beach either, but across the inter-coastal waterway.

 

[jojomoore]

We just got back from Myrtle Beach. My daughter's dance company competed in a National Dance Competion at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. This is the only time I have been there, so i have no information regarding the hotels that you mentioned. But i feel that I need to give you my opinion. I have stayed in many places on the gulf coast and east coast. Myrtle Beach is not a place I would ever choose to go back to for a vacation. It was extremely crowded and extremely dirty. Most of the fast food restaurants were filthy and the local food was not as good as we can get at home. We checked into our hotel in South Myrtle Beach, stayed 10 minutes and checked out because its was the dirtiest hotel room I have ever seen in my life and I am 39. We tried to find a vacancy in a other hotels on the beach but were not successful. We started heading away from beach and we snagged the last room at the Hilton Garden Inn which was not located on the beach but was located just two to three miles away near the Mall and just down the street from Broadway at the Beach. This hotel was one of the cleanest wonderful hotels I have ever stayed at. I was extremely happy to be away from traffic, comotion and so forth at the beach. If I had to stay at Myrtle Beach ever again then I would definately choose to stay at a hotel off the beach and around the Broadway at the Beach area (which is at the corner of Highway 17 bypass and 21st Avenue). On the bright side there are alot (and i mean alot) of activities to do in MB. We went to Ridleys Aquarium (at BW at Beach) and to a put-put golf course. You definately need to research the hotels before you go -I learned from experience. My opinion is to choose a hotel off the beach or on the North end of Myrtle Beach. Pictures on the Internet are extremely deceiving. Sometimes they look great from outside but rooms are worn, dirty, and very very small or the picture of the room was taken years ago. In five days, we spent 2,OOO dollars. So not worth it.

 

[Cruiser1969]

Thank you for taking the time to respond!! We have decided to book Saratoga Springs instead as it was available next month!!! I will save this thread as there is a lot of helpful information here, especially since my daughter dances, too, and we may find ourselves doing Nationals in Myrtle Beach some year, I'm sure!

Thanks again for all the responses

 

[Lost in Neverland]

We just got back from Myrtle Beach. My daughter's dance company competed in a National Dance Competion at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. This is the only time I have been there, so i have no information regarding the hotels that you mentioned. But i feel that I need to give you my opinion. I have stayed in many places on the gulf coast and east coast. Myrtle Beach is not a place I would ever choose to go back to for a vacation. It was extremely crowded and extremely dirty. Most of the fast food restaurants were filthy and the local food was not as good as we can get at home. We checked into our hotel in South Myrtle Beach, stayed 10 minutes and checked out because its was the dirtiest hotel room I have ever seen in my life and I am 39. We tried to find a vacancy in a other hotels on the beach but were not successful. We started heading away from beach and we snagged the last room at the Hilton Garden Inn which was not located on the beach but was located just two to three miles away near the Mall and just down the street from Broadway at the Beach. This hotel was one of the cleanest wonderful hotels I have ever stayed at. I was extremely happy to be away from traffic, comotion and so forth at the beach. If I had to stay at Myrtle Beach ever again then I would definately choose to stay at a hotel off the beach and around the Broadway at the Beach area (which is at the corner of Highway 17 bypass and 21st Avenue). On the bright side there are alot (and i mean alot) of activities to do in MB. We went to Ridleys Aquarium (at BW at Beach) and to a put-put golf course. You definately need to research the hotels before you go -I learned from experience. My opinion is to choose a hotel off the beach or on the North end of Myrtle Beach. Pictures on the Internet are extremely deceiving. Sometimes they look great from outside but rooms are worn, dirty, and very very small or the picture of the room was taken years ago. In five days, we spent 2,OOO dollars. So not worth it.

We share your sentiments...Myrtle Beach is only a 2 hour drive for us but when we go to the beach we drive 6 hours to the Outer Banks of NC. All the hype about Myrtle Beach is very misleading. It reminds me that not everyone has the same idea of clean or acceptable as DH and myself.

 

[Greyhound22]

I agree. When you go - stay off of the beach, unless you can stay in North Myrtle Beach. We own at Broadway Plantation (Sheraton) and it is a "fine" resort. It is just next to Boardwalk at the Beach. However, it in NOT Disney. We just got back from a 2 week stay there and at Disney's HHI. There is no comparison between the two. Disney and HHI are much better. We won't be back to Myrtle Beach.

 

[sajetto]

My husband and I own a vacation home in Cherry Grove (aka North Myrtle) Honestly, Myrtle is dirty. North Myrtle caters to a different crowd. After looking at your trade in options, if you really want to experience Myrtle Beach, it would be best if you didn't stay in a hotel at all and rented a beach house in North Myrtle through Century 21 Thomas. Their headquarters is on Sea Mountain Hwy. The fun thing about Cherry Grove is that it is mostly residental and people drive their golf carts to Walmart, Boulineau''s, and the beach. You can rent your own street legal golf cart from Boulineau's at the end of Sea Mountain Hwy. That's just my 2 cents as a part time resident of the area.

 

[hellerjw]

We have stayed at the Wyndam Ocean Blvd in North Myrtle and like it. My wife's aunt owns there so we have been several times in the Spring/Summer with her. If I remember correctly its made up of 3 beachfront towers and 1 tower across the street. The rooms were well maintained and the resort amenities were nice (lazy river, pools, hot tubs, etc). The only issue we had was trying to snag parking in the main parking garage, under bldgs. 2 & 3 I believe, particularly at night. There is parking across the street with the other tower in a much larger parking garage so its more of a minor inconvenience than anything. It is a big resort when you combine all the rooms from the various towers but we never really had trouble using any of the facilities due to overcrowding. It's an easy drive to all the major attractions at Myrtle but away from most of the congestion and over development. It's also close to Callabash if you want to venture there for the seafood. I would not hesitate to stay there again. My grandparents used to own a house in Cherry Grove (same area as this resort) so I spent many summers there as a kid in the 70s & 80s. It's obviously grown since then but the area is still mostly a family beach with the only real development being on the oceanfront properties. Its a nice getaway from the extreme build-up the rest of Myrtle has seen.

Here is a link to it for more info: http://www.wyndham.com/hotels/MYROB/main.wnt

 

[dansyr2514]

We also stayed at Wyndham Ocean Blvd in April. Loved it!!!!
Don't be afraid of staying in the tower across the street either. We checking it out and it actually has more facilities than the beachfront properties.
The only downsides to this hotel that we found.....parking can get really tight. We were there off season and had to park across the street a couple of times. Also only one elevator per building. If possible request one of the lower floors so you won't have to rely on the elevator.
I would definitely book there again!

 

[stitch1094]

I'm here to defend MB. Beautiful beach. TONS of things to do (shopping, golf, shows, dining, water activities, min-golf etc). To me, I enjoy MB more than HHI. I think HHI can be a bit "stuffy" and MB has way more things to do than HHI. Also liked MB better than Ocean City, Maryland. I will say that North MB does have a different feel. Much slower and more quiet.

Another poster made a comment that the hotels in MB don't compare to Disney. Is that really a surprise? To me, that is like saying most other car companies don't compare to Mercedes. When we go, we bypass the smaller "mom and pop" hotels/motels and we stay a nationally known hotel chain. The last few trips, we stayed at a Best Western hotel right on the beach. Very clean and affordable.

 

[katybugsmom]

We only live an hour from Myrtle Beach and just got back from spending 2 weeks at one of the Sand's Resorts-Ocean Dunes on 75 Ave. N. It was extremely quiet and peaceful-totally away from the traffic! We have friends that own two condos there and we will probably go again next year! Lots of different pools to choose from and a waterpark (park is small in comparison to Myrtle Waves or Wild Water and Wheels, but the kids loved it-lazy river, three slides, play area where the buckets drop gallons of water everywhere, and a 3 ft. pool with bench seating in the pool for adults!) It's definitely worth checking out!

 

[cbonewjersey]

I love MB. Been 3-4 times. Went in April. but I'm a guy and I'm a golfer. There is no other reason to travel as far as I do (NJ) to MB. Yes, lots to do, but you have to drive everywhere. The hotels are old. It's not a pretty place except the beach (great) and the golf courses. And most critical.....it's CHEAP. I thought for a second of trading dvc points for spring brk with the family but it's crazy to give up 160 points that are so valuable for a place that costs so little if you pay cash.

If you play golf....GO. If you don't, find another spot or do Disney.