This beach is wonderful and quaint. It has the feel of a beach from the 1970s and 80s. That being said, Myrtle Beach (MB) needs a serious upgrade.
The beach was wonderful, not exactly the best beach (I was born and raised in Panama City, Fla.), but would recommend to friends to visit at least ONCE.
The local seafood restaurants, such as The Original Benjamin’s Seafood Buffet are awesome! My husband and I ate at a wonderful Chinese restaurant called E Noodles & Co.. The food at E Noodles was authentic and fresh. My husband had the Seafood Udon Noodle Soup and I had the combination of shrimp and chicken fried rice, both were excellently prepared and tasted absolutely delicious!
If you eat late, make sure to adhere to restaurant closing times. Several times we were told that since they closed at 9, the kitchen closes 45 to 60 minutes prior (Really??!!). This did NOT happen at the two restaurants mentioned above 🙂
Speaking of closing times … Maybe I’m spoiled, but during this time of year EVERY restaurant in Panama City stays open late to cater to tourists. Maybe Myrtle Beach doesn’t get a large college spring break crowd like Panama City, so late closing times may begin closer to the summer here.
We stayed at the Holiday Inn Club Vacations Resort. It is walking distance from the beach, Waffle House, mini Golf and local restaurants (we did not eat at those). The unit was spacious and up-to-date (flat screen TVs with HD service in the 2 bed rooms and family room). The pool was nice and heated, but lacked a “kiddie” area. They also had an indoor heated pool. They offered a lot of onsite activities for very reasonable fees.
We were given a handicap accessible 2 bedroom unit, but were not told in advance we were being placed there (surprise!!!). The beds were hard and we did not get a good night’s sleep the entire 7 nights we stayed. The rest of the furniture was uncomfortable as well. Only one sofa and 2 chairs were in the family area of the unit. No one thought to clean the pollen off of the patio 🙁 We all suffer from allergies (good thing I brought along Allegra and Zyrtec). Needless to say we did not enjoy the patio balcony 🙁 If you stay here (I probably will not again) and bring toddlers make sure to use the night chain. My 2 year old could open the doors!
There was a wide range of shopping opportunities – malls, outlets, designer galleries, etc., were all available. I did see much in the arena of night clubs, but I’m sure they are here (right??).
I enjoyed my trip to Myrtle Beach, but I do not plan on visiting here again for a long time. Maybe the same 80s characters from the Radio Shack commercial should visit and ask for their beach back 😉
