Last week, my husband and I stayed two nights at the Patricia Grand Resort Hotel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Located right on the beachfront at Ocean Boulevard between 27th and 28th, the Patricia Grand Resort Hotel is a fully non-smoking hotel. By “fully”, I mean the hotel not only has all non-smoking rooms, but the common areas, such as the pool and lobby, are smoke-free zones, as well. Those of us who have had an otherwise pleasant kip by the pool spoiled by drifting cigarette smoke will understand the significance of this! The Patricia Grand has many amenities for vacationers, including beach access, outdoor shower and footwash, an outdoor pool with a poolside bar, and two indoor pools–one is a regular pool and one is a “lazy river”-style pool.
A “lazy river” is lap-pool width, usually in a winding shape, with water that moves consistently in one direction. You sit in an inner tube and just float, and there is usually music playing for extra entertainment value. I didn’t use this pool while I was there because there were a bunch of rowdy kids in it, but it looked cool. It’s kind of small since it is indoors. Those of you who are used to the “lazy river” at a huge water park or tubing on an actual river will laugh, but I think it’s nice that they have this extra feature. Speaking of water parks, your stay at the Patricia Grand Resort includes free admission to a local water park, as well as discounts at lots of local attractions. We would definitely have utilized this had we stayed longer than just a couple of nights. Very useful for a family!
The hotel also has a restaurant that serves a breakfast buffet. Breakfast is not complimentary with the room, but our room had a kitchen area with a full-sized fridge, stove/oven, coffeemaker, and sink, and the cabinets and drawers were fully stocked with cookware, dishes and utensils, so we could have prepared all of our meals there for big savings. The bathroom in our unit was very small–the door almost hit the edge of the toilet. The tub/shower was comfortable enough, and the water was easily adjustable. The counter and mirror were nice and big.
We enjoyed a splendid view from our 14th-floor oceanfront room, and I took plenty of great pictures. Overall, we really enjoyed our stay–checking in was very easy, the housekeeping staff was quite friendly, it’s a great facility, and the location absolutely can’t be beat. There were only two things that weren’t completely great–the wifi, although free, is kind of spotty, and I think that’s a bandwidth issue. I was able to get online at weird times when there wasn’t as much demand. So if you like to get online in the middle of the night or between 11am (checkout time) and 4pm (checkin time), so much the better for you. The cell reception was great, so you might be able to get past the wifi issues by using your phone, instead.
The other somewhat difficult thing was the parking. The parking garage for the hotel is across the street and it’s free, but it’s absolutely terrifying–as you ascend, the turns are VERY tight, and the walls are covered with scrape marks! I drive a largish sedan, so I had to take it real slow. If you have a smaller car, should be no issue, but those who own a giant SUV should definitely think twice. Fortunately, we dealt with this challenge by leaving the car in the garage and walking to nearby places–that’s where the convenient location comes in!
In summary, I would definitely recommend it, especially if you have a small car!
Not all of my hotel stays have been so rosy – check out this article about a fairly awful stay: http://voices.yahoo.com/review-econolodge-inn-suites-8897351.html?cat=8
