Crown Reef Resort Myrtle Beach Review

 

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is one of the most popular summer destinations. It is a very nice, family friendly area and has a beautiful beach. Beach vacations are always popular in our large family so we jumped at the chance to try out the newly renovated Crown Reef Resort during fall break.

I was a little nervous about the weather in South Carolina during this time of the year but we got lucky and had beautiful weather the entire trip. The highs were in the low 70s but when on the beach it actually felt much warmer than that. It made it very enjoyable to swim in the pools, enjoy the waves in the ocean, or just relax with a good book on the beach.

I love the beach…look at the beautiful blue skies….

Crown Reef Resort is a 20 year old resort, which has been undergoing $7.5 million in renovations since last fall, which includes the opening of their water park. In addition, the new Town Center features an arcade with state of the art games, coffee bar, ice cream shop, and a casual restaurant. Crown Reef Resort is located near the southern point of Myrtle Beach so it is a little out of the heavy traffic area but it is quite easy to hop in the car and get to a variety of attractions, restaurants, and shopping quickly.

One of the things I really loved about Crown Reef Resort is how quickly you can be at the beach from your room. The beach is a very quick walk from the resort. There was also plenty of showers from the beach to the pool area to rinse yourself off after getting all sandy. Other resorts we noticed along Myrtle Beach may require a walk across a street.

The Rooms

My first impression when I walked into our room was not excitement. While the room did seem to a fresh coat of a paint and have a fresh look, it seemed like it was going to be a very tight space to accommodate eight people. Luckily, we weren’t planning on hanging out in the room much.

The new room upgrades included: new headboards, lamps, desks, cabinets, and other room furnishings, new mattresses, new bedspreads, a new flat screen television, a renovated kitchen with granite countertops, new dark wood cabinets, new appliances, fresh paint, and large bathroom mirrors. Our experience indicates that the rooms could still use some updating as there are still some worn items still remaining during the renovation process.

We obviously LOVE having a kitchen in our room wherever we stay. It helps us save money on breakfast and lunches by being able to bring our own food and beverages. For a family of 6 who was traveling with two extra kids, this was much needed.

The best highlight of the room was the view of the ocean. What a beautiful, clear view of the ocean, which is easily enjoyable with the balcony. All of the rooms at Crown Reef resort have a pool and beach view, which is rare for beach hotels.

The Waterpark & Pools

The water park consists of three waterslides and a silly slide. Unfortunately for us, the first few days we were at the resort, only the two larger water slides were open due to the resort getting the features ready for enclosure for winter. The younger children (8&10) had a blast on these two slides. The teens (14&16) quickly got bored with the two slides. I even took a turn going down the tube slide with my daughter and I thought it was fun.

There are plenty of pools and hot tubs to enjoy at Crown Reef Resort. There are indoors and outdoor pools. Since the weather was nice, we stuck with the outdoor pools.

 

Crown Reef Resort also boasts the longest oceanfront lazy river (575 feet) in Myrtle Beach, which we enjoyed over and over.

The common areas around the pools are in need of some help too – possibly landscaping and some repairs here and there, which I’m going to assume is on the renovation and beautification list.

Town Center

The brand new Town Center at Crown Reef Resort includes entertainment, dining, and fun. It is a brand new space that is very modern with a sweets shoppe, very casual dining option, and state of the art arcade.

Arcade

The arcade was definitely one of the highlights of the resort. It is newly renovated and state of the art. No coins are needed, it is all via a electronic card that allows you to add money to the card to play games as well as redeeming your “tickets” via the card as well.

Restaurants

We ate at the Loco Gecko restaurant several times! It had a beautiful pool and beach view. The prices were reasonable for the type of dining and location.

The food had a variety of easy foods including vegetarian options, which my oldest daughter and I were pleased to see.

 

 

There is also a more casual Grab-n-Go Grill and Coffee shop, which had newly renovated seating. Be sure to check the hours when you check-in as every time we tried to experience the Grab-n-Go, it was closed. (Note: We did visit during the off season, which is probably why we had this issue.)

Other Activities

During the busier summer months, it looks like there are more activities. We did get to experience the pirate with his parrot. The kids thought this was pretty cool.

Overall, I think this is a budget hotel that is great for large families or people on a very tight budget. I do hope they continue the renovations as this is such a great location especially with all the ocean front rooms.

 

Keep up to date on the latest promotions from Crown Reef Resort via Twitter @CrownReefResort or Facebook.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary stay to Crown Reef Resort and resort credit in order to facilitate this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.