While road-tripping with my family down the East Coast of the United States, we also stopped in Myrtle Beach. (You may already know this from reading about the vultures!)
I’d previously traveled to North Carolina for a regional conference years ago when I was a high school student, but this was my first time visiting its sister state: South Carolina.
Our vacation to Myrtle Beach was full of many ups and downs.
We drove to the Club Wyndham Ocean Boulevard Resort which was the property we would be staying at for the entire week we would be spending in the city.
My Review of Club Wyndham Ocean Boulevard
Upon checking in, we all received these room key wristbands. They had a convenient little NFC-like chip attached to them to simplify getting into our rooms. I believe the proper terminology for these is RFID wristbands.
As you might imagine, these wristbands were fully waterproof and also served as a signal to staff that we belonged on the property. You could also use them as a contactless payment method to charge things to your room.
The rooms were very spacious and had a nice nautical interior design that was perfect for a property located right on North Myrtle Beach.
After moving our luggage to our room, we decided to have a look around the property.
Amenities include an activities center, arcade games, bar, barbecue area, fitness center, cafe, bocce ball area, sauna, lazy river, hot tub, pool, and on-site beach access.
Since this property was located at North Myrtle Beach, the area was much quieter than if you stayed directly in the main Myrtle Beach area. Since we were just there for a family getaway, we didn’t mind the area being a little quieter.
The beach connected to the Club Wyndham Ocean Boulevard is a very nice strip. While walking around, I spotted a few royal terns. These are shore birds I’ve never seen before!
As you can see, there were other people… but the beach wasn’t crowded at all.
Unfortunately for us, we didn’t have the most amazing weather during our week in Myrtle Beach.
Here was the weather forecast during the week we visited:
Rain and thunderstorms every… single… day.
In reality, the rain turned out to be very on and off. So whenever we got a moment of sun, we’d make a break for the beach or the pool. Then if it started to rain, we’d move indoors or use that time to eat a meal. The storms in Myrtle Beach were no joke. I’ll show a few short views of them later.
Our visit was in August so our trip’s timing was also off-season which is partially to explain the very empty beaches and uncertain weather.
We found the pool to be a bit cold, especially in August when the weather wasn’t particularly hot out. We did manage to lounge out by the pool and we took advantage of the property’s hot tubs!
One gripe my sister and I had was that we kept trying to have deep conversations but there were so many kids running, screaming, and splashing everywhere that it made it hard to relax at times. I guess that is to be expected when you stay at such a family-friendly resort that caters to timeshare owners and families. It typically means a lot of young children will be all over.
Anwyay, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.
The stormy weather almost made for excellent boogie board weather, hahaha.
We had a very nice room at the resort. From the balcony, we could look out to the pools and you could even see the beach out in the distance.
Overall, I’d recommend the hotel for families looking to spend time together by the pool or at the beach. The area is generally pretty quiet so it’s not the ideal location if you want the hustle and bustle of staying in the primary Myrtle Beach area.
Celebrating My Dad’s Birthday
Another reason for us wanting to take this trip after such a long hiatus from traveling was to celebrate my dad’s birthday. Since the weather wasn’t great, we booked indoor activites to spend time together.
Visit a Winery
We spent one afternoon at Duplin Winery where we did a tasting that allowed us to sample six wines.
We sampled Carlos, Magnolia, Brice’s Creek, Sangria White, Burgundy, and Pink Magnolia.
This day was definitely one of my highlights of our trip, we had so much fun together.
My Dad’s Birthday Dinner: Brazilian Rodizio
A Brazilian rodizio is frequently associated with a style of dining service where servers distribute meats in a buffet style called a Churrascaria.
In a rodizio service, a team of servers will bring a large selection of meats and other grilled foods to your table on skewers and slice it fresh from the grill.
The service stops when you flip your card from green to red.
Making the Journey Back Home
After our week in Myrtle Beach was up, we began the journey back home: a drive that took us more than 10 hours to complete.
As far as I can remember, this was the longest road trip I’ve ever been on!
Myrtle Beach was a nice time, minus all of the rain. Next time, I hope to visit the main section of Myrtle. To some extent, I do feel like I missed out by not going there this time, but the entire purpose of this trip was to be with my family so I’m glad we were able to spend this quality time together!
I’m sure I’ll go back someday to see the parts I missed this time.
