This is my Royal Review of Crown Reef Resort Myrtle Beach, SC. We received a four night stay, along with some meals in exchange for posts. I was also given a vacation package to give away on my site. I was not compensated nor was this post edited by anyone (as you’ll be able to see by my misspellings and crazy syntax). You can count my honest opinion any time you read a review. That’s a royal promise. Read more on my disclosure policy.
I love the ocean. I love the crash of the waves and how the sound simply causes me to exhale. I love the way the vastness of the ocean makes me feel so small in comparison. I like the smell of salt water and and sinking my toes down deep in the sand. I could sit for hours building sandcastles like a little kid. I love looking at and collecting shells. Being a midwestern girl, I can’t even wrap my head around how awesome it must be to live near the shoreline – that you could easily see the ocean every single day? That must be a piece of heaven.
So when Crown Reef Resort & Conference Center reached out and wanted to bring the Royal Family for a visit to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, it took me approximately 2.3 seconds to respond. Of course! When can we come see the ocean?
Acquired less than a year ago by Vacation Myrtle Beach, Crown Reef has recently undergone an intensive 7.5 millllllllllioooooon dollar renovation. That means if you’ve stayed in the past, you can expect it too look much differently! The work has been rapid – as new furniture, paint, and kitchens were installed, an amazing waterpark was also constructed. In addition, the brand spanking new Town Center Area opened this spring. It features the Loco Gecko (a fun casual dining destination where our family feasted more than once), a Grab N’ Go Grill and Coffee Bar, Swirl – an ice cream and sweet shop, and the Princess’ favorite feature Game On! with both classics like skeeball and fun app based games like Fruit Ninja on the big screen!
My favorite parts of our adventure to Crown Reef included:
- The fact that all 514 rooms and suites face the ocean and have their own balcony. Every day I sat on the balcony and enjoyed the sea breeze and watched the waves crash.
- The waterpark with two 38 foot waterslides that rarely had a line. More than once we rode down, climbed the stairs back up, and went right back down again. If we did wait, it was less than ten minutes. Our girls LOVED the warterpark. While riding with me, the Princess Youngest (a very teeny age six) quipped, “LET’S LIGHT THIS CANDLE!” She also loved the splash pad area with water fountains and a super cute fun “Silly” submarine. Since the park was entirely covered (and currently being enclosed to be a year round facility), I didn’t worry about getting burned to death, too. People of the red hair require great gobs of sunblock. We like the shade. The indoor option also allows you to visit in the off season when the weather is cooler but the rates are more affordable.
- The full kitchen in our Oceanfront Queen Deluxe Suite. I assume you know me well. I do not enjoy spending money. Having a fully equipped kitchen (which honestly is nicer than mine at home) made meals much easier. We ate breakfast in our room nearly every day which both allowed us to spend more time playing and less money.
- The amazing staff! Everyone was so unbelievably helpful and kind, even maybe when they thought we were weird. We ordered some extra towels which somehow got translated to towels and blankets – thoroughly confusing to the housekeeping staff who wondered why we needed six extra blankets but brought them to us anyway. Ha! The air conditioning was fantastic in our suite but not that cold.
- The fact that we wouldn’t have had to leave if we didn’t want to do so. We did venture out to some landmark destinations (had fun at both Barefoot Landing and Broadway at the Beach) and did some shopping (LOVED the outlet mall and found some great deals). However, between the kitchen and the onsite dining options, you could stay at Crown Reef the entire time and never even have to move your car. There’s even a great Piggly Wiggly less than 2 miles away where you can stock your fridge for the week.
To be fair, there were some drawbacks to our stay (keeping it real for my people):
- Since there have been so many rapid renovations, there’s still some detail work left to be done. This meant that there was fresh paint here and there and the elevators were yet to have a little bit of work done. You might see some unfinished edges as the progress continues. However, I’m amazed at how much they’ve accomplished in less than a year’s time.
- Myrtle Beach is a tourist destination which draws 14 MILLION people every year. Luckily Crown Reef is close to the last resort on the beach which makes it a bit less trafficked but getting anywhere else requires you to budget plenty of time. We love kitschy fun but there are a lot of pancake houses, miniature golf, go karts, shows, and more. So when we did venture out of the resort, I felt like we were constantly saying no to our kiddos. The upside is of course since there were so many different places to choose from, your wait wouldn’t be as long if this was something you budgeted for as a part of your experience.
- As is the case with any outdoor entry hotel and balcony set up, there were frequently people smoking outside. We have heightened allergies and so dodging smoke outside wasn’t much fun. I’m not sure the resort has much control over that, though.
- The parking lot felt a little tight. This was more challenging on the weekend when there seemed to be a higher volume of people visiting.
Crown Reef is definitely a value resort. There are always special deals running the rooms are fairly affordable already. Some of the rooms can hold up to eight people, so larger families can stay all in one room comfortably and you might even be able to visit with your inlaws or another family to defray the cost further.
I’m thrilled to announce that Crown Reef Resort also wants to send one lucky Money Saving Lord or Lady on their own Myrtle Beach adventure. Tomorrow, I’ll have a post up with how you can win a three night stay in an Oceanfront Queen Efficiency along with $100 in resort credit for dining and fun (a $750 value).
Gain inspiration to pay off debt! Check out Inspiration to Pay Off Debt: 30 Days of Encouragement from the Queen of Free on Kindle or Pre-Order Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After (due out November 2014).
This post contains an affiliate link. That means when you get a great deal or maybe even something for free, you also help our family pay off our mortgage early. And for that, we royally thank you!
Crystal Hall Barnard says
Just spent 5 days there 😀 You’re right about the exhaling .lol so while setting on my deck at home watching the kids fight in the pool I just went to all my photos just to try and exhale one more time.Then I came to images on google and ran across your pictures and now I’m 😖 Because I ❤️That dang burlap bag and I never seen them there . Oh and by the way just to say it honestly the parking garage was tighter than a ticks ass that was a true experience parking a tundra in there.
Queen of Free says
Your parking comment was hilarious and made my day! I’m so glad you had a great time.