Myrtle Beach: accomodations & the weather

On Monday, August 31, we woke to rain, thunder and lightning on our first day at Myrtle Beach. We had arrived on Sunday, August 30, and discovered that we were staying in an unexpected place.

Our motel turned out to be a remodeled Pan American. Had we known this, I am sure we would not have stayed at this facility. When I called I had been given the impression this was a totally new place that opened in 2007.

No matter. As it was, it turned out fine.

The motel, originally only six stories, was now 13 (14 on the elevator, we Americans are so superstitious), and it had been completely remodeled and renovated, and a sister tower added next door. Once we figured out what had happened I relaxed, though I wasn't surprised when mold appeared in our bathroom on our fifth day there. I alerted housekeeping and thankfully they went after it with bleach.



Our motel from the beach. The lower six floors are the older part; we were on the fourth floor, corner room on the left in this photo.

The owners went to quite an expense to turn their older facility into a new modern one, and I daresay it has paid off. This place was nearly full most of the time we were there. It is a kid-friendly facility and maybe not quite what we were looking for, since we are middle-aged couple with no kids. But I would go back there, now that it has been redone.

Sunday evening, after our arrival, we toured the area as is our habit. We were looking for even more changes than those we found in 2007. We knew coming down that the Pavilion, the race track with the great little go carts and our favorite restaurant, the Outrigger, had vanished. They were gone when we vacationed in North Myrtle Beach in 2007.

This year so much looked different I could not tell what had changed. A few things remained - but now Myrtle Beach is mostly beach, shopping centers and golf. The things that made it unique are no more, and that is a shame. Because I can go shopping pretty much anywhere.

In other words, Myrtle Beach is no longer a destination for the "regular folks" but is now a destination point for those who do the big-wheeling. The fellows who play golf and their wives who need shopping as a diversion. The rest of us? Eh. Who cares.

Anyway, our room was pleasant enough. It had two TVs, a couch, table, king-sized bed, full-size refrigerator, stove, microwave, three sinks, bathroom, closet, little vanity/dressing area. It was a nice-sized room for two people.




The place was a little short of amenities - no coffee for the coffee pot - but we bring our own stuff anyway (except for coffee, we had to buy that) so it did not really matter. I suspect this is the way of hotel-staying in the future, fewer little touches.

Our motel is a three-star and very nice. After our adventure in 2001 at its former self, I was much relieved.

Monday brought rain, a herald of the week. Unfortunately we saw very little sunshine as the beach sky stayed overcast and cloudy much of the time we were there. The temperatures never strayed above the low 80s and for much of the time we sat on the beach, I huddled under an extra towel for warmth. The winds blew cool and hard, sending my book pages turning if I loosened my grip on the novel.



Unfortunately, a good deal of the time, the beach looked sad and wet.