Litchfield- An Alternative to Myrtle Beach
Written: Feb 18 '02
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: not as crowded as Myrtle, more upscale, lovely
Cons: traffic increasing, somewhat expensive
The Bottom Line: A good alternative to Myrtle Beach, lots of amenities, more upscale, but not problem-free.
|
|
|
| bud41's Full Review: South Carolina |
I've traveled to the Grand Strand since before I could walk! The Myrtle Beach area is a much different place than when I was a teenager - traffic, entertainment complexes, traffic, zillions of restaurants, traffic, sleazy beach shops, traffic, retired people, and TRAFFIC all characterize the area now. That's why I think Litchfield Beach- 20 miles south - is a good alternative.
Because housing choices here are almost exclusively available from the vastLitchfield Beach and Golf Resort, this review will focus on this mega-complex - and specifically on the Bridgewater Condominiums where I recently stayed.
Litchfield Area
Litchfield Beach lies about twenty miles south of Myrtle Beach on Highway 17 in Georgetown County. It is a golf mecca, and a retirement haven. The pace is slower and the amenities are good.
The beach is dominated by the resort, several golf courses, some retirement communities, churches, and nice strip shopping centers with upscale and full service groceries. Georgetown Memorial Hospital also operates "HealthPoint" just down the road from the resort. It is a large, modern combination day spa and health club.
Litchfield atmosphere is geared toward middle age and older adults, and families who want a quieter vacation than frantic Myrtle Beach. You won't find rows and rows of sleazy t-shirt and beach shops selling off-color shirts (there is one "Eagles" beach shop on Hwy 17- and it looks very out of place!).
The Resort
As you enter Litchfield, you will first come to the hotel area (on the left if arriving from the north). This is check-in for all housing options. Some of the signs still say "Litchfield-By-The-Sea"- the original name of the resort (ownership has changed hands a few times).
The hotel has two large buildings of rooms and caters to golfers and conventions. It has a nice restaurant called Webster's which serves breakfast, lunch , and dinner. The breakfast buffet is quite good. There's a small indoor pool here and a small sauna and steam room (co-ed). There are men's and women's locker rooms, and rental office for bikes and "beach stuff". There's also an in-house beauty/barber shop in the hotel. The rooms here are 2 room suites with a kitchenette. They are quite comfortable. I have stayed in them several times since the early 1980s. One unit of rooms overlooks the outdoor pool, the other group overlooks the marsh. The hotel is a couple of blocks from the ocean - but an easy walk.
People come here to golf, swim, relax, play tennis, walk the beach, and dine. There are packages available that are built around all these interests. Check their website - www.litchfieldresort.com.
To enter the remainder of the resort (other than the hotel), you will need to display a car permit from guest services. Most of Litchfield Resort is gated. The community is comprised of single-family and multi-family residences, chalets, duplexes, executive housing, and condos.
The grounds are lovely, well landscaped,and clean. The roads are narrow and winding (on purpose - you have to drive slowly). The exteriors of the homes are mostly gray and white. The colors and architecture are meant to compliment the habitat.
Beachfront you'll find a series of condo units. Some are one bedroom, some two, and some three. We stayed in the one bedroom Bridgewater complex recently. Here is the low-down:
Bridgewater
This multi-story building is an all ocean view property with mainly two room suites with a balcony. There's a covered portico for unloading luggage, and three elevators available. There is also a limited amount of covered parking underneath the building - nice in the summer!
We stayed on the second floor. I had requested a higher floor, but didn't get it. The view was nice, but the dunes and a palm tree hindered part of the beautiful view. Our room overlooked the pool area which is immaculate and gorgeous with a lazy river ride, a free-form pool, a kiddie pool, a hot tub,a gazebo, and lots of deck chairs and lounges.The pools are open and maintained year-round, but ARE NOT HEATED! Why go to the bother and expense if it's too cold to use it? Hmmmm. Wooden steps take you over the dunes and onto the beach. AND, the beach here is the widest and cleanest along the strand! AND, it is not as crowded as other area beaches!
Our Room
On entering Bridgewater suites, you find yourself in the bedroom. It is small (perhaps 12'x13').It contains two double beds, a night stand, a dresser, a small chest with a TV on it. There are no closets in the bedroom - they are in the galley kitchen (go figure)! These units are long and narrow.
You leave the bedroom and walk through the galley kitchen on your left. There's a full size range and stove, refrigerator (good ice maker),microwave, double sink, and cabinets (plates, pots, pans, silver, etc....are provided). On either side is a small closet. So, you hang you clothes in the kitchen. And, the doors to the bedroom and living room open so that they block the closets! To get to the closets, you have to close the bedroom or living room doors! Weird!
Across from the kitchen is the bath area. There are two water closets with a tub room in the middle. Each water closet has a toilet and sink. This was nice as my wife and I both had our areas to put out shaving stuff, make up, etc....The lighting in the water closets was good, it was dim in the bath area. Two problems here- the water pressure was low in the shower, and the water never got hot - only tepid. I reported it, but it never got fixed. Toiletries were standard - shampoo, soap, lotion, conditioner.
Through the kitchen and you are in the living area. Again- about 12'X13' with a round table (seating for three), an armoire with TV (good cable selection!), a love seat (not very comfortable), a chair, two floor lamps, and Murphy bed which pulled down from the wall. The decor was nice - neutral carpet, beach and golf art on the walls, sea foam greens and mauves - very tasteful and appropriate. The unit was clean. A coffee table in front of the love seat was a good "catch-all". An adequate balcony was right outside the living room. Large windows and a sliding glass door were very clean and provided a wonderful view. There were two chairs and a small table on the balcony. We enjoyed coffee out there.
The bedding was lacking. I found the mattresses too hard and woke up sore. The pillows were either too flat or too firm. Temperature controls for the unit were excellent. The bedding was clean and well maintained.
(An oddity - there was no iron or ironing board in this suite!)
You can hear bumping and doors closing from other units. That seems to be a wide spread problem and annoys some more than others. It was not as bad as some places I have stayed.
There's an indoor pool and hot tub on the first floor. You have to take your own towels, but there is a locker room adjacent to the pool for changing. It was clean, but screaming children in the enclosed room was magnified by the water and glass and made it unpleasant for me so I did not stay.
Bridgewater also has a nice community room called the "Palmetto Room" adjacent to the pool. I would assume the owners (each unit is individually owned) use this more than guests - but it was lovely.
Bottom Line
Litchfield in general, and Bridgewater in particular, is a good alternative to Myrtle Beach. However, it is not problem-free. Check-in staff was nice, but subsequent reports to the front desk of things that needed attention went unheeded and I was given the cold shoulder.
[ A strange encounter- I called front desk Sunday morning to see if they had local church info. The reply was "we only have info on the Catholic Church, are you interested in that?" I told her I wanted info on a church I had seen just up the road...ie...service times...she said she could only give me Catholic church info - oh well, who knows? Maybe the Catholic church is the only one in the area who would give them any info, but I doubt it].
I can recommend Litchfield, but it is not among the top resorts I have experienced. Still, it ranks among the best choices for the Grand Strand area.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
bud41
|
 - Top 500 |
|
Location: Between the Waxhaws and Oklawaha
Reviews written: 198
Trusted by: 39 members
About Me:
Just me - a middle-aged teacher who works to travel.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.