Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions stated are genuine and my own.
We are staying at the
Caravelle Resort during the holiday break, and in addition to being thrilled to be located directly on the beach (what a view we have from the 12th-floor!), we are also delighted to be in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for the first time ever. I loved everything about this place. The people are friendly, the city is bustling with things to do, yet there is also quite a bit of rural land with wild animals to see out and about, cotton (among other things) growing in the fields, and of course the beach life, that is a culture in and of itself.
THE RATES ARE SO AFFORDABLE!
One thing that I think might really surprise you, especially during Thanksgiving, is how affordable it is to stay at the Caravelle Resort. Check out their website, put in your dates and be amazed at how reasonably priced this vacation would be for you as well. Myrtle Beach is the perfect place to take the family, or even to go solo, or on a romantic getaway. With prices like these, it's definitely worth considering.
This is our window and walkway view from the front of the suite we are staying in (look at all of those trees!)
and this is what we see from the balcony outside of the living/dining room. Believe me, we soaked up these views every chance we got.
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This Murphy Bed folds into the wall during the day.
We took turns sleeping here instead of the bedroom, so we can experience
the sound of the ocean waves, just outside of the balcony doors. |
In addition to the bedroom, there is also a Murphy Bed that folds into the wall, located in the living room, and we took turns sleeping on it, rather than in the private bedroom, so we could hear the sounds of the ocean while we were falling asleep or waking up in the morning. I can honestly say, I cannot ever remember sleeping so soundly as I did when it was my night to snooze on the Murphy. Every time I got up for the day, I listened to the rhythmic sound of the waves just outside of our balcony doors (which we keep open quite a bit), and fall right back asleep. It was glorious, and restful, just like a vacation should be!
The traditional bedroom had 2 double beds, a night stand, full dresser, flatscreen TV and a closet with a safe. There were also a ton of pillows and extra blankets for warmth, just in case you need them. There were two heating/cooling units in the suite, which I really loved. I turned my heater up in my room (it was a little chilly outside) and my son cranked the air in the room he slept in (he loves a fan or air conditioning running while he is asleep). Because the two areas were so far apart in the apartment, neither of us bothered the other with our preferences for different sleeping temperatures.
There was a full bath with a tub, shower and dressing room. Another closet with an iron and ironing board is in the hallway. Every room was separated by a privacy door, including the galley kitchen with a full-sized refrigerator and stove.
The cupboards and drawers in the kitchen were fully stocked for your cooking needs. You simply just need to bring the food. A grocery store is close by, in fact more than one grocery store is nearby.
Dinners can be eaten in the living/dining room, in the easy chair, on the couch or at the dinette.
AND if you're not in the mood to cook, there are restaurants all around as well (or you can order in). The Caravelle Resort has a couple of restaurants as well. The one next to the pools is seasonal and was closed (we were here during the Thanksgiving Break) but the award-winning Santa Maria Restaurant is reasonably priced and open for your morning meal each day. They serve a buffet-style breakfast with a chef manning the omelet station. There are hot and cold options each day, and everything is so good! You can also order dinner to go in the evenings, although they were closed the only day we opted to do so. During the season though, you can bet this restaurant and everything else in and around the resort is hopping. There is so much room, and there are so many things to see and do just on the grounds alone.
Among the many things to do are a block-long poolscape with a splash area for kids,
long jacuzzis, a pool,
and a lazy river for everyone.
This area also leads to the direct beach access (just steps from the hotel). This is a great place to play with the family, catch some rays, and/or just spend time alone soaking in the beauty of the Atlantic Ocean (and make no mistake, it is absolutely breathtaking in person).
We walked on the beach every opportunity we got, and if we went at certain times of the morning or evening, we found we had most of the beach to ourselves. Certainly one reason for that was because we had chosen late November to experience the resort, which is not a typical time that most people choose a beach vacation. We have always been off-season travelers though. There is something to be said for experiencing areas without huge crowds and long wait lines. Our time at the Caravelle Resort was no exception. Our time here was peaceful and calm, but still full of so many events and things to do...we did them at a leisurely pace. I have to say, it was nice. So very nice.
I said it already, but I'll say it again, it is the beach views that get to me. I can't get enough of them, and every opportunity I got to spend time on this private piece of beach and ocean, I took full advantage of ... Some of you might say I live in a place where beautiful beaches are always available, and that is absolutely true, but I have to pack the car and drive to those. At the Caravelle Resort, we just stepped outside of our hotel, and voila', we had reached our destination.
Another pool area that is inside (rain is no problem at this resort) can be found on one of the roof-tops. We went to this pool area at night, so it appeared darkish in the photo. It was a nice, clean and quiet area for us to take a swim. Well, it was quiet until we got there. We did do quite a bit of playing here because the water was heated. We will probably return to this pool again, rather than the gorgeous one outside because the temperatures, while pleasant, are more suited to jackets this time of year, than to swimsuits.
There are also a couple of jacuzzis in this area, which are always nice. Here is a picture of my son enjoying this one, not suspecting that a moment later it would be frothing and full of bubbles because there is a handy little switch nearby that activates the jets (believe me, he didn't mind). 😊
There were quite a few buildings associated with this property, but so we didn't want to venture outside of our own huge area. There were places to eat, visit, play and rest all over the grounds.
There were even some on the observation deck/roof. This area is the perfect place to settle in and relax with a good book.
There was also a spa. I saw they did massages, which would be great, but I wondered if they also did pedicures... Worth looking into!
There was also a fully-equipped fitness center, golfing opportunities, and a concierge service if you would like to utilize it.
The double room game area is a hit with my boy, and places to visit such as the ice cream shoppe,
and the gift store, where you could find everyday items you might need (like a waterproof pouch for your phone, a spill-proof cup for the beach, or items to munch on or serve with dinner, when you go back up to your room, are conveniently located on the first floor by the outside pools.
An on-site laundromat comes in handy when you are staying awhile,
and there is also a Real Estate Sales Office downstairs too. Now, I was not asked to mention this in any way shape or form, but I wanted to because every since we walked into our suite, I was thinking what a wonderful idea it would be to buy one of these condos we are staying in, so everyone in the family could use it at different times of the year (all at once, or as time permits for our individual families to enjoy). Since 3 of the 4 kids are now grown and have families of their own, this would be a wonderful way to ensure they have (and we have) a gorgeous vacation spot to enjoy whenever we wanted to take the drive up to South Carolina. It's not that far from our home at all, and is the perfect distance for the kids to anticipate the joy on the other end, but not so far that the parents get stressed out.
In any case, it's something worth running by the family, and taking into consideration. I am at that age now where these things are coming to mind more and more, and finding ways and good excuses to get the family all together at the same time always makes me happy. In fact, my favorite time is when I have my kids and now grandkids all in the same space. Lucky for me, I am blessed with an awesome bunch of kiddos. They make me proud and happy.
One other thing that made me happy was beating this kid at Foosball or Air Hockey (one of which I did, and one of which I did not). ;)
The Caravelle Resort is also within close driving distance to many, may places (like the Hollywood Wax Museum, which you see above). There is a luau dinner show on the beach I was interested in checking out. There were also many places to go, such as the boardwalk, where we spent quite a good amount of time just because it was so pleasant and there were so many things to do like zip lining, taking a helicopter ride, seeing a show, taking a boat ride, letting the kids play in the park, shopping, and eating... there were so many wonderful restaurants on the boardwalk too! I was delighted to see some restaurants I have heard of but never seen, such as Landry's Seafood, and Wahlburgers (yes, the Wahlburgers own it) and oh my is there ever SHOPPING!
We found both a country store and a Christmas store on the boardwalk and I was in my glory!! We have been to the walkway (it is huge!) twice already, and still not seen everything there is to see. You can read about the adventures we have had in Myrtle Beach so far, or will have soon, by visiting these links as they go live: Broadway at the Beach, Rock 'n Jump, T.I.G.E.R.S. Preservation Station, and Ripley's Aquarium (where we took a ride in a glass bottom boat and walk through a shark tunnel too, seeing the wildlife in the aquarium from all angles). I was excited that there was so much to do, and knew we still had more left to explore, the next time we visit The Caravelle Resort.
On Thanksgiving, Caravelle serves a wonderful Thanksgiving Buffet. If you are in the area, I recommend stopping by. If you are not near the resort, I recommend checking it out for the next time you are planning a vacation. I used to think of this area as just a summer or warm weather destination. Now that I have visited in late November, I saw that is not the case. Myrtle Beach was amazing, and The Caravelle was a wonderful place to stay and enjoy it all, any time of the year. Learn more by visiting The Caravelle Resort website. You can also follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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