I wouldn%26#39;t say you sound ';mean,'; but there%26#39;s something to be said for your waiting three months after your visit to post this and there are some contradictions. As you mention, you find the restaurants to be the only good thing about O.C. Most couples without kids find laying out on the beach (season/weather permitting) and going out to eat/drink to be the top two activities, so I can%26#39;t really see--beyond paying way too much for a room in March--how it could have been too disappointing. You say you didn%26#39;t find eating, but you obviously didn%26#39;t starve and made the statement about the good restaurants to be had in O.C. Which is it?
Those bringing kids find plenty of other stuff to do with them as well--Boardwalk, water parks, amusement parks, movies, arcades, miniature golf.
I suspect you probably wouldn%26#39;t be writing if you paid $125 in March, which is very doable--just check out the highly-rated hotels in O.C. here on T.A. before you book if you try again for the same time next year. Just curious--did you get one of the many free beach papers to see the selection of live entertainment before determining there was none to be had? There%26#39;s not nearly as much in March as there is in summer, but there definitely is a nice selection.
I%26#39;m not sure where you%26#39;re coming from in Maryland, but any aquarium they could build at the beach would pale in comparison with the world-class one in Baltimore. Given that most visitors to O.C. are within a 90-minute drive of the Baltimore and many have been to the aquarium there, one at the beach wouldn%26#39;t have a chance given the inevitable comparisons that will come up.
Finally, if you expand your vacation territory to include West Ocean City and the Delaware beaches, you%26#39;ll find some great outlet shopping (tax free in Delaware), golf, watersports, plenty of additional excellent restaurants and live entertainment venues, and, frankly, ';cleaner'; beach cities (Fenwick, Bethany, Rehoboth) to visit within a 40-minute drive.
Horrible Time in Ocean City, MD
Frankly, I think the people who like Ocean City grew up taking family vacations there and it has become a tradition throughout the generations. Some people%26#39;s idea of a vacation is sand, ocean, cheap souveniers and boardwalk food. Nothing wrong with that. I know I don%26#39;t like that, so I don%26#39;t go there or to Myrtle Beach. Crowds, billboards, cars, and neon lights, have never been my style so I stay away. I much prefer a quieter more refined spot like Nantucket.
We visited OC in March, and frankly it just reaffirmed my reasons for not wasting my vacation dollars there. OC is not Myrtle Beach. It has its own appeal for millions of visitors and thank goodness for that or we would all be vacationing in the same spot.
Horrible Time in Ocean City, MD
I%26#39;ve also never seen the attraction of Ocean City.. which is why we head to Florida, Virginia Beach, Sandbridge Island, even Outer Banks rather than OC when we crave a beach vacation.
I think the best thing OC has going for it is that it is a close drive for a beach outside of DC. So if we have a day, we go to OC or Rehobeth.. any longer and we go elsewhere
Personally, I don%26#39;t like sandy beaches at all (dh loves them) but prefer west coast tidal pools, cliffs and scenery. It takes all kinds!
well, personally, i havent been to the beach in about 21 years and i cant wait to go back. we are going to Ocean City in August. the last beach i was at was Cocoa (sp) Beach in Florida. the attractions are great, but i hate Florida. i dont know how people can stand to live in that cess pool, aka: God%26#39;s waiting room. Myrtle Beach was great too, but it (like Florida) is too far to drive, and i dont fly. the last few vacations we have taken, while great, were a lot of rushing here and rushing there trying to get everything done that we wanted to do before we had to leave. im looking very forward to doing nothing but laying on the beach all day and hanging out on the boardwalk in the evening. no rushing around...no pressure...just chill time.
Mrs Maryland you stayed at the ';nice one with the jacuzzi suite, clean and indoor pool'; for $130 per night in March. You stayed 2 nights with the husband and you mention the resturants were good but hotel staff were old nasty people. When I go on vacation I don%26#39;t hang around the front desk too much let alone the hotel itself. I%26#39;ll admit it gets very crowed during the summer but you went in March with March rates not late June into July rates, so I would guess there were no waiting in lines for anything. There is plenty to do which makes O.C a very popular vacation spots for people who like to be active. Now some like the quiet, slow area of Myrtle Beach, Nags Head and so on which is fine too. It%26#39;s what ever interest you but you may need to check out O.C. during the summer to get a better feel on what it has to offer. The boardwalk, Thrasher fries, minature golf and for the over 21 Purple Moose Saloon, Big Peckers Bar and Grill and of course Secrets%26#39; Night Club. There is plenty of nightlife in O.C. you just need get away from the front desk.
If the hotel you stayed turned you off check out the Tidelands on the boardwalk at 5th st. or go to http://www.ocean-city.com/lodging/ to see other lodging ideas.
I love Ocean City! We will be there towards the end of June, and I can%26#39;t wait. I am looking forward to relaxing and taking in the whole ocean/boardwalk atmosphere. Ocean City has become my favorite beach to go to. We%26#39;ve been to Daytona Beach in Florida which was nice, but that was several years ago; Wildwood in New Jersey which was okay, but the beach is too wide and takes forever to get to the water, and the hotels are across a busy highway; Virginia Beach is okay, nothing great and a pretty long drive from here. I%26#39;ve never been to Myrtle Beach and for some reason have no desire to go there. I think someone told me Myrtle Beach doesn%26#39;t have a boardwalk. Is that right?
We%26#39;ve stayed at the Surf %26amp; Sands (now the Days Inn) and the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel, but this year we%26#39;re trying the Park Place Hotel. Considering we have an oceanfront room on the boardwalk, I was pleasantly surprised at the rates; not near what I expected them to be. I%26#39;ve read the reviews on here about the hotel and am looking forward to staying there.
I think there is plenty to do in Ocean City, there are many good restaurants and they have the best cross stitch store I%26#39;ve ever been to, the Salty Yarns.
To each his own but to clear up what there is to do in OC besides eat ... stroll the boardwalk, bike the boardwalk, stroll the beach, play mini-golf, go to Jolly Roger, go to the water park, go to the outlets not far away in either direction, parasail, surf, jet-ski, fish, go boating, go shopping at the many antique or craft places among others, go to the nightclubs (Seacrets being the foremost), go to the comedy club, go golfing at a championship course less than 10 miles from OC (more than one too), go to an event at the Convention Center, hear a band play, watch the boardwalk performers, ride the rides by the Inlet, water ski, fly a kite on the beach, build a sandcastle, take the ferry to Cape May for a day, take a day trip to Assateague, visit a maritime museum .... nope, not much to do there. ;)
As for accommodations, you picked the wrong time in OC%26#39;s history to complain about the age of them. You can%26#39;t drive down Coastal Hwy without seeing at least a dozen buildings being erected. Slowly but surely, all the old bldgs in OC are being torn down and gorgeous new ones put up. Granted, the development is mostly condos rather than hotels, but there is truly no shortage of fabulous places to say. I do agree that many of the hotels (even the ';nicer'; ones like the Princess Royale) are showing their age, but there are still newer ones to visit (Tidelands, Bonita Beach, etc.) if you don%26#39;t want to stay in condos. As for the appearance of the town ... it%26#39;s getting a facelift just about everywhere. They%26#39;ve just installed new state-of-the-art parking meters that take credit cards too (I think they%26#39;re great b/c I never have change). They revamped the boardwalk not very long ago and I think they did a great job. OC is a seaside town, and with that comes the advanced aging of the salt air and storms. When I compare it to OC NJ or Wildwood, I%26#39;d have to say that OCMD is being much better preserved and improved. I%26#39;ve been to Myrtle Beach, and honestly, I wasn%26#39;t that impressed. It was mostly hotels and condos as far as the eye could see and everything ';to do'; was back off the water and a decent distance from one attraction to the next. It was nice, but just not my preference. Outer Banks are a completely different experience. VA Beach has a terrible reputation for crime and the last time I was there, they had truly nothing to do. (and the food isn%26#39;t as good) I%26#39;m not trying to be defensive (hey, I don%26#39;t own OC), but I do think some of the allegations are without warrant.
-fuzzlekins
ocmdbeachrentals.com
I guess it%26#39;s like everyone said '; to each his own';.
I have been at just about every beach on the east coast from Maine to Fla. and it%26#39;s all in what you want on that vacation.
I grew up in Md. but spent most summers on the beaches along the coast of Maine. The as a teen hit OC, Va. the Jersey shores. Then into the 20%26#39;s it was NC SC Ga and Fla. Then in my 30%26#39;s it was PR, VI etc.
Last couple of summers have been in OC since I have a teenage son who just fell in love w/ OC after spending most of his summers in Jersey and Maine.
I love OC. it%26#39;s the Boardwalk, cheap t-shirts and cheesey souviners, the food and putt putt that we love. I takes me back to my teen years. I find plenty of what I like to do there. It is what it is, if that is what you like than it%26#39;s one of the best beaches.
If you don%26#39;t like it then there are alot of other beaches to choose from
For a 2 day weekend, I find it hard to believe that anyone could go to an ocean resort, have a beach to take a walk on , eat in some fairly good restaurants, have available shopping, and not have an enjoyable time. Believe me, I would not go to to Ocean City in the prime summertime- it is way too crowded for my taste. But in the off season it can make a great getaway. Also you state that you could not find anything when you checked out some web site- if that was the case why did you go? If you went during ';spring break ';in March that may have accounted for your high rate. But there are plenty of less expensive nice hotels. I have vacationed in Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach during the summer for 18 years but I will not be going back - too crowded and nothing there but bus loads of people coming to all of those country music theaters, etc. To each his own- that what makes the world go round. It just sounds like you knew what you were getting before you went, and then you just wanted to complain about it.
What happened to MrsMaryland? Typical ';drive-by'; poster if you ask me.
No comments:
Post a Comment