Ocean City Condo Buildings?

[Anonymous]

Looking to go back to Ocean City this year with our young kids (4 and 5) - before we stayed right on the Boardwalk but we are looking further north. Any reviews or feedback on the following buildings: Capril, Quay, Sea Watch?

I know it's really unit by unit in terms of how nice things are but I know some of the buildings themselves may have cool features - curious if they are in working order or if location of any of these is preferable?

[Anonymous]

I highly recommend Sea Watch BUT, most of the rental units have been taken over by Vacasa this year and the rates have skyrocketed, mostly because Vacasa adds on lots ridiculous fees. You'll find much better rates with smaller, local rental companies and will probably get better service as well. Try Century 21:
https://www.century21newhorizon.com/ocean-city-md-vacation-rentals/sea-watch

[Anonymous]

I like to stay at Astoria and Gateway grand but that's because they have 3BR and 3 Bath, great location.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I highly recommend Sea Watch BUT, most of the rental units have been taken over by Vacasa this year and the rates have skyrocketed, mostly because Vacasa adds on lots ridiculous fees. You'll find much better rates with smaller, local rental companies and will probably get better service as well. Try Century 21:
https://www.century21newhorizon.com/ocean-city-md-vacation-rentals/sea-watch

Yeah I use VRBO. What other local rental companies are there?? Yes rates are way higher than two years ago...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like to stay at Astoria and Gateway grand but that's because they have 3BR and 3 Bath, great location.

Thanks! We don't need the space and these didn't show up on Mt vrbo search. Where else do you find them though?

[Anonymous]

I haven't stayed in a condo in OC in a long time, but I remember a lot of them having really dated furnishings. Since you'll be outside for the most part, this probably isn't a dealbreaker. We used to stay at the Calypso on 62nd street. It's an older building, but beach there was nice.

[Anonymous]

Gateway grand
The Charleston

[Anonymous]

Don’t use vrbo

https://centraloc.com/search-results/?sort=&checkin=&checkout=&area=&location=&bedroom%5B%5D=&minOcc=&building=Gateway+Grand&totalDays=

[Anonymous]

We stayed at the Capri several times when DC was young and really liked it - very reasonable prices, easy to walk out onto beach, not in crowded area, has indoor pool and small library and game room, and almost every unit has great views of the ocean. The building is pretty old though but that didn’t bother us.

[Anonymous]

Resort rentals (www.OCvacations.com) is well run local rental company. You can filter for area and view you want to see selections. Condos are of course privately owned - the building isn’t responsible for individual owners furnishings etc so should look at pictures and reviews. i own at The Quay but don’t rent, has indoor/outdoor pools, tennis, sun deck, convenience store, game room and 24 hour security staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I highly recommend Sea Watch BUT, most of the rental units have been taken over by Vacasa this year and the rates have skyrocketed, mostly because Vacasa adds on lots ridiculous fees. You'll find much better rates with smaller, local rental companies and will probably get better service as well. Try Century 21:
https://www.century21newhorizon.com/ocean-city-md-vacation-rentals/sea-watch

Yeah I use VRBO. What other local rental companies are there?? Yes rates are way higher than two years ago...

Many of the listings on VRBO, Airbnb and similar sites are duplicate listings of the same unit that is already listed on a smaller, local rental management company so you are paying duplicate fees. If you can find the direct listing, you can save yourself lots of $. If you know the building you want, it is easier to search for it and compare prices.

Whatever you do, DON'T use Vacasa! Just compare some of the Sea Watch units and you will see that the prices are almost $1000 more for a week for Vacasa vs. some of the other rental companies.

Vacasa will be over $4000/week in July:
https://www.vacasa.com/search?place=/usa/Sea-Watch-Ocean-City/

Shoreline, OCVacations, and Century 21 units in Sea Watch rent for about $3000 per week in July. The problem is that Vacasa's strategy is to corner the market so they have the most units and the rates will only go up once all the more affordable units with other rental companies are filled.

[Anonymous]

We’ve stayed at Sea Watch twice. Once using Coldwell Banker and once using Century 21.

I didn’t love the cost of the linen rental but otherwise it is great— the location is excellent.

[Anonymous]

Op here. These are amazing recs but I'm late to the game it seems and there is little availability considering I can't go for a full week. But even paying for a full week there isn't availability in late June. May have to pony up on Vrbo

[Anonymous]

Try Coastal Rentals and Hileman Real Estate. I don’t love the Quay. Gateway Grand is very nice and the Capri has a large indoor pool and a game room.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Try Coastal Rentals and Hileman Real Estate. I don’t love the Quay. Gateway Grand is very nice and the Capri has a large indoor pool and a game room.

Thank you! Gateway Grand looks like a very nice building but seems to lack the kid-amenities of Sea Watch/Quay/Capri? So far I think Sea Watch would be best for our needs if I can find a non VRBO unit for less than a week! Wish me luck!