renting a beach house v. staying at beach resort

[Anonymous]

I'm trying to figure out what makes more sense for our family of 4 (our kids will be 5 and 3 this summer). We will be vacationing the last week of August. A house would be less expensive, but I worry it won't feel as much like a "vacation." We've never stayed at any kind of resort with the kids. I've promised them a beach vacation too, so we are limited to that.

Any insight on either option would be appreciated.

[Anonymous]

With kids that small I feel like providing my own food is almost easier than trying to feed them from what is provided/on the menu, so I'd go with the house-- it'll still feel like a vacation!

[Anonymous]

Personally, I don't want to have to cook, clean, make beds...etc while I am on vacation, I would go with the resort.

[Anonymous]

What about a condo at a resort? I recently stayed at a Marriott that was a two bedroom condo on the beach. There were several pools, (including kiddie pools) lots of kids activities and pool side service. There was a Marriott hotel next to the property as well. I would highly recommend.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice. Where was the Marriott with condos?

[Anonymous]

The Marriott is in Myrtle Beach. I must say that I had not heard the best things about Myrtle Beach but we were meeting other family members and it was almost a half way point. I was pleasantly surprised and am planning on booking another trip this summer. The resort is secluded and away from the busy end of Myrtle Beach but a short 10 minute drive to all of the shopping and restaurants.

They have several pools and most are oceanfront. The kids pools is zero entry with lots of play areas and jungle gyms. There are grills sprinkled throughout the resort if you want to cook out. I believe there are 6 buildings and three are oceanfront. The main building has a convenience type store downstairs which also serves pizza hut, starbucks and breakfast sandwiches. And there is a poolside bar that serves drinks, salads, burgers and other finger foods. The Marriott hotel next door has on site restaurants that you can use.

I think the resort also offers a pizza and movie nights for the kids if parents want to get away for a few hours. And there are lots of planned activities for kids if that interests you.

One thing to keep in mind if you decide to book is that it's a timeshare property. So if you try to book directly with Marriott it is unlikely they will have availability. You will probably have to rent from a timeshare owner as we did. It was very easy and we got a fantastic price. I think the condos go for about $ 3,000 per week on Marriott's website during the summer and we rented one for $ 1,000! And don't worry about them hassling you to buy a timeshare. I have been to several resorts in Cancun where this was a problem but we weren't approached once at the Marriott. Although, I may take a look when we go back this summer.... that is how much we enjoyed it.

The link is below. Let me know if you have any questions.

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/myrow-marriotts-oceanwatch-villas-at-grande-dunes/