Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Myrtle Beach and Crown Reef Resort

Crown Reef Resort at Myrtle Beach

We are back from our amazing vacation to Myrtle Beach.  I actually won this trip through the Purex Insiders program, so exciting!!  We were able to drive through six states (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina) and see all the capitols.  This was so much fun because we are studying American History and the U.S. States and Capitols so it fit perfectly as a homeschool trip and family vacation.  We stayed at the Crown Reef Resort which was literally right next to the beach itself.

Check out this amazing gift basket that was waiting for us in our room, loved all the fresh fruit.

We were on the 4th floor in the second tower and our view was simply amazing.  Our room, one of their "Oceanfront Queen Deluxe Suite"  had ample room for our family of 8.  We loved having the Murphy bed because during the day we pulled it up and it gave us that much more floor space, plus we were able to easily put 6 chairs around the table in the living room, squeeze in a couple more at the corners, and had a perfectly acceptable dining option for meals or snacks in the room.

Looking straight out our balcony

The view sideways from our balcony

Looking straight down, the older kids are swimming in the pool with some new found friends.

Not only does Crown Reef resort have several swimming pools and hot tubs but they have a sprinkler, water-fun area complete with three slides and a large lazy river.

Another pool, semi-indoor (covered)

 Here you can see the two big slides - the red one uses a tube and the blue one you just slide down yourself.  I really enjoyed the blue one!

Of course, the main attraction for us was the beach!  We spent a lot of time at the beach.  The kids and I had never been to the Atlantic Ocean state side, and this was baby F's first ever beach trip.

Our kids love to jump and surf in the waves

 Look, a Baby F castle!!

I've got lots more pictures included below.  For now, let me show you just a couple more things we enjoyed at Crown Reef Resort.  One evening, we had dinner at the resort restaurant, Loco Gecko.  The food was great and the service was excellent.  My kids loved that we got to keep the cups as souvenirs. 

 Getting ready to order

Right next to the restaurant is the Town Center Dining and Fun Zone.  It has an arcade, ice cream station, and there is a smaller grab and go style restaurant that is open for breakfast and snacks.  We all enjoyed Swirl Ice Cream one afternoon and the kids enjoyed playing games.

Town Center Dining and Fun Zone - Arcade

And our room had a kitchenette, microwave, full sized refrigerator, oven and stove-top - along with basic dishes, pots, pans and utensils provided.  Right down the road on 14th street you can get groceries from Food Lion.  This allowed us to cook several meals in our room and make homemade brownies one night - felt like home at the beach!  If you are heading to Myrtle Beach anytime soon I would definitely recommend the Crown Reef.  It is worth checking out!

Enjoy these photos!!

Running in the water

 Happy, Happy, Happy

Waves!

 We borrowed this awesome tent from my friend.

And we had fun in the sand!

 Where's D?

 Cute

 Baby F and I

We built a fun sand turtle complete with babies and a nest.  We came back in the evening and watched the tide wash them away.

 Close up of the nest

 A coming down a slide

B coming down the tube slide

E and Daddy in the lazy river.

 C having fun in the lazy river

The silly submarine

Lots of opportunities to get wet

You can probably see that we had an amazing trip.  I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to experience this and include my family.  We would definitely go back if given the chance.  Crown Reef was excellent.

We really appreciated that they had a laundry facility.  We were at the pools and beach multiple times a day and I found myself doing laundry every night.  Purex No Sort was definitely my friend.  


Disclosure:  Thanks so much to Purex and Crown Reef for this amazing trip!  I am so honored to have won and blessed that we were able to enjoy this trip as a family.  All opinions expressed are 100% my own.

6 comments:

Erin S said...

Congrats on the win! What a blast you all must have had!

Unknown said...

That looks like a fun place to stay. I love the slide.

Michelle F.

Vanessa said...

This looks like fun. I always.need ideas to plan vacations thanks!

Unknown said...

I live an hour from Myrtle Beach, and I love it. I am glad you got the opportunity to go, and congrats on your win!

Janet W. said...

Your pictures are really making me miss the beach! Looks beautiful and so much fun!

Unknown said...

its my hometown and i stay near the beach so much fun. Myrtle Beach Homes for Sale Near the Beach tips