Crown Reef Resort Myrtle Beach Reviews
Disclosure: My family received a promotional discount at Crown Reef Beach Resort in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Crown Reef Resort Myrtle Beach Reviews
For the last 8 years, my family has visited us over here on the East Coast during their summer vacation for a week long visit. During their visit here, it’s a tradition to plan a trip to a beach resort. I feel that if I’m planning a trip to the beach for several guests, I am willing to pay extra and stay on the beach vs. a hotel away from the beach. I love having 24 hour beach access from a resort and love the amenities that beach resorts have to offer.
We moved recently from North Carolina to South Carolina, so I had to do a bit of research for a new beach resort to accommodate my guests in the Myrtle Beach area. My nephew is 12 and he can remember the majority of our beach trips. I always do my best to find places where we can create memories to last a lifetime.
Price and amenities are the most important to me when choosing the right beach resort for us. With children ages 2, 5, and 12 in tow, I need a variety of activities around the resort to help keep them entertained without having to leave the resort. The last thing I want to do on vacation is drive around town all day, so it’s nice to have an “all in one” kind of package when finding a resort to stay at.
I stumbled upon the Crown Reef Beach Resort online recently and after looking around the website, I knew this was the resort for us. The Crown Reef Resort is undergoing a $7.5 million renovation project and still improving to include the new waterpark below that’s open now for guests as well as newly remodeled rooms that are completed. You are going to get a great look at these renovations in my review below.
New Waterpark
This new waterpark is the biggest reason why I decided to book at Crown Reef. The main reason I found the idea of a waterpark on the resort to be so attractive is the fact that we could stay at our resort for the majority of our stay without having to venture out too far away from the resort or spend money at other waterparks. The waterpark is free to use for all Crown Reef Resort guests.
We arrived at Crown Reef Resort on a Friday evening. Check-in was at 4pm and we had plenty of time to venture out to the new waterpark at the resort as well as the beach! The new waterpark at the Crown Reef Resort features a 278-foot long two-person tube waterslide and a single-person 302-foot long waterslide! The TWISTER Waterslide and the world’s first hotel EXPLOSION Tube Waterslide are the newest water amenities at Crown Reef for all to enjoy!
The EXPLOSION tube waterslide was the first tube waterslide that my 5 year old daughter has ever been on! She had so much fun on the slides screaming, “Weeeee!” on the way down the entire time! My 12 year old nephew and I also rode the two-person tube slide together a few times. My sister, mom, husband and I enjoyed the slides as well! It was fun to feel like a kid again on these fun waterslides. The body slide was super fast and full of fun! We took advantage of the super short lines on the slide when it was drizzling one evening. Even on sunny days, the wait time for the slides was pretty short.
Pools and Hot Tubs
When we weren’t taking advantage of the waterslides, you would find us in the pools and hot tubs around the resort! There are so many to choose from and never once was it too crowded! The adults were big fans of the hot tubs and the kids liked them, too. We all enjoyed our Friday night swim at the resort and took advantage of the refreshing pools during the day, too.
Water Fun Area
Another favorite feature at the Crown Reef Beach Resort is the water fun area for all ages with a silly sub and 8-foot tall 20-foot long slide for the little ones. As a mom, these kinds of amenities are super important for me when looking for a place to book for my family and is a big reason why I booked at Crown Reef. My youngest daughter is almost three years old and this is where she spent a lot of time splashing around with her sister! My six year old daughter spent most of her time going down the slide. The purple bucket you see in the picture below fills up and pours out adding more splash fun for the kids!
Lazy River
The lazy river was a huge hit for us. We floated around this 575-foot lazy river several times together. My three year old was able to sit with me on my tube a few times and she loved going around the river! This lazy river is the longest oceanfront Lazy River in Myrtle Beach! It was definitely a highlight of our trip.
Town Center Dining & Fun Zone
The new Town Center Dining & Fun Zone at Crown Reef is a must at the resort. We spent a lot of time in the Town Center and we found ourselves going back to the Town Center several times during our stay at the Crown Reef Beach Resort. This is another new amenity feature for all to enjoy!
Game On!
On Saturday morning, I took the kids to the Game On!, another amazing and new amenity. This game center gives the kids a fun place indoors to relax and have a great time playing games. I loaded the game card with credits for playing games and allowed them to choose the games they were interested in. We had so much fun the first day and ended up coming back another day, loading our cards with even more credits. The second time around, the adults (including me!) were able to take part in the fun! I rode the Typhoon game with my mom and my sister and we played a few rounds of Ice-Ball and competed in air hockey matches.
The Game On! center had a great variety of games to choose from. Our favorites included Sink-It, Super Bikes 2, Typhoon, Ice-Ball and the air hockey game. We ended up earning over 1,000 tickets on our game cards and we were able to trade our tickets in for a long snake and other small prizes at the Winner’s Circle. My oldest daughter won two stuffed animals out a game machine and she shared one with her sister!
Grab N’ Go Grill & Coffee Bar
We all took advantage of the Grab N’ Go Grill & Coffee Bar. This is another new feature that makes Crown Reef Beach Resort the place to stay. The Grab N’ Go Grill & Coffee Bar features light breakfast, lunch and dinner items as well as fresh-brewed coffee, both hot and iced. We were all amazed with the selection at breakfast and were able to fill our plates with a variety of tasty breakfast foods to include biscuits & gravy, pancakes, sausage, bacon, eggs, fresh fruit, pastries, and more. I absolutely love the fresh new modern look and feel of the Grab N’ Go Grill & Coffee Bar.
You could sit outside at the Grab N’ Go Grill & Coffee Bar or you could sit and enjoy breakfast, lunch, or dinner with a lovely view of the beach and pools below. Relaxing, huh?
Swirl Ice Cream and Sweet Shop
We took advantage of the Swirl Ice Cream and Sweet Shop, too. Ice cream on vacation is a must for this family! It was a treat to be able to take the girls for ice cream one afternoon. “Nana” treated us all to Breyer’s ice cream and it was delicious. My nephew tried the mint chocolate chip ice cream, my girls had the french vanilla ice cream, and my sister and I shared a caramel and cookie dough cup of ice cream!
The candy center is just another great reason to be at Crown Reef Beach Resort. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll be able to find a variety of candy in the sweet shop to enjoy including chocolates, gummies, and more!
Loco Gecko Restaurant
Hungry? No need to leave Crown Reef Resort! Visit the Loco Gecko restaurant at the resort! The Loco Gecko features casual beach dining with a variety of menu options including salads, pizzas and burgers. It has both indoor and outdoor oceanfront patio seating.
We planned to eat a later lunch at 1pm on Sunday to avoid the lunch crowd. It was perfect for us. The staff was very friendly and the food was delicious. My mom ordered a salad, my husband and I ordered and shared the chicken tenders with the kids, my nephew ate wings, and my sister had a chicken wrap that she says was the best! Our waitress was very helpful and friendly.
We were able to take our cups home as souvenirs!
Newly Remodeled Rooms
The rooms are a pretty important factor in determining whether or not we will book a reservation. You’ll want a comfortable place for all and it’s nice to have updated rooms with a modern feel and look. Great news! The Crown Reef Beach Resort just completed major renovations and all 514 rooms have been renovated. This was another reason why we booked at Crown Reef! We stayed in an Oceanfront Queen Jacuzzi Suites that sleeps 8 and features 2 queen beds, 1 sleeper sofa, 1 hideaway bed and a full kitchen. We had seven guests, so the size of our room was perfect for us.
When we first arrived to our room, it was very clean and smelled great. I liked the fresh look and feel to the renovated rooms including the fresh paint, new furniture, and new headboards. I especially loved the kitchen. When I booked a reservation here, a full kitchen was another “must-have” for us. We like to bring a lot of our own food, drinks, and snacks to save a little money each day and make things easier, so the kitchen was very important for us!
The Oceanfront Queen Deluxe Suite’s at the Crown Reef Beach Resort include a full size refrigerator, a microwave, stove, coffee maker, and plenty of serving dishes and utensils to use as well as granite countertops! The kitchen was in the middle to separate the rooms. It gave the rooms a little more privacy, and we were able to close the doors to each room. My girls were able to get a nap or two in since we didn’t have anyone walking through the rooms during that time.
The hideaway bed in the living room area and the sleeper sofa gave plenty of room for the family to sleep. We used the table in the room often to eat dinner and snacks on and the girls loved watching cartoons on the TV. My husband enjoyed watching TV in his room while the girls watched their shows in the main room! He was able to watch a few movies on the TV during our stay at Crown Reef!
We met a few of our housekeepers during our stay at Crown Reef and they were super friendly. They made sure we had everything we needed in our room and our main housekeeper always had a nice smile on her face that made us feel very welcome at the resort.
Private Balconies
Each room at Crown Reef Beach Resort offers a private balcony. We found ourselves sitting out on the balcony often and listening to the waves and watching the fun going on around us at the beach and the waterpark below us. My sister and I drank coffee on the balcony and had a few sisterly chats each day! We enjoyed walking out to see the sun over the beach during the day and the moon over the beach at night!
The Beach
Of course if you are going to book a stay at a beach resort, you can’t forget about the beach. I mean, it’s the main reason we came, but it was so nice to have a place to go back to after leaving the beach each time. We spent a lot of time on the beach as well and took advantage of the waves and sun. We played in the sand, splashed in the waves, and enjoyed the summer sun.
Book Your Stay at Crown Reef Beach Resort
When you arrive at Crown Reef Beach Resort for your next vacation, you’ll be checking in across the street from the resort as seen below! Check in was a fast and easy process for us. Parking at the resort was easy to find and we were able to find spaces for both of our vehicles each time we needed a space.
At night, be sure to take a walk over to the check in center and look back at the Crown Reef Resort! You’ll see the resort beautifully lit up with a purple glow. This is a great photo opportunity. If you stand higher up on the ramp, you may be able to get a good picture of all three towers at Crown Reef. (Just watch for cars of course and look both ways when crossing the street!)
Crown Reef Beach Resort Sample Itinerary
I put together a sample itinerary for you based on our visit at Crown Reef Beach Resort. This is what a day looked like for us at the resort:
- 7:00am-7:30am Wake up and drink coffee on the private balcony.
- 7:30am-8:30am Take a walk on the beach and look for seashells.
- 8:30am-9:00am Eat breakfast at the Grab N’ Go Grill & Coffee Bar.
- 9:00am-10:00am Play games at the Game On! game center.
- 10:00am-12:00pm Have fun at the waterpark, pools, hot tubs, and lazy river.
- 12:00pm-1:00pm Walk to the beach and build sand castles and play in the waves.
- 1:00pm-2:00pm Eat lunch at the Loco Gecko.
- 2:00pm-4:00pm Explore the Myrtle Beach Area, attractions, shopping, golf, etc. or stay and play!
- 4:00pm-5:00pm Enjoy ice cream at the Swirl Ice Cream and Sweet Shop at Crown Reef.
- 5:00pm-6:00pm Have more fun at the waterpark, pools, hot tub, lazy river.
- 6:00pm-7:00pm Walk to the beach and play in the sand and water.
- 7:00pm-8:00pm Have pizza delivered to the room or cook/prepare dinner in your full kitchen.
- 8:00pm-9:00pm More fun at the waterpark, pools, hot tub, lazy river.
- 9:00pm-10:00pm Enjoy a night walk on the beach with flashlights.
The Crown Reef Beach Resort has so much to offer for us as you can see in this review. There were many options to choose from at this resort. I loved having an “all-in-one” kind of resort to stay at, where you have the option to stay at the resort during your entire trip and never have to leave to go anywhere. From pools, hot tubs, a waterpark and water fun area, to a restaurant, sweet shop, grill & bar, and a game center, plus having the beach right there to enjoy, Crown Reef Resort was the perfect vacation destination for my family! There’s so much to do that you’ll find yourself having a full day of fun!
Through September 1, you’ll also be able to take advantage of the resort activities from Monday-Friday including arts & crafts, pool games, beach olympics, shark tooth searches, sand castle competitions, frisbee games, beach soccer, and more! Plus, use your Vacation Member Benefits (VMB) card to get discounts and other offers around the Myrtle Beach area! You can even buy tickets to area attractions at Crown Reef and save. Just ask the front desk when checking in for more details.
Visit CrownReef.com and call 877-684-9998 to book your next vacation and get updates from Crown Reef on Facebook and Twitter!
I would definitely stay at the Crown Reef Beach Resort again!
What amenities would you take advantage of if you stayed at the Crown Reef Beach Resort?