Hotels near Alabama Theatre, Horry County

We've stayed at Ocean Drive for 7 or 8 consecutive years, always during the week of July 15th, our anniversary. We've always been very satisfied. The desk, housekeeping and maintenance staff have always been very friendly, courteous and efficient. In an effort to prevent a recurrence of a lost reservation by another hotel, many years ago, I always call the hotel the night before we were scheduled to arrive. So, I called Ocean Drive about 11:30 the night before to confirm our reservation. I was told by a very nice lady working the late shift that we were, in fact, scheduled to arrive the next day and booked for a King, Oceanfront Suite. Emphasis on Suite. We live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, about 30 minutes from Ocean City. But, years ago, we decided we would spend over 9 hours driving time, traveling 476 miles and spending over $1,500.00 to stay at Ocean Drive for 5 or six days. Especially since this was our 50th Anniversary, we were really looking forward to a nice, relaxing stay at the beach. When we arrived, we had the distinct misfortune to find a lady named Gretchen handling Check-ins at the Desk. The last thing you want to be confronted with, when beginning your vacation at a hotel, is an Attitude from the Desk person. Maybe the battery on her late model Broom had died the night before, and she had to walk to work. For whatever reason, she took it upon herself to award our reservation to someone who was evidently a walk-in. Though she told us she didn't know who changed or why our reservation had been changed, it was pretty obvious it was her doing. She said that there was one remaining suite matching our reservation. After receiving a key, I went to check it out. It turned out that it was located on the 6th floor on the outer wall of the South end of the hotel. Rooms on that wall overlook what is called the ”Pavilion”. The town's hot spot at Main Street and Ocean Drive where bands, music, arcade and crowd noises last until late at night. I returned to the desk and told the Gretchenator that we did not wish to stay in that room. So, she then informed us that the only thing available was a Handicap room. Emphasis on ROOM. This was definitely not a SUITE. It consisted of a Bedroom with a bath, sink and microwave. So, if the weather wasn't good for the beach, we could stack pillows and watch the TV located at the foot of the bed. Unfortunately for us, the weather wasn't very good for 3 of the 5 days, so we watched a lot of TV. On our last day, I managed to get an audience with the General Manager, a beautiful young lady named Lindsay. She was very polite, listened to my story and said ”Thank you.” I told her that, though I was sure the hotel would not go broke, we wouldn't be returning to Ocean Drive Resort in future years. Next year we will return to the Avista Hotel, a couple doors up the street. Ocean Drive will have $1,500.00 less with which to fund Gretchen's salary next year

The interior of the room was cool modern and calm and I loved it very much. Ideal for sightseeing. Staff were friendly. It is a hotel that I want to stay at next time.

I normally stay at the nicer hotels but on this trip I wanted to keep my expenses down. My expectations were low. I am very sensitive to room stench and I don’t like hotels with cleanliness problems. This hotel had neither of these issues. The bed was comfortable and the shower was good. I had a waffle in the morning and it was good. I don’t normally leave hotel reviews but I feel that this hotel deserved it. The room wasn’t perfect. The refrigerator had some rust on it and the walls had some spots that could have been painted or touched up but this didn’t affect my stay. I would definitely recommend staying here.

Wish I had read my own review before booking this place. The hotel and the rooms were clean, and the staff is pleasant. King bed had some of the smallest pillows I've ever seen, that was weird. They've clearly invested a lot of money to convert something tired and run down into something nicer, but- walking through the building all we could muster was ”what have we done to ourselves”. When we pulled in the parking lot, we kind of already knew this place was going to be unique, just looking at the folks milling around the parking lot. This is not your hotel for a romantic weekend away...it's a stop, sleep, be gone hotel. Regretted booking non-refundable....I'd have never gone inside after pulling in the parking lot.

Someone in our party chose this location due to it being more economic. Parking is on site and location is pet friendly. Rooms were clean and fresh although the hallways smell musty. There is free breakfast which is nice but they lock the area where breakfast is served after serving hours so there is only the front lobby to gather in. When asked if we could be let into the area to play cards and visit we were told no. Staff is on the rude side - mostly. They are not very accommodating- actually told me they don’t get or send mail from this location so they could not put my postcards with their out going mail. There was a hotel mailbox right out front (which I used) and my mail was taken. Staff must not know what mail is. Due to it being pet friendly, a dog got loose and ran the hallway, dogs barked at all hours, and I actually witnessed a couple opening their door to be surprised by a dog which wasn’t theirs in the room Seems they were given an incorrect room to stay in. If price is your driving factor then this hotel is fine, otherwise I’d suggest looking elsewhere.