No more "R Word"
Redneck Riviera. That's how Myrtle Beach has been known in years past, but no more! We're getting upscale, baby.
There are still bargains galore, which is why Myrtle Beach is so popular with families on limited vacation budgets, but we also have high-end amenities the posh and polished set are looking for.
Pawleys Island, a little south of Myrtle Beach, is where a lot of the upper crust vacation. Plenty of celebrities rent beach homes down there, and it is actually the oldest resort area in America. Pawleys Island was where many wealthy rice planters used to spend their summers in the 18th and 19th centuries to escape the summer heat and mosquitos.
And now Myrtle Beach itself is getting high-end hotels and attractions. I was in the new Marina Inn at Grande Dunes this week for my monthly American Culinary Federation (www.MyrtleBeachACF.com) meeting, and it is a splendidly gorgeous and luxurious piece of property located beside the Intracoastal Waterway. Then there is the Sheraton Hotel at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, which has a four-diamond rating from AAA. The suites there are anything a luxury-seeker could want, and the rooms also have an incredible view of Myrtle Beach.
And there are a gracious plenty of new hotels going up oceanfront like the Prince Resort in North Myrtle Beach with its gorgeous second-floor restaurant called:
3500 North Ocean Grill
35th Avenue North at Ocean Boulevard
Cherry Grove section of North Myrtle Beach
By the Cherry Grove Pier
843-417-1300
This new and luxurious restaurant is warm with jewel-like pastels and sun streaming in from windows offering a second-floor oceanfront view. It is located in the Prince Resort at Cherry Grove Pier and features the cuisine of Executive Chef Randy Herndon. His dishes include Jumbo Lump Crab “Martini” with watermelon ganache and a light citrus yuzu-soy dressing; the restaurant’s signature dish Steak Prince, which features a six-ounce filet mignon surrounded by enormous shrimp and scallops cooked in a light and creamy white wine sauce and served with the chef’s spectacular Southern Fried Green Tomatoes. The restaurant also serves spectacular breakfasts.
