Pier Watch S #308 6 Bedroom Condo

The food was still great, and the locals remained friendly, but this visit felt different from when we came during the pier rebuild and had a fantastic time. This time, people were smoking marijuana in the parking lot and playing music loud enough to hear on the fourth floor. Motorcycles did donuts in the street, with police all around. There were frequent beach patrols, and deputies were posted by cash registers in some souvenir shops. Cherry Grove used to be a great place.

The condo we stayed in was perfect for a fantastic week at the beach, with all the amenities we needed and a completely perfect view. The building and hallways looked a little dated, but the Myrtle Beach location was excellent and didn’t break the bank.

We still enjoyed the vacation, and Elliott beach rentals fixed some of the problems, but we would not stay in Pier Watch Villas 1 unit 102 again. The ocean and pier views were beautiful, the public beach walkway is right beside the unit, and the shared pool was clean and well maintained. There are two refrigerators, a nice kitchen island and counter, and the dishwasher and other appliances worked. Each unit has a beach storage space, though ours was already full of things left behind. It’s close to the pier, IGA, liquor and convenience stores, and a few restaurants. The pier has a bar, ice cream shop, and fishing, though walking on it costs $3.00 and I’m not sure what fishing costs. The atmosphere was kid friendly. We only got three parking passes for four cars, so had to take turns, though there are overflow lots. The unit looked much better in the pictures. On arrival the front door was dirty, the screen had a bent frame and square hole, and sand, chips, and crumbs were everywhere: floors, counters, table, couches, and carpeted stairs. We cleaned what we could with an old beat-up vacuum. The place seemed overdue for a proper cleaning, with dust, dirty floors, and grime. One bedroom’s shower door nearly fell off; Elliott fixed it the next morning. The master shower felt flimsy, with the whole floor moving, poor water pressure, and cheap surround material, though the jet tub worked well. One sink was clogged, toilets were very low, and the washer and dryer were small old stacked apartment units, too small for 16 people. The dryer made awful noises. The fixtures throughout were very cheap. The wifi stopped working, and Elliott said the owners told them the HOA handled it. They said they’d left the HOA a voicemail, but nobody followed up, and we had no wifi or TVs for days until my husband called Spectrum cable himself. Upstairs, the master bedroom sliding door took extreme force to open and they couldn’t fix it. Our oceanfront balcony became more like a big window until we put aquaphor on the track and squeezed through sideways. With the hole in the screen, we couldn’t leave the door cracked to keep bugs out. There were two nightstands but only one lamp in one master bedroom; the other master bedroom had just one table and lamp too, despite being for two people. Mattresses were uncomfortable, with two twins pushed together as kings, and the cheap pillows were stained. Mold showed clearly on the upstairs master bedroom ceilings. Our loose headboard banged against the wall whenever we moved, so we wedged a towel behind it.

There was plenty to do nearby, from local food and shopping to collecting shells on the beach. We bought fishing gear at Outdoor World and fished off the Cherry Grove fishing pier. It was accessible by wheelchair, so my mom could join us. The beach was open early and late in the day, and we also tried an escape room 2.4 miles away that brought the family together in a new setting. We were 13 people across three families, with bathroom and fridge space for everyone. The place was fairly clean, and every balcony had an incredible view. The kitchen could use new cookware. We thought we’d missed bike week, but some nights the bikes and blaring radios were loud. We had a great stay and plan to return for years to come.