Myrtle Beach is a beautiful beach with many family-friendly activities and hotels, making it a popular family vacation spot. But it can be overwhelming to pick the right hotel or resort.
If you’re going to Myrtle Beach during months when it could be cool or rainy (like November – March) and you have kids that love pools and waterslides, we highly recommend staying at one of the hotels with an indoor waterpark.
I’m going to preface this by saying that none of these indoor waterparks are on the same level as Great Wolf Lodge or other large indoor waterparks. These are all much smaller waterparks, but we are also only including hotels with actual decent waterslides and not just pools and lazy rivers.
In this post:
- Dunes Village Resort
- Homewood Suites Myrtle Beach Oceanfront
- SpringHill Suites/Courtyard Marriott/Breakers
- Crown Reef Resort
1. Dunes Village Resort
Dunes Village Resort has several high-rise buildings with 1-4 bedroom condos, 2 buildings with pools and water slides, outdoor pools, and lazy rivers.
Waterpark Details:
There are two different buildings with indoor slides and pools. Both buildings are heated and fully enclosed from November 22nd – April 30th. One building has two “big slides”, a small kid splash area, 2 pools, and several hot tubs. The other building has 2 smaller kid slides, a lazy river, a kiddie pool and splash area, and hot tubs.
Waterslide 1:
This winding slide is a partially open and partially closed, curving, body flume slide with a height requirement of 36″. My 10 year olds, my 4 year old nephew, and my middle-aged self all enjoyed this classic slide.
Waterslide 2:
The other big slide is a tubed, body flume speed slide, that drops quickly and has one hump. This one has a height requirement of 48″ and I recommend you plug your nose! This one goes fast! It’s a big hit with older kids but may be too intense for some.
Building 1 Splash Area:
There’s a big splash bucket, some little tunnels to run through, and a submarine. It doesn’t entertain kids for super long.
Building 1 Overall Impression:
Pros:
- All pools are 3ft deep which is great for younger kids and non-swimmers.
- There are 2 hot tubs near the big slides so parents can relax while keeping an eye on their kids doing the slides.
Cons:
- There are no bathrooms inside Building 1. You have to go outside to what looks like a temporary bathroom set up outside. On cold days, it is not fun!
- Kids under 36″ may get bored quickly since all they have is a small splash area and a pool.
- This building is a bit dark and dingy and is showing it’s age.
Building 2 Kid Slides:
There are two small kid slides with no height requirement. Small children can ride down in an adult’s lap. The only tricky part is it’s hard to watch kids go from the slide exit to the stairs to ride again because of the layout, so you may have to walk younger kids back and forth.
Indoor Lazy River:
Kids of all ages enjoy this lazy river! There aren’t always a lot of available tubes but you can also swim around without a tube or use your own floatation device. Depth is 3 feet the entire way around.
Building 2 Kids Area:
Definitely better than the splash area in the first building. Babies and toddlers can sit and play in the zero entry to 1′ water. Toddlers and preschoolers enjoy the big bucket and playing with the spraying sea horses.
Building 2 Overall Impression:
Pros:
- More to do for younger children.
- Bathrooms are inside the building.
- There are ping pong tables and other games for older kids or teens that want a break from the water.
- More natural lighting and less dingy than the other building.
Cons:
- Older kids may get bored
- Going back and forth between the 2 buildings can be a pain because you have to walk outside (and sometimes it’s quite windy and cold and you’re probably wet), and you have to have your room key handy.
Resort and Rooms
The resort and the rooms are a bit dated overall. It will also depend on your definition of “resort” and what type of accommodations you’re used to, but if you come in knowing it’s a Myrtle Beach hotel and have proper expectations, you will be pleased!
The best thing about this resort versus others in this post is the option for 1-4 bedroom condos. We recently stayed in a 4-bedroom condo with some of our extended family and enjoyed having separate rooms and bathrooms, a full kitchen for making meals, a dining table and living area, and a large balcony overlooking the ocean. If you like being able to have your kids in a separate room at night, or are traveling with multiple families, this is the resort for you!
Check out room options and rates >
2. Homewood Suites by Hilton
This is the newest hotel in this list and is located right on the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk so you can walk to lots of restaurants, stores, and attractions. It’s also only a 5 minute drive to Broadway at the Beach.
Waterpark Details:
This waterpark is all in one building on the bottom level of the hotel. There are 2 waterslides, a large pool, a splash area, a lazy river, and 3 hot tubs.
The two waterslides both twist and turn and have a 40″ height requirement. Preschoolers through adults all enjoy the slides! The tallest starts as a closed tube and then opens. The smaller slide is a closed tube the entire time and is a little slower.
Resort and Rooms
The resort is very clean and modern. The staff is very friendly and the valet is usually pretty quick to bring your car around. Like other Hilton properties, a full hot breakfast is included. There is also a restaurant and bar on site that is quite good, although sometimes a bit slow due to staffing.
The rooms are very nice and all have ocean views and balconies. I recommend corner rooms so you have even more natural light. Below are photos of our room which had 2 queen beds, a sleeper sofa, a dining table, and a kitchenette.
This is one we consistently go back to because I like the convenience of having everything in one building. On a cold day, you will appreciate not having to walk outside while wet! It also means I don’t have to worry about kids wanting to be in different areas and I can easily keep an eye on all of them.
3. SpringHill Suites/Courtyard/Breakers
There are 3 hotels that share the same the same pool and waterslide areas:
- SpringHill Suites Myrtle Beach
- Courtyard Myrtle Beach Waterfront
- Breakers Myrtle Beach Resort
The waterslides are in a separate building from the other pools. There are ONLY waterslides in this building and no pools. There are 2 twisting tube slides and 3 straight slides. My kid’s favorite is racing each other on the dual straight slides.
The building with the indoor pool and 2 small hot tubs is a bit of a walk from the waterslide building. There is also a lazy river, but it’s half indoor/half outdoor so it’s quite cold during the colder months.
There is also an outdoor pool and a kids pirate-ship area with 2 tiny slides, but those aren’t very useful during cold months.
Resort and Rooms
We recommend staying at one of the Marriott properties – SpringHill Suites or Courtyard. Both offer suites with 2 queen beds and a pull-out couch so it works well for families of 5 or 6. The resort is clean, offers free breakfast, and has a great location right on the beach and close to Broadway at the Beach.
4. Crown Reef Resort
This resort has some of the best waterslides on this list, but the worst rooms. They always have good deals, and we did enjoy the waterpark overall, but I would not stay here again.
Waterpark Details:
Not everything is in one condensed area like at Homewood, but it’s also not as separated and spread out as Courtyard/SpringHill.
There is a large set of stairs to the 2 large slides. They had a window open at the top when we went so it was cold waiting to go down the slides.
One slide is a twisting body-slide that is over 300 feet long and goes pretty fast. There is a 36″ height requirement.
The other slide is the Explosion Tube Slide. It is the only tube-slide (where you sit in a tube and go through a tube) on this list and is truly a lot of fun! I prefer to sit in a tube on waterslides because they are smooth and don’t hurt. It only has a 36″ height requirement so littles can go down on a double-tube with an adult.
There is also a kid area with a few small slides and play areas that our kids really enjoyed. They have a good heater in this area that kept the air warm.
There is an indoor pool that’s nothing special and in an outdoor area. They have a lazy river but it’s only outdoors.
Resort and Rooms
We stayed in a family suite and it was nice to have a separate room from the kids, but the rooms are in desperate need of an upgrade. The hotel also has large purple lights shining on it and those lights came in through the curtains and made it hard to sleep in the back bedroom.
Read reviews and check rates >
Which is best for you?
Overall, we recommend Homewood Suites most because it’s a nice, newer hotel, and all the pools and waterslides are in one building.
Our second favorite is Dunes Village because you can get suites with multiple bedrooms, and they have some good waterslides and pools, we just wish they weren’t in two separate buildings.
