Aqua Beach Inn — Hotel in Myrtle Beach

Aqua Beach Inn is the dirtiest hotel I've ever stepped foot inside. I've been visiting Myrtle Beach for over 10 years and have always stayed on the north side of town which I know is a much different area, but cleanliness should never be a factor anywhere. This hotel has many good reviews, but after arrival, we can't see how they rated it the way they did. There was some arguing among staff about guest complaints when we walked into the building to begin the check in process which was the first sign that we made a wrong decision. An employee was complaining that they don't have time when another guest was having an issue. The lobby appeared clean, but once you step out of the elevator to any floor, all we smelled was marijuana.

The first room we were given was not cleaned whatsoever. The beds were made, but the sheets were wrinkled and used. When we pulled back the blankets, crumbs, sand, seashells and hair filled the beds. There was also what appeared to be blood on the sheets. The shower was full of hair. The carpet appeared to have not been vacuumed anytime recently and all surfaces were covered with thick dust and food crumbs. I went down to the lobby and asked if the room was cleaned prior to our arrival and was promptly assigned another "upgraded" room. I was told by the front desk employee what we saw on the sheets is probably just from the washer.

The upgraded room was only slightly better. There was hair and crumbs on the top bed sheet as well as many long dark hairs on the pillows and sheets, but not nearly as bad as the first room. At this point, I realized I shouldn't complain or we risk the chance of our car being damaged or retaliation by the staff by the way they were acting about the situation. It was again obvious that not one hard surface in the new room has been dusted or wiped off. The refrigerator had hundreds of handprints as well as the ice bucket, microwave and light switches. The toilet had a ring inside of it so it's obvious that it hasn't been cleaned or sanitized either. There were even crumbs on the bathroom counter. The air conditioner was extremely loud making it nearly impossible to sleep, but it did block out some of the noise from surrounding rooms. The door to the connecting room, which was rented by another guest that we do not know, has a large gap underneath the door where you can actually see into the room. The sliding door to the balcony has a broken locking mechanism which is unsafe. There is also a couch in the room that is covered with disgusting bodily fluids.

The street below was loud at night with excessive revving cars, motorcycles and screaming which is expected of a downtown area, but it was also unsafe. We watched the same groups of cars circle the hotel with several people in them playing the same exact music in each car until the early morning hours each night. This may or may not be gang activity. The parking lot of the hotel is also too small and full of trash and glass which required us to park across the street behind the hotel in an unlit parking lot near the alley. Many reviews also mentioned the smell of trash at the hotel. I would like to confirm this is accurate. There is a dumpster in the parking lot of the hotel that is in desperate need of maintenance.

We were looking forward to a short getaway and this lodging establishment fell extremely short of our expectations given the positive reviews by other guests. I know it just wasn't our experience that was bad because we overheard several other occupants with issues as well. The building has potential, but could benefit from an improved cleaning process especially during the pandemic our country is facing. If we are going to get sick, it's going to be from this hotel. High touch areas should have been cleaned. There is no excuse. We proceeded to sanitize the entire room ourselves and wipe everything down, but that...

I have to admit, I was extremely nervous about the reservation given that the rate was $50/ night. To be honest, I was prepared to walk in and immediately move to another hotel. .However, we traveled without much advance notice and hadn’t been able to save money ahead for the trip so an economical option was necessary. After reading the good reviews, I gave it a shot and I was VERY pleasantly surprised!

The outside is nothing impressive but moderately well kept. It’s not manicured but reasonable and decently lighted at night. Expect an older exterior that has been repainted. There has clearly been significant effort to make the lobby appealing and more modern. Expect drop ceilings, updated decor, and fresh paint. The age shows but great care has been taken to make improvements. The staff was incredibly nice and met us with smiles and happy attitudes at every encounter. There was a faint hint of weed in the lobby most of the time but it wasn’t as bad as we’ve experienced at hotels four times the price.

The hallways are small, a little dark, but clean and freshly painted. Expect low ceilings, clean stairwells, and exposed but painted pipes.

The rooms were a very pleasant surprise! The flooring was either tile or LVP and there was not a speck of dust to be found.We walked in white socks and the floors were very clean. The bathrooms were older and had low ceilings but freshly painted with clean, new shower inserts. Shower liners were spotless as was shower grout. The towels were adequate, clean, and unstained. Shampoo, conditioner, soap, hairdryer, an iron , and a small ironing board were provided. Linens were all white, unstained, and felt/smelled fresh and clean. The bed was firm without sagging and the pillows were ample and fluffy. The AC was controlled in the room and appeared to be relatively new. It worked well and was very quiet. The kitchenette was spotless and equipped with a few essentials that looked clean and in good repair. The other furniture and decor were adequate, older, but clean and in good repair. Our room was very quiet and we did not hear a sound from other guests or outside traffic. We visited in January so I can’t speak to noise during busy seasons. The tv was fine, be prepared to login to your Apps if you want to watch much. Smoking of any kind was strictly prohibited so the rooms smelled clean and neutral..no artificial perfumes.

Our view was not amazing but the balcony was big enough for two to sit comfortably and the outdoor furniture was not new but in good repair. If you leaned down and looked under a parking garage across several parking lots, you could see a sliver of the ocean. However, the location was perfect and situated within a few steps of a road and then the beach, boardwalk, and other restaurants. The Ferris wheel wasn’t operating during our stay so I can’t speak to light or noise caused by its proximity to the facility. We did not see or use the pool so we cannot give an opinion on those amenities.

Overall, this hotel was an incredible value and was exactly as advertised. It is clear that the management takes care in making this facility the very best that it can be despite the age of the structure. It deserves an A++ for cleanliness and attitude...

Pathetic facility with terrible hygiene and zero customer service. We stayed in this pathetic facility for 2 nights. Day 2 - when we returned back to hotel at 5 pm from our dolphin cruise, we were shocked to find out our room was untouched.. dirty towels still on the floor from the day before; bathroom and bed unmade. When I inquired abt the clean up service, the front desk employee told me bed sheets are not cleaned up until day 3 and customers are required to make up their beds. She asked me to bring the dirty towel from the room and exchange it in the front desk. When i requested for a different room or a refund, the service manager bluntly told me on my face to deal with the issues because they were short staffed. They were not accommodating to help us at all. Just fantastic!!!

__ below is my response to Aqua inn's response since google will not let me respond back directly to their comment-------

Where do I even start!! We (family of 3 with 2year old) stayed in your facility for 2 nights. Day 1 – It took front desk almost one hour to check us in. Day 2 – we went out earlier in the morning and upon returning we realized we had put a do not disturb sign in our room; so realizing our mistake we informed front desk for room service around noon and went out again for our dolphin ride. When we returned back we were shocked to find our room was not cleaned. So I went to front desk to inquire about clean up service, the front desk employee informed us bed sheets are not cleaned until day 4 and customers are required to make up their beds. When I requested for a different room - the front desk employee said she had no problem moving us to another room but she would have to check with her supervisor. Unfortunately for us and our 2 year old, the service manager was very rude and difficult to work with. When I requested for a different room or refund or room services promptly, service manager bluntly told us to deal with the issue. She kept blaming us for the untidy room and called us a liar when I mentioned my wife had stopped by earlier requesting for a room service. Finally, I asked my wife to come down to the service desk, only then after realizing my wife had requested for service earlier, the service manager toned down a little and assured us she will only send new towels, which took them another 30-40 mins. So only after 1.5-2 hours from my inquire about room service, we were provided with clean towel (no cleaning service). During that time, we had to deal with untidy room and cranky 2 years old that was tired, wanted to take bath and go to bed for couple hours. When I requested service manager for a contact number for an owner or whoever that manages their facility, she rudely declined providing that information saying she doesn’t know who owns that facility. THANK YOU FOR AWESOME...