Island Vista Resort — Hotel in Myrtle Beach

Location of the resort is excellent. The fact that it is on a beach by itself almost is very appealing because it’s not very crowded. If we come back to this hotel, that will be the reason. Housekeeping is also great. They bring you new towels every day which I have been to hotels in the past that say they will do this and don’t this one actually does. You need to use a key card in order to access the pool towels there are chips inside of each pool towel that track them and it charges you if you don’t return them. I found this to actually be very nice because you had pool towels every time you went down to the pool. The pools were very nice. |We stayed in a three bedroom suite and the space was very nice to have.||A few things that I wish I knew before coming: They do not give you carts to take your stuff to and from the hotel room -they require you use a bellhop service, which is fine upon arrival because that’s easy but when leaving, it is very difficult because we are not nearly as well packed as when we arrived and needed to make quite a few trips down to our car and take time to organize it like Tetris, which bellhop service could not spend the time do so (and we also would not want them standing watching us because that’s very stressful). We asked if we could make use of the cart because we could do it very quickly and one person just stay down with the car with the kids while one person takes it back-and-forth and one very large trip but they said no. We had to take our stuff down basically bag by bag, (husband is loaded down while I watch the kids) which took an incredibly long time (this is what we are currently doing still and I’m hoping to be out by checkout time, but I’m not sure we’re gonna make it due to this reason, even though we started loading the car over an hour ago. If we could’ve loaded a cart down, it would’ve been much quicker but due to the fact of having to wait on the elevators with bags of luggage and stopping on every single floor, it’s taking 10 to 15 minutes just to get down to the parking lot each time. I’ve never been to a hotel where we’ve not been able to load our car quickly.. |We have an extremely large long and tall vehicle and did not realize that you cannot park a car that is above 6’6“ on the first level of the parking deck which made parking extremely limited. The spots are incredibly tiny (yes the “overflow parking also” and I was not comfortable parking the car so I essentially got hotel trapped while my husband did business stuff because I could not have re-parked my car, yes I could have left, but not have parked it again if I needed to come back to the hotel-although even leaving a parking spot means multiple point turns to get out of it because the parking spots are so small.||Halfway through the stay (Fri-Sat) we went to eat breakfast at the restaurant here in the hotel when we arrived, there weren’t many people, but after we walked in quite a few people walked in about five minutes later- we put in our order in an hour later we were still waiting on our order, but people that had been sat since we had sat down, had already gotten their food which was almost identical to what we ordered- so we ended up leaving without our food, cause I said it was still going to be a while -mind you we have 3 kids and keeping them happy during this time with feat in itself.||So overall, if you’re not bringing a lot of stuff and you have a small vehicle this hotel is great, but if you are bringing a lot of stuff, be aware about the bellhop service and if you’re driving a larger vehicle, also be very comfortable parking in very...

I spent an obsessive amount of time trying to find the best place to stay in myrtle beach, so even after I made my choice, I was nervous. Luckily, there wasn't any need to be. Island Vista was one of the most wonderful places I've ever had the pleasure to stay at and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.

They've got gorgeous rooms with beautiful views and furnishing. It was clean and cozy but also fancy. The pillows are small and a bit thin, so if you need a lot of support, I recommend bringing your own, but you can always use 2 which work just fine. I had a Oceanview, not an oceanfront room, and I honestly still loved the view so much. Listening to music on the balcony while watches the waves was AMAZING.

The food was fantastic. The Cypress Room had amazing steak and the Creme Brule was an experience of its own. It's got a pretty small menu (no burgers, for example) so note that before you bring any picky eaters there. The breakfast was also fantastic. For anyone going to Myrtle beach and looking for more recs for places to eat, I didn't go to too many but I can say that the Kalabash Seafood Buffet place I went to was INCREDIBLE and had a nice amount of variety. Magnolia's at 26th was probably even better, although I only got a chance to go there for breakfast. Cyprus room, of course, was wonderful and the service was fantastic. Trying to remember my waiters name- it might have been David? Well, he was a gem, thank you to everyone there and at the hotel in general. Oh, but as far as food goes, if you like Mexican you HAVE to try Señor Frogs. Best Mexican food I've had since I went to California several years back.

I didn't go to the gym so I can't speak on it but it looked nice. The pools though, those were the star for me. There are 2 outdoor pools, both have wavy shapes and one of them has a very shallow center for wading which I thought would bother me but was actually my favorite part crawling across like an idiot, even if we probably looked ridiculous. It's vacation, if you're dictating how to have fun when it's not hurting anyone, you're not doing it right. The area by the pool itself is beautiful. The poolside bar really should stay open longer, but it was nice, especially the crabcake sandwich. Unfortunately one time I nearly got swept away by an army of flies that also liked the sandwich, but that's not an Island Vista problem, that's just the south in the summer. Other time I ate outside was fine anyway. The indoor pool isn't completely closed at least in the summer but it's got a roof and like 3 and a half walls lol. It's gorgeous. There's a kiddy wading pool/splash zone, a shallow pool of about 3½ feet that, dont get it twisted, is NOT JUST FOR KIDS. It was my favorite part, especially the lazy river attached to it which was a little journey of its own. They provide the floats thankfully.

Honestly not enough praises to sing here. I'll 100% be coming back someday and if you've got the money to afford this quiet resort I recommend it a hundred times. I'm sure there are other lovely places in Myrtle beach, but there's only one Island Vista Resort. Thank you for the memories, it was a long time coming and I'll hold onto them...

A Truly Disappointing Stay: Avoid at All Costs

My recent stay at this hotel was, regrettably, a far cry from what was promised, and I feel compelled to share my experience to save others from similar disappointment.

First and foremost, the two-week cancellation policy is an absolute red flag. It's an unreasonable demand for a hotel, and it speaks volumes about their lack of confidence in their own property. Had I known the true state of affairs, I would not have booked with them. I booked our room nine months in advance of our stay and asked for the highest floor possible as not to have any obstructed views. We were put in room 601, which has a view of the ocean, but has an obstruction to the north that does not permit a view of the entire beach. I was told they were booked and no other room was available. It didn’t pay to book that far in advance or make any type of request in advance.

Upon arrival, it became immediately clear that the website photos are incredibly misleading. What appeared online to be a clean, well-kept establishment was, in reality, quite the opposite. The decor is old and severely outdated, giving the entire place a tired and uninviting feel. It's as if time stopped in the 1980s, and not in a charming, nostalgic way. Our unit in 601 needs fully updated, painted and deep cleaned.

The most disturbing issue, however, was the undeniable cockroach infestation. Discovering these unwelcome guests in my room and balcony was an absolute nightmare and made it impossible to feel comfortable or clean. This is a serious hygiene issue that needs immediate and drastic attention. I realize this will happen in beach towns, however, our balcony has an infestation that made it unusable at night.

Beyond the room, the amenities were equally subpar. The pool was visibly dirty, making it completely unappealing for a refreshing dip. It looked like it hadn't been properly cleaned in weeks, if not longer. To top it all off, the air conditioning in my room was broken upon our arrival. Thank goodness for Steven in maintenance, who had it up and running within the hour. He was the only postive thing we have to say about this "resort."

In summary, this hotel fails on multiple fronts: cleanliness, comfort, and basic maintenance. The misleading online presentation, combined with the exorbitant cancellation policy, only adds insult to injury. I believed some positive reviews I read, but I do not agree with them after staying at Island Vista. I strongly advise anyone considering a stay here to look elsewhere. What they charge per night is not worth what you get, and they do not care to accommodate; they’re money is guaranteed because of their...