SC Folly Beach Holiday Inn Folly Beach Oceanfront

[athiker]

Excellent location but the hotel itself is unremarkable for the price. The rooms are pretty standard size, not what I'd call roomy, but they are all ocean view which is nice. Linens are excellent. TV is okay, no dvd player. A/C is effective but is a very noisy wall unit that sticks into the balcony. The bathroom sink area is nice but the shower was older and had mildew in the caulking.

The lobby was nice, and they have a free computer in the lobby along with free wireless in the rooms. They also typically have a lemonade station in the lobby or by the pool. The pool was quite small for a hotel of this size and price. Access to the beach is of course excellent and the beach is wide and the slope into the ocean is gradual. They have two shower stations to rinse and a separate foot and hand rinsing station. The Folly Pier is right next door. We rented fishing gear one day and did some fishing from the pier. We had some good action catching small whiting (possibly other similar fish...I'm no expert but some were a bit different) and one good sized beautiful Atlantic Spadefish. We saw a few catch sharks from the tip of the pier but no King Mackeral. There are lifeguards on the beach and you can rent waverunners from the beach in front of the hotel.

You take an elevator from the lobby up to your floor. The elevator is hot b/c the walkways to your room is outside. One tip...after using your access card...lift the handle UP not down!

The hotel sits at the end of Folly Beach Rd and right across the street is the "strip" so to speak (pretty low key...this is no Myrtle Beach...which is not a bad thing!). A number of nice looking restaurants and bars to choose from as well as several beach shops. It's all nice and compact. We ate at Rita's right across the street and the food was excellent; especially the grilled Mahi Mahi special with grits and asparagus. We also enjoyed Fleet's Landing in Charleston. The Blue Crab cakes there are outstanding. Fleet's was recommended by Jay who is on staff at the Holiday Inn. He was outstanding in helping us with parking and anything else. Actually, all the staff were very friendly and helpful.

Final notes: There is free parking in the lot but it is not large enough. When I asked what to do if it is full (full sign is up a lot even though there may be a spot or 2 open) the desk told me "Street parking is also complimentary." LOL! We booked our rooms for 5 but they only had double beds and no pull out sofas. At first the front desk wanted to charge us for a roll away, but after asking for the manager and pointing out our reservations were for 5 the manager agreed we should not be charged.

In summary, the hotel is nice but won't blow your socks off. The beach location is excellent though and it is an easy 20 minute drive into the heart of Charleston.