Hotel recommendation for Ocean City, MD
July 25, 2005 12:33 PM Subscribe
Recommend me a good ocean-front hotel in Ocean City, MD, kthxbi.
You might increase your odds of eliciting a quality answer in this forum by avoiding text-speak like "kthxbi". AskMe doesn't charge by the character.
More germanely, you might try this.
posted by clever sheep at 1:30 PM on July 25, 2005
More germanely, you might try this.
posted by clever sheep at 1:30 PM on July 25, 2005
In addition to hotel recommendations can anyone recommend cool things to do in or near Ocean City, MD? My wife and I and her family (8 adults, 3 kids) are going to be there for a week starting this Saturday and I'm trying to figure out how many books to bring! :-)
posted by dgeiser13 at 2:43 PM on July 25, 2005
posted by dgeiser13 at 2:43 PM on July 25, 2005
My girlfriend, who grew up in Ocean City but is too cheap to spend $5 for an AskMe account :) said I should relate the following:
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Princess Royale is nice, as is Carousel which someone else mentioned and Clarion which used to be a Sheraton.
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Not an ocean-front, but nice and with shuttle service to the beach, is Francis Scott Key motel. Obligatory disclaimer: my girl is friends with the folks who own it. Depending on the age of the kids in question you might find the availablity of in-room kitchen/fridge stuff to be an advantage.
Regardless of whethere or not you stay there I cannot praise highly enough the Marlin Moon restaurant on the premises. It is -not- owned and run by the same family so I am not prejudiced at all in my statement that it is flat-out awesome. Make a reservation if you can or expect a wait, it's well known among the locals.
posted by phearlez at 3:44 PM on July 25, 2005
--
Princess Royale is nice, as is Carousel which someone else mentioned and Clarion which used to be a Sheraton.
--
Not an ocean-front, but nice and with shuttle service to the beach, is Francis Scott Key motel. Obligatory disclaimer: my girl is friends with the folks who own it. Depending on the age of the kids in question you might find the availablity of in-room kitchen/fridge stuff to be an advantage.
Regardless of whethere or not you stay there I cannot praise highly enough the Marlin Moon restaurant on the premises. It is -not- owned and run by the same family so I am not prejudiced at all in my statement that it is flat-out awesome. Make a reservation if you can or expect a wait, it's well known among the locals.
posted by phearlez at 3:44 PM on July 25, 2005
She adds:
For the guy who wants to know what to do tell him there is lots of golf (http://www.oceancitygolf.com/), a water park / amusument park (Jolly Rogers) that his kids will like, miniature golf everywhere. the boardwalk, Assateague Island is a short drive away and lots of water sports.
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It occurs to me the pony auction is soon but I am unsure when. Worth a quick google. Assateague has both federal and state parks on it, by the way, so if you have a Federal Parks pass as I do you can get onto that bit for no charge.
posted by phearlez at 3:51 PM on July 25, 2005
For the guy who wants to know what to do tell him there is lots of golf (http://www.oceancitygolf.com/), a water park / amusument park (Jolly Rogers) that his kids will like, miniature golf everywhere. the boardwalk, Assateague Island is a short drive away and lots of water sports.
--
It occurs to me the pony auction is soon but I am unsure when. Worth a quick google. Assateague has both federal and state parks on it, by the way, so if you have a Federal Parks pass as I do you can get onto that bit for no charge.
posted by phearlez at 3:51 PM on July 25, 2005
sort of blah: cheesy decorations and a crappy restaurant stand out.
That's kind of OC, MD in a nutshell, although I did enjoy riding the rides when I was a kid. I can't remember any hotels (sorry adam) but as for what to do, I would suggest driving north to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and going to bars there.
posted by jennyb at 5:39 PM on July 25, 2005
That's kind of OC, MD in a nutshell, although I did enjoy riding the rides when I was a kid. I can't remember any hotels (sorry adam) but as for what to do, I would suggest driving north to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and going to bars there.
posted by jennyb at 5:39 PM on July 25, 2005
IIRC, the Princess Royale's elevator claims that it's "casually elegant" AND "elegantly casual." Hot cha cha.
Or maybe that was Carousel.
posted by Alt F4 at 8:12 PM on July 25, 2005
Or maybe that was Carousel.
posted by Alt F4 at 8:12 PM on July 25, 2005
Response by poster: Oh, clever sheep, I was just playing around. We're allowed to do that. kthxbi!
posted by adampsyche at 10:18 AM on July 26, 2005
posted by adampsyche at 10:18 AM on July 26, 2005
Cool (well, nerdy/geeky) things to do in/near Ocean City:
Military History: if you feel like getting out of town for half a day there's Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes, DE, about a half-hour/45 minutes north of OC.
They have a beach but it's not as nice as OC. The reason to check out CHSP is its history as the guardian to the entrance of the Delaware Bay during WWII. There's a submarine observation tower you can climb and some old barracks to check out as well as nature trails over some big-for-the-area dunes. If you hunt around you can find other relics like ammo dumps cut into the sides of hills, bunkers, etc. If the kids are into army stuff they'll probably dig it. I think it's 5 bucks to park there.
Wild Horses Close to Home: There's also Assateague Island National Seashore just south of OC with its famous "ponies," some nature trails and a small interpretive museum with live horseshoe crabs the kids can play with. It's five bucks or so for a seven day auto pass but you can go to the nature center and see the ponies before you get to the gate where you pay (they like to hang out near the bridge right after you cross over to the island.)
For either park, if you plan on going into the woods/marshes via the trails be aware that the mosquitoes can be incredibly nasty so bring some DEET or the repellent of your choice.
Bicycling: Either park is good for leisurely bicycling if you're into that kind of thing. You can also rent basic bikes pretty much anywhere downtown and go up/down the Boardwalk (~ 5 mi. R/T) but at this time of year they only allow bikes on the boards early(ish) in the morning so if you like to sleep in you're out of luck.
If you're a serious cyclist you can go up and down DE Rte. 1 to Bethany (15-16 mi R/T from the state line) or Rehoboth (about 40 mi R/T from state line) which is a nice flat fast road with wide shoulders but chances are you'll be bucking a strong headwind (> 10 mph) in one direction depending on which way it's blowing that day. If you want to stay in Maryland (mostly) my route of choice is to ride across the Rte. 50 bridge and then up to Ocean Pines via Race Track Rd., and finally back to OC via Rtes. 113 and 54 through Selbyville, DE. Rte. 54 leaves you on Coastal Highway about 8 miles north of Rte. 50 at the state line. The whole loop's about 50 miles. The sun can be brutal and there are stretches with limited services (you're going through farm land for a lot of the trip) so bring plenty of water.
Space Flight: If you get a rainy day and don't want to deal with the outlets in Rehoboth there's the NASA Wallops Flight Facility on the way to Chincoteague. It's about an hour south of OC. They have a small visitors' center and museum with models of satellites, space suits, etc. as well as several display rockets outside. Plus they have big tracking antennas visible from the road and model rocketry events from time to time.
If you're interested in viewing real rockets go up, launch info for Wallops is here, though right now it doesn't look like they have anything scheduled through August 31.
Should you go to Wallops and decide to head into Chincoteague be forewarned that the mosquitoes there are at least twice as thick and hungry as the ones at Assateague and Cape Henlopen.
Kite Flying: There's usually a good stiff breeze, and kite flying on the beach is very popular, especially late in the afternoon after the lifeguards and tanners clear. The Kite Loft has a wide selection at all price ranges -- I think they have three stores in OC.
posted by Opposite George at 12:49 PM on July 26, 2005
Military History: if you feel like getting out of town for half a day there's Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes, DE, about a half-hour/45 minutes north of OC.
They have a beach but it's not as nice as OC. The reason to check out CHSP is its history as the guardian to the entrance of the Delaware Bay during WWII. There's a submarine observation tower you can climb and some old barracks to check out as well as nature trails over some big-for-the-area dunes. If you hunt around you can find other relics like ammo dumps cut into the sides of hills, bunkers, etc. If the kids are into army stuff they'll probably dig it. I think it's 5 bucks to park there.
Wild Horses Close to Home: There's also Assateague Island National Seashore just south of OC with its famous "ponies," some nature trails and a small interpretive museum with live horseshoe crabs the kids can play with. It's five bucks or so for a seven day auto pass but you can go to the nature center and see the ponies before you get to the gate where you pay (they like to hang out near the bridge right after you cross over to the island.)
For either park, if you plan on going into the woods/marshes via the trails be aware that the mosquitoes can be incredibly nasty so bring some DEET or the repellent of your choice.
Bicycling: Either park is good for leisurely bicycling if you're into that kind of thing. You can also rent basic bikes pretty much anywhere downtown and go up/down the Boardwalk (~ 5 mi. R/T) but at this time of year they only allow bikes on the boards early(ish) in the morning so if you like to sleep in you're out of luck.
If you're a serious cyclist you can go up and down DE Rte. 1 to Bethany (15-16 mi R/T from the state line) or Rehoboth (about 40 mi R/T from state line) which is a nice flat fast road with wide shoulders but chances are you'll be bucking a strong headwind (> 10 mph) in one direction depending on which way it's blowing that day. If you want to stay in Maryland (mostly) my route of choice is to ride across the Rte. 50 bridge and then up to Ocean Pines via Race Track Rd., and finally back to OC via Rtes. 113 and 54 through Selbyville, DE. Rte. 54 leaves you on Coastal Highway about 8 miles north of Rte. 50 at the state line. The whole loop's about 50 miles. The sun can be brutal and there are stretches with limited services (you're going through farm land for a lot of the trip) so bring plenty of water.
Space Flight: If you get a rainy day and don't want to deal with the outlets in Rehoboth there's the NASA Wallops Flight Facility on the way to Chincoteague. It's about an hour south of OC. They have a small visitors' center and museum with models of satellites, space suits, etc. as well as several display rockets outside. Plus they have big tracking antennas visible from the road and model rocketry events from time to time.
If you're interested in viewing real rockets go up, launch info for Wallops is here, though right now it doesn't look like they have anything scheduled through August 31.
Should you go to Wallops and decide to head into Chincoteague be forewarned that the mosquitoes there are at least twice as thick and hungry as the ones at Assateague and Cape Henlopen.
Kite Flying: There's usually a good stiff breeze, and kite flying on the beach is very popular, especially late in the afternoon after the lifeguards and tanners clear. The Kite Loft has a wide selection at all price ranges -- I think they have three stores in OC.
posted by Opposite George at 12:49 PM on July 26, 2005
phearlez and opposite george, thanks for all of the recommendations!!!
posted by dgeiser13 at 8:33 AM on July 27, 2005
posted by dgeiser13 at 8:33 AM on July 27, 2005
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posted by brheavy at 1:30 PM on July 25, 2005