fitting 10 women in a beach house
January 28, 2016 4:54 PM Subscribe
How do I plan a fun, chill bachelorette for 10-12 women this summer at some wonderful beach near DC?
Lodging- I've been looking at Rehoboth, DE via AirBnB and VRBO, but I can't seem to find a beach house there that's available in June/July that would fit 10-12 women for a long weekend (Thurs-Sun). There seems to be a lot of week-long rentals. Are there any recommendations for other types of lodging or beaches I should look at?
Fun places- I've actually never been to Rehoboth. I've looked at yelp and rehobothfoodie.com. Any suggestions for places or activities ? Any that's "bachelorette-y" but not *too* bachelorette-y? We like dancing, beer, games, and lounging about. Are there better beaches for this than Rehoboth?
Lodging- I've been looking at Rehoboth, DE via AirBnB and VRBO, but I can't seem to find a beach house there that's available in June/July that would fit 10-12 women for a long weekend (Thurs-Sun). There seems to be a lot of week-long rentals. Are there any recommendations for other types of lodging or beaches I should look at?
Fun places- I've actually never been to Rehoboth. I've looked at yelp and rehobothfoodie.com. Any suggestions for places or activities ? Any that's "bachelorette-y" but not *too* bachelorette-y? We like dancing, beer, games, and lounging about. Are there better beaches for this than Rehoboth?
Just to weigh in on the length issue: a week is the standard rental for beach houses up and down the East Coast, especially in the popular spots, especially the spots you can find online. It's a whole lot easier for owners to manage turnover once a week rather than two or three times in the same period of time, and demand for summer beach houses is such that they simply don't have to rent in smaller chunks. If you're just looking for a long weekend, you might have better luck going the hotel route.
posted by zebra at 5:40 PM on January 28, 2016 [11 favorites]
posted by zebra at 5:40 PM on January 28, 2016 [11 favorites]
It's going to be tough to find a less than week rental at any of the major beach spots within a few hours of DC. You will probably need to ante up for a week, which may still be cheaper than 3 or 4 hotel rooms in prime season.
posted by COD at 5:45 PM on January 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by COD at 5:45 PM on January 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Downtown Rehoboth is awesome. Stingray is good for Sushi. Any restaurant with Matt Haley's (RIP) name attached to it is going to be solid - look for anything SoDel concepts. Also a huge fan of the Dogfish Head restaurant in downtown Rehoboth.
Speaking of which, if you are beer fans, the Dogfish Head Brewery is about a 30-40 minute drive outside of Rehoboth and the brewery tour is great, with a tasting room and everything. Book it as far in advance as you can - the tours fill up unbelievably quickly.
The surrounding beaches/towns are also nice and within driving distance to Rehoboth, except Ocean City which is a giant trash party. They do not have as vibrant downtown areas though. I personally love going to Dewey for nightlife to drink at bars on the bay where they serve drinks in plastic cups and listen to shitty cover bands, but it might not be your scene. And I agree with Zebra above, you are kind of stuck with hotels if you're doing a long weekend and not a full week.
posted by windbox at 5:50 PM on January 28, 2016
Speaking of which, if you are beer fans, the Dogfish Head Brewery is about a 30-40 minute drive outside of Rehoboth and the brewery tour is great, with a tasting room and everything. Book it as far in advance as you can - the tours fill up unbelievably quickly.
The surrounding beaches/towns are also nice and within driving distance to Rehoboth, except Ocean City which is a giant trash party. They do not have as vibrant downtown areas though. I personally love going to Dewey for nightlife to drink at bars on the bay where they serve drinks in plastic cups and listen to shitty cover bands, but it might not be your scene. And I agree with Zebra above, you are kind of stuck with hotels if you're doing a long weekend and not a full week.
posted by windbox at 5:50 PM on January 28, 2016
Just to ditto the folks above: June and July are THE prime beach rental months; it'll be near impossible to find a place that'll rent for a weekend when they can very easily rent that same space for a full week, ie for more money. Sorry, but them's the economic facts of beach rental life.
So realistically, your choices come down to hotel rooms for the weekend, or a vacation property for a full week. Either way, I'd suggest you make your reservations NOW: available dates during those two months go VERY fast, and might even already be booked.
posted by easily confused at 6:32 PM on January 28, 2016
So realistically, your choices come down to hotel rooms for the weekend, or a vacation property for a full week. Either way, I'd suggest you make your reservations NOW: available dates during those two months go VERY fast, and might even already be booked.
posted by easily confused at 6:32 PM on January 28, 2016
Best answer: your choices come down to hotel rooms for the weekend, or a vacation property for a full week.
Another option is just to go earlier in June, before schools let out, but of course weather will be iffier. Still, in the Mid-Atlantic even late May can be really summery.
Another idea would be to Googlt vacation realties in the city you want, and give them a personal call or email explaining what you want. Listings are formulaic, but if you talk to a real human, they may know of properties that would otherwise be empty that will rent to you - especially in June. They'll know which owners are flexible or motivated.
posted by Miko at 7:18 PM on January 28, 2016
Another option is just to go earlier in June, before schools let out, but of course weather will be iffier. Still, in the Mid-Atlantic even late May can be really summery.
Another idea would be to Googlt vacation realties in the city you want, and give them a personal call or email explaining what you want. Listings are formulaic, but if you talk to a real human, they may know of properties that would otherwise be empty that will rent to you - especially in June. They'll know which owners are flexible or motivated.
posted by Miko at 7:18 PM on January 28, 2016
I like to stay in Milton, DE, which is home of Dogfish Head Brewery. There are good restaurants, antique shops and it's very walkable. If that interests you, I'd look at rentals in nearby Broadkill Beach, which is bayside.
posted by MichelleinMD at 7:20 PM on January 28, 2016
posted by MichelleinMD at 7:20 PM on January 28, 2016
For a group that large, why not try your local travel agency and see if they can find a hotel that offers a group rate? You may all get along a little better in three or four rooms instead of all sharing one space. To avoid cliques and hurt feelings, work out a buddy chart, where every meal each lady is paired up with someone new. You can all eat together but you must sit by your buddy.
While you are there, hire a professional photographer for the group and individual shots. Every lady deserves a nice picture of herself and group selfies usually don't make that happen.
posted by myselfasme at 4:36 AM on January 29, 2016
While you are there, hire a professional photographer for the group and individual shots. Every lady deserves a nice picture of herself and group selfies usually don't make that happen.
posted by myselfasme at 4:36 AM on January 29, 2016
Most if not all of the beach houses there require a week for renting the whole house, it's just the normal thing during high season. You might have better luck in Ocean City MD, which is not far from Rehoboth. Honestly I'm surprised you're still finding weeks available now, they're often booked six or more months in advance. (I grew up going to OC for a week every summer, it's been this way for 30+ years.)
posted by juniperesque at 6:09 AM on January 29, 2016
posted by juniperesque at 6:09 AM on January 29, 2016
There are always weeks available even in high season; it's kind of an illusion that there aren't, and one the realtors promote. What disappears is choice - for instance, your favorite houses, blocks, streets etc. get booked up faster, but there are always lower preference tiers available.
posted by Miko at 6:18 AM on January 29, 2016
posted by Miko at 6:18 AM on January 29, 2016
Check out Bethany and Fenwick in addition to Rehobeth. (Ocean City is like the "big city" of beach towns in this area and full of trashy stuff - definitely not my idea of "chill.") One of the larger properties like Sea Colony in Bethany might do weekend rentals, and there are also a few hotels on the beach itself that you could try (can't think of names, sorry). It's about a 30 minute drive to Rehobeth (even less to Dewey, but I'm not sure of your tolerance for BRO LET'S TAKE A SHOT BRO atmosphere) so you could go there for a night.
If you end up in Bethany and are looking for a nice restaurant, I highly recommend Blue Coast.
posted by sallybrown at 7:38 AM on January 29, 2016
If you end up in Bethany and are looking for a nice restaurant, I highly recommend Blue Coast.
posted by sallybrown at 7:38 AM on January 29, 2016
Response by poster: Thanks all! So, we ended up reserving a bit earlier in June and talked with a vacation realtor. We got a wonderful house a block away from the beach in Rehoboth for a long weekend (even though it was advertised for a week, who knows!).
posted by inevitability at 10:07 AM on February 16, 2016
posted by inevitability at 10:07 AM on February 16, 2016
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posted by three_red_balloons at 5:22 PM on January 28, 2016