Marriott's Monarch at Sea Pines

We exchanged our Myrtle Beach MVC deeded week to the Monarch, first time in HH. The resort is the oldest in HH and seems to be in the midst of a needed renovation. Our room was not updated and is on the smaller size than what we are used to but ocean side views, 4th floor. It was only 2 of us so the supplies offered were more than we needed. Get past the outdated furniture, leaky toilet, blinking light on microwave and odd light switches, the resort is beach front and very quiet and relaxing. Hearing the ocean from our 4th floor unit was much appreciated. No pool bar on site, a quick walk next door to Coast restaurant and they have a full bar and bites in a nice setting that is beach front. Plenty of chairs, pool options and even in December a full schedule of activities. Other than Coast and Fraser’s on the golf course across the way, you need to drive out of development. The Sea Pines community is large and we have found all the roads inside and outside of Sea Pines to be very dark, little to no street lights and windy roads. We needed a chill, relaxing week and we were successful, even lucked out on 65-72 degree days in December!

We have stayed at Monarch multiple times. There is a new initiative this year. Each unit has a “starter pack” of supplies, i.e. bathroom soap, dishwasher pods, dish liquid etc. After you have used that you must purchase your own. This is the first time we have stayed in a “high end’ resort where we weren’t supplied soap for the entire stay. One tiny bar was supplied for each bathroom. Definitely not enough for a family of 4. This is ridiculous! Of course, additional supplies are available for purchase, at high Marriott prices! We already pay high maintenance fees. This really put a damper on our stay. If you are there for a day or two, you are all set. If you, stay longer, not so. That is not fair. And no notice was given. We expected better from Marriott!

We arrived at the Monarch 4/6/24 - 4/13/24. We celebrated the birthday of our 95-year-old Grandmother. We called & spoke to NICK one week before our arrival about some challenges that we might have. NICK said he would do all he could but couldn't make any promises. When we arrived NICK had addressed all of the concerns. Vacations & Memories are rare & can go both ways! We are grateful we chose the Monarch. It may be older but it was clean, well well-equipped, & the service was excellent! From the balcony, we could see the gardens & beautiful water ponds. The location of our room was absolutely perfect! The beach is right outside the front desk area. It felt like a private beach, very clean & clear water and beautiful grounds to enjoy the beach area. We joined everyone outside for the Eclipse. It was mesmerizing! We stayed in a two-bedroom/two-bath. There was no noise at night & the activities were well planned. The receptionists were really helpful and friendly. Great staff who knew true customer service! Any negative reviews are very misleading. The Monarch is truly a Diamond In The Ruff & we will be back to make beautiful memories..