Broadway at the Beach

Myrtle Beach is a marquee meeting destination

Whether your attendees prefer the putting green or sand between their toes, Myrtle Beach has what they’re looking for. It is the kind of place that calls for stilettos and sandals, blazers and bikinis, and cuff links and golf clubs. The hub of 60 miles of shoreline, Myrtle Beach is small but mighty. It’s a quaint beach town with the vibrancy of a big city. It can play host to large-scale functions and small, intimate gatherings. Options are as vast as the Atlantic Ocean.

Visitors looking to leave the hustle and bustle of the tourist-centric seaside community and explore the beauty of Mother Nature can enjoy hiking in Myrtle Beach’s two state parks, fishing and kayaking. There are several options on how to get around town between all your points of interest, including car rental, Uber, Lyft and good ole fashioned taxi cabs. Everywhere you go, you’ll be showered with Southern charm and hospitality. Have a great time in Myrtle Beach, y’all!

Give My Regards to Broadway

Myrtle Beach is ready for its curtain call. The newly remodeled Broadway at the Beach is open for business. The shopping, dining and entertainment complex received a face-lift earlier this year. Its new facade is made to look like an old warehouse district.

The first place to visit is “under the sea.” Ripley’s Aquarium can accommodate 40–125 guests in its banquet room. Larger groups are welcome to buy out the entire venue, and on-site chefs will cater to your budget. “Dining among exotic sea life is a rarity,” says Alexia Edge, sales manager for Ripley’s Attractions. “Where else can you walk into dinner, and see and touch stingrays, bamboo sharks, horseshoe crabs and even jellyfish?”


Glass Bottom Boat Adventure at Ripley’s Aquarium

Cue the soundtrack from Jaws! Ripley’s recently debuted its indoor glass-bottom boat attraction, Dangerous Reef, the first and only one on our continent. “This new experience allows you to venture into the heart of the shark tank,” Edge says. “You will be surrounded by colorful and dangerous marine life that inhabits Atlantic and Caribbean reefs, from Gabby, our resident green sea turtle, to big sand tiger sharks, nurse sharks and sawfish.” Ripley’s Aquarium is home to more than 8,500 aquatic animals representing more than 75 different species.

Broadway at the Beach is also a great place to eat, drink and be merry. And what would Broadway be without star power? Wahlburgers, a burger joint owned by famous brothers Mark, Donnie and Paul Wahlberg, expanded the chain to Myrtle Beach last year. For those in the mood for fried chicken and buttery delights, Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen just opened its doors. Although it doesn’t cater or offer meeting space, it does accept reservations for the large dining room.


Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen

Step into American Tap House, and your eyes are drawn to a wall of wine bottles in the shape of the American Flag. The restaurant, which recently celebrated its first anniversary, can host 350 people for an event. With more than 40 craft beers, American Tap House is the largest bar in Myrtle Beach, according to General Manager Scot Goldfarb. “Our food selection is probably one of the most eclectic, too,” he says. An on-site butcher and grinder whips up fare ranging from American to Indian, to Middle Eastern. American Tap House customizes events and is happy to cater and bartend off site, as well.


American Tap House

Arcades are not just for kids. Hosting an event at Dave & Buster’s can boost company morale and bolster competitive spirit through four team-building activities—D&B Seen, Mad Dash, The Company Challenge and The Alternate Quest. The chain opened its first outpost in Myrtle Beach’s Grand Strand in June, in the pyramid-shaped building where Hard Rock Cafe used to preside. Event space can be tailored for groups of 20–500 people, or up to 1,800 guests for a buy-out. Dave & Buster’s offers free audiovisual technology, and groups can broadcast their branding on TVs at the complex.

Ring a Southern Belle


Inlet Sports Lodge

The pages of Southern Living come to life at the nation’s first Southern Living Store at The Market Common. At this retail location, which opened late last year, customers can browse fashion, food, home decor, gardening and travel-related items to bring home a touch of the South.

Also at The Market Common is International Culinary Institute. Students have been cooking up a storm in this brand-new, $15 million open-kitchen concept that seats 100 diners and totals 30,000 sq. ft. Chefs-in-training from Horry Georgetown Technical College also run an on-site bakery. The complex’s amphitheater serves as a venue for cooking classes open to the public.

Visitors can immerse themselves in the antebellum South by visiting a nearby plantation. Hopsewee Plantation—50 minutes south, in Georgetown, South Carolina—is available for tours and catered events. It’s the birthplace of Declaration of Independence signer Thomas Lynch Jr., and just one of several early 18th-century rice plantations there.

Pier Pressure

Craft beer samplers at the Chemist-Craft Cocktails and Modern Cuisine

Pardon the dust while Myrtle Beach Boardwalk undergoes an extensive renovation and expansion. Upon completion, restaurants, stores and entertainment will move into a new 50,000 sq. ft. space. The boardwalk will connect to an Ocean 16 Hotel–Hilton (520 guest rooms) currently in development. Opening soon is RipTydz Oceanfront Grille & Rooftop Bar.

Put on your lab coat and head to The Chemist—Craft Cocktails and Modern Cuisine in downtown Myrtle Beach for “scientific” food and drink. The menu, created by 2013 South Carolina Seafood Chef of the Year Sean C. Thomas, focuses on molecular gastronomy. Tuna is seared with liquid nitrogen, for example, and beverages are cleverly named Periodically Peach Martini, Thyme Machine, Labtini and Radioactive Coke. Some of them are served in beakers.

Restaurateur Heidi Vukov is expanding her footprint to Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach. She is the woman behind popular Croissants Bistro & Bakery. Fresh out of the oven, a second Croissants location opened last month at Heidi’s Corner, and her Hook & Barrel restaurant will open soon. The seafood eatery will feature a wine room available for private events. “Her restaurants seek to be as green and energy-efficient as possible,” says Bonnie Bastian, a representative of Visit Myrtle Beach.

In its first year, Costa Coastal Kitchen and Bar has earned a reputation for the best Italian cuisine in Murrells Inlet. Located in the seafood capital of South Carolina, it’s connected to Inlet Sports Lodge, a boutique hotel that offers 800 sq. ft. of meeting space. Costa offers the option of buyouts.

Taking Flight


Myrtle Beach International Airport

Big news for airlift to Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR): Allegiant Airlines expanded routes to Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Dayton, Ohio; St. Louis; and Cleveland. Spirit Airlines added Hartford, Connecticut; Akron/Canton, Ohio; Newark, New Jersey; and Pittsburgh. Passengers can enjoy direct flights from 38 cities in the United States and Canada. United and WestJet also fly in and out of MYR. Many flights are only available only from spring until late fall.

MAJOR MEETING VENUES IN MYRTLE BEACH
 
Bay Watch Resort & Conference Center
Indoor and outdoor lazy rivers and pools; 6,500 sq. ft. of event space; 270 guest rooms; business center; seven whirlpools; gym; discounts and comps to area activities.
 
Beach Cove Resort
7,334 sq. ft. of event space; 320 guest rooms; pools; lazy river; sauna; racquetball court; business center.
 
Brighton Tower
Located within Kingston Plantation; 20,000 sq. ft. of prefunction and meeting space; more than 500 villas and condos; ballroom; oceanfront meeting room; outdoor terrace.
 
Compass Cove Oceanfront Resort
Giant chess and checker board; 4,172 sq. ft. of meeting space; more than 530 guest rooms; six indoor and outdoor pools; three lazy rivers; seven hot tubs; shuffleboard; arcade; business center; fitness center.
 
Coral Beach Resort & Suites
Rated Best Family Accommodations in Myrtle Beach by Travel Channel; up to 1,872 sq. ft. of event space; 307 guest rooms; bowling alley; arcade; billiards; foosball; air hockey; water park; fitness center; business center.
 
Courtyard by Marriott Myrtle Beach Broadway
Walking distance to Broadway at the Beach; 1,250 sq. ft. of meeting space; 126 guest rooms; The Market; outdoor pool; fitness center.
 
Crown Reef Beach Resort and Waterpark
On-site ice cream shop; 11,500 sq. ft. of meeting space; 500 guest rooms; pools, water park, lazy river.
DoubleTree Resort by Hilton, Myrtle Beach Oceanfront

DoubleTree Resort by Hilton, Myrtle Beach Oceanfront
Largest oceanfront conference center in Myrtle Beach; recently renovated; 35,000 sq. ft. of meeting space; three ballrooms; 452 guest rooms; fitness center; indoor and outdoor pools; two lazy rivers; 27 acres, with private beaches.
 
Embassy Suites Oceanfront Resort at Kingston Plantation
Winner of several meeting awards; 70,000 sq. ft. of meeting space; 14,520–square-foot ballroom; conference center also has 4,125-square-foot ballroom; 255 guest suites; tennis courts, water park; Sports & Health Club; nine pools, lazy river.
 
Hilton Myrtle Beach at Kingston Resorts
Winner of Gold Key Award for Meeting Excellence; 33,000 sq. ft. of meeting space; oceanfront rooftop venue; poolside terrace reception area; two ballrooms; nine breakout rooms; 385 guest rooms; business center.
 
Landmark Oceanfront Resort
Only enclosed crosswalk over Ocean Boulevard; 20,000 sq. ft. of meeting space; 570 guest rooms; five whirlpools; lazy river; water park; indoor and outdoor pools.
Marina Inn at Grande Dunes

Marina Inn at Grande Dunes
On 2,200 acres; 15,000 sq. ft. of event space; 200 guest rooms; infinity-edge pool; hot tubs; indoor pool; private access beach; preferred tee times at Resort Club at Grande Dunes; marina.
 
Myrtle Beach Convention Center
Renowned marine artist Wyland painted the Whaling Wall mural on Exhibit Hall C; Southeast’s most popular meeting destination; more than 250,000 sq. ft. of meeting space; 100,800 sq. ft. of column-free exhibition hall; 17 breakout rooms; 17,000-square-foot ballroom; 30,000-square-foot plaza.
 
Myrtle Beach Marriott Resort & Spa at Grande Dunes
Renovations completed in 2017; 45,000 sq. ft. of event space; 405 guest rooms; business center; spa; pool; fitness center.
 
Palmetto Pavilion
Located next to beach and Splash! Waterpark; tropical-style venue with palm trees; 9,200 sq. ft. of enclosed event space; accommodates up to 500 guests.
 
Sands Resorts
Golf privileges nearby; more than 13,000 sq. ft. of event space; 550 guest rooms; seasonal water park; indoor and outdoor pools.
 
Sea Mist Oceanfront
Free-standing conference center with three-story tropical atrium; 17,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and nine function areas; ballroom can accommodate 400 guests; 800 guest rooms; largest resort water park in area; mini golf; movie theater.
Sheraton Myrtle Beach Convention Center Hotel

Sheraton Myrtle Beach Convention Center Hotel
Adjacent to convention center; 250,000 sq. ft. of event space; 25 meeting spaces; 22 breakout rooms; 400 guest rooms; indoor pool.
 
Sun & Sand Resort
More than 7,000 sq. ft. of flexible indoor-outdoor event space; full catering; three spacious meeting rooms; nine private suites; 179 guest rooms; two pools.
 
The Breakers Resort
One of the largest oceanfront pool decks on the Grand Strand; 7,200 sq. ft. of event space; 662 guest rooms; massage therapists; more than 19 pools; 418 ft. indoor/outdoor lazy river.
 
The Caravelle Resort
Block-long poolscape; more than 4,000 sq. ft. of event space; 600-plus guest rooms; located on Golden Mile.
 
The Conference Center at Barefoot Resort
Lakeside venue; owned and operated by Barefoot Church since 2014; 17,000 sq. ft. of event space.