Grande Shores Resort located in Myrtle Beach, South Caronlina
 

 
March 2010
Family Vacation & Golf Newsletter

Welcome to Spring!

Sure signs of the season are the brightening daylight, the softening of landscape colors, and the greater number of hours available for daylight activities. Bird songs fill the air. Buds are popping out everywhere, and the fragrance of the air sharpens the senses!

If those were not inspiration enough, Daylight Savings Time arrived at mid-month to draw people outside, tempting them to shed outer layers of clothing and shift their focus from indoor cardio-workouts to outdoor sports, beach strolls, and moonlight dining. Soon, winter-dried skin will be replaced with smoother, softer skin due to the softening effects of the season. Offshore breezes bring in natural humidity in this Southern atmosphere, toning down the harsh effects that winter has on us. That is life at the beach!

We are delighted to welcome the spring-breakers to Grande Shores, students, families, and other vacationers getting away from their winter routines to rejuvenate themselves. They have shed their bulky outer winter clothing to replace it with light-weight and sleeveless garments, even flip flops on bare feet. Spring in the coastal Carolinas brings these and many other opportunities to reinvigorate ourselves. Some spring-breakers have even been spotted at the shoreline in bathing suits, playing in the surf. While to us locals, that behavior might be a bit brave, given our still crisp air and 50-something degree water, the mood is clear. All of us are ready to celebrate the spring season!

This just in! Sunday, April 4th at Shoreline Café, come have Easter Breakfast with the Easter Bunny from 7:30 to 10:30 AM! Our popular Easter Egg Hunt begins afterward, at 11 AM.

Come be a part of spring at the beach!

Your Friends at Grande Shores Resort


Grande Shores In Action

We are swinging into spring action to get you back into "fun"!

  • Our Golf Course Packages Include the Tee Times YOU Want. Save money when you book early, especially for golf groups. Want a relaxing day on the links or some stiff challenges to your golf skills? Need a place for your group's golf tournament?

    For example, let us arrange your tee times on the Dunes Golf and Beach Club, Tidewater Golf Club, and Glen Dornoch, three courses with plenty of pizzazz. Or play the "cats" at Ocean Ridge Plantation (Tigers Eye, Leopards Chase, Lions Paw and Panthers Run) in our "Stay 3 nights and get a 4th night, with breakfast, for FREE" deal. Have your own suggestions? Click here to book.

    With the start of the spring golf season, you may see many enticing discounts for accommodations rates, especially for golf groups, but ours differ in the details. Tee times, car rental, comfortable condos and hotel lodging, and customer service are targeted to your needs here at our ocean front resort -- full-service golf just for you! For more information, review us through these golf websites: www.MyrtleBeachGolf.net and www.TTimesOnly.com. We can help you book the tee times that you prefer!

  • Our Accommodation Packages Bring Comfort and Excitement. Do you think that discounts on beach vacations could make a difference to your budget? We're hearing that some people might have to forego a vacation this year, so we have included some fabulous incentives to save money and still visit the beach. Come before Memorial Day in May and save. Many options exist.

    How about rates as low as an average of $43 per night in the Girlfriend's Getaway package, perfect for moms or anyone wanting some "down" time from everyday life. In this deal, a group of moms, for example, might share stunning accommodations with awesome amenities and a breath-taking view at rates as low as $265* for three nights, staying in an ocean view hotel room (*Rates shown are based on 2 adults in an ocean view hotel room for the season of April 25-28, May 2-5 and May 9-12, 2010. Rates vary depending on season and availability. Offer not valid for existing reservations. Some restrictions apply. Discount must be confirmed at the time of booking. Taxes and resort fees additional.)

    Talk with our expect vacation planners to see what might work best for you!

  • Our Shoreline Café Has Been Renovated! Launching a jump-start on spring, our hard-working teams in Engineering, Housekeeping, and Food and Beverages have all played a grand roll in painting, carpeting, and cleaning the restaurant. The sprucing up has brought a special spring-y cheer to the Café, so come see our new look and taste our new menu options when you stop in for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Rely on us for your golf breakfast before heading out to the course. Plan a group banquet to celebrate an anniversary, such as this example shown in the illustration.




    Happenings In and Around Myrtle Beach

  • New Boardwalk and Promenade. The City of Myrtle Beach has its own set of improvements going! With plans to be open by the summer of 2010, the new 1.2 mile walkway will provide boardwalk space at oceanfront to enhance the Grande Strand even further from Second Avenue to Fourteenth Avenue North. The north end of the projected site (Mr. Joe White Avenue to Fourteenth Street North) is 99% complete, so stay current with progress on the delightful addition of the promenade by viewing the web cam on the Fourteenth Street Pier: www.CityofMyrtleBeach.com/cameras.html.

  • Spring Festivals. Canada/America Days, The Blues and Jazz Fest at La Belle Amie Vineyard, and Art in Chapin Park are only a few of the delightful events held this month and next around the Grand Strand. Stay in touch with our website for added information on events throughout the coming months. No need to delay a vacation or get-away here to the beach in favor of the summertime activities after Memorial Day. Spring has its own special flair, and our area offers many, many activities on any given weekend all across the Grand Strand. Plus, you can find money-saving specials available here at Grande Shores now, before Memorial Day, so come on down!

  • Convenient Non-Stop Flights. Easy and quick get-aways to the beach are now possible from many parts of the U. S. and Canada now that airlines are scheduling more and varied non-stop flights into the Myrtle Beach Airport. Live in Toronto and need to getaway to the beach? Plan ahead for some serious beach "down" time here in the Carolina sunshine or drive your golf ball down one of our coastal fairways, all within just a few short hours from your place of origin.



    SMS and Facebook and Grande Shores

    You might well wonder how to stay in touch with our great deals, especially the last minute ones. It's easy.

    Short messaging service (SMS) provides us a way to tell you as soon as we discount rates, plan an event, or make a change to a summer children's schedule. If you are already using texting, you know that it helps you stay in touch with the key people in your life. You are one of those key people in our life, and for our purposes texting messages is important to provide you with instant news about savings here at the resort and many other reasons. The information coming through SMS is relatively spam-free, discreet (no need to mask a ring such as for an incoming message; you can read it without delay), and far less expensive than if using calling.

    Facebook, also a social networking tool, offers you benefits such as a way to post vacation photos so that friends and family can easily see them. Stay in touch with the beach and all of our discounts for you to come here by linking to us in Facebook and logging on through SMS. Need help doing this? We're here for you through our website where you can link in a "chat" session to learn more.


    Featured Recipe - Kathy's Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake with Chocolate Custard Frosting

    When winter springs into the next season, atmospheric changes can be gloomy. Keep a festive spirit with this chocolate/chocolate cake recipe to boost the energy level in your household.

    Cake Ingredients:
    • 2 cups flour
    • 1/2 cup cocoa
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup sugar
    • 3/4 cup mayonnaise
    • 1 cup water
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla
    		DIRECTIONS:
    Sift together the flour, cocoa, soda and salt. Cream together the sugar, mayonnaise, water and vanilla. (The mayonnaise takes the place of the eggs and oil.) Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture; stir until well blended. Pour batter into greased and floured layer cake pans (or a 9- x 13-inch pan). Bake at 350°F. for about 25 minutes.
    Frosting Ingredients:

    • 1 cup sugar
    • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
    • 1 dash Salt
    • 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate -- grated
    • 1 cup boiling water
    • 3 tablespoons butter
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla
    		DIRECTIONS:

    • Mix sugar and cornstarch.
    • Add chocolate and salt.
    • Add water.
    • Cook until mixture thickens.
    • Remove from heat.
    • Add butter and vanilla.
    • Spread on the cooled cake.




    Groups at Grande Shores


    We welcomed the following groups to our resort this month:
    • Dartmouth Track and Field Team
    • The James Party
    • Scott County High School
    • Cheer University All-Stars
    • CSX Retirees
    • Coastal United Soccer
    • Babe Ruth Baseball

    Thank you, one and all, for selecting the Grande Shores as your meeting place and vacation site!

    If your organization or family has something big planned this year, look at our space! A graduation celebration or bar- or bat mitzvah, perhaps? A business reception? An annual church elders' meeting? Perhaps an employee awards banquet? Any of these reasons and more are within our realm of capability to design the room as you need it, too - table rounds for dining, classroom rounds for training seminars, and U-, H-, and conference formats for everything in between! Just imagine what you can do with these spaces, plus locate your people where they can have some "play" time as well.

    Check out the possibilities in our meeting rooms:
    • Conference Room A 532 square feet
    • Conference Room B 520 square feet
    • Conference Room C 529 square feet
    • Combined A and B 1,061 square feet
    • Combined B and C 1,057 square feet
    • Combined, A, B, and C 1,598 square feet

    Our experts in the Group Sales Office can help you design what you need. We're here for you, and Grande Shores is the right place for your perfect event!

    		•   Guest Comments


    I just wanted to let you know about the great customer service I received when I called Avista toll-free number. I spoke with Kasheedah. She was pleasant, helpful, informative, and she got us a very nice [efficiency] room at the Grande Shores March 26th-28th. .... Kasheedah searched her sources and found the best price and place for us with an indoor pool so we could and did have a very nice time. Thanks so much for training and stressing good customer service and employing people who are very good at customer service. We plan to stay again at one of your resorts and also recommend it to our family and friends. We have 15 grandchildren, and we both would love to bring (1 or two at a time) to the resort to spend some quality time with them. Thanks again and thanks to Kasheedah! We had a very nice time.
    Email to Grande Shores quality control from Kirk family, 3.10.2010.

    I was amazed at how wonderful the staff was. My fiancé and I came to the beach for relaxation and to get away from our stressful lives (he is a law enforcement officer, and I am a paramedic). The front desk staff turned our room phone off so that we would not be disturbed. I was so grateful. Email to Newsletter Response from Scott family, 3.01.2010.

    Just wanted to drop you a note to say THANK YOU we could not have asked for better service the staff was wonderful also we will surely be back and thank you.
    Email to property quality control from Lucas family from Laurinburg, NC, 03.02.2010.

    Our family visit was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT, thanks to your staff, facility and location!!! Could not have asked for more!!! We will be proud to recommend Grande Shores!!!! Our heartfelt THANK YOU TO EVERYONE!!!! We can't wait to come back!
    Email to Newsletter Response from Loughlin family, 2.26.2010.

    I stayed at Grande Shores Ocean Resort last fall with 6 of my girl friends. I came down for the week the rest of the girls came down on Thursday morning. I loved the place. I felt perfectly safe while alone and enjoyed the time with the girls. It is the cleanest place I ever stayed. ….It is really in a neighborhood and is so quiet and beautiful. We went out to night clubs in the area, and we had our very own cab driver which we called when we needed to go out. …. Thanks to everyone that is employed [at Grande Shores]. It was a very good experience for all.
    Email to Newsletter Response from Donnelly family, 2.26.2010.

    Condo was clean and nice, excellent value. Elevators were quick and parking was great. ... The indoor pool was nice, [and] the water was very warm. ... The towel made into a swan in the bathroom was nice, every one enjoyed it. I'm a Deputy Sheriff from NC and [found] your property felt safe and comfortable. We have been coming to Myrtle Beach for 11 years now, a few times a year, and we look forward to returning for another stay. Your prices were very reasonable; if they stay that way, we will automatically stay with you.

    Email to Newsletter Response from Liszewski family, 3.2.2010.

    My wife and I have stayed at Grande Shores almost every year since we discovered it after our Massage Therapist had a convention there. I even hosted a staff retreat for my staff there several years ago (Chiropractic Offices) and my wife and I brought our entire family (12) there 7 years ago. We have always been well received. The accommodations have been impeccable and the breakfast buffet is always a welcome treat. My personal favorite is oceanfront of course - we leave the balcony door open and really enjoy the sound of the ocean all night. Thank-you for asking for my comments.
    Email to Newsletter Response from Fullerton family, 2.25.2010.



    Fun Facts


    Historians believe Saint Patrick's real name was "Maewyn Succat."

    Did you know that the wearing of green on Saint Patrick's Day is more a commercial addition than Irish? Green ties, hats, or even green rivers and hair - where did all that come from? Just a wee sprig of shamrock in the coat lapel is the preferred Irish display.

    According to the U. S. Census Bureau, 34 million Americans have Irish ancestry (and according to Hallmark Cards, on Saint Patrick's Day, everyone does). That's almost 9 times the population of Ireland, which has 4.1 million people.

    Irish author John McGahern said, "Ireland is a peculiar society in the sense that it was a nineteenth century society up to about 1970, and then it almost bypassed the twentieth century." Today, the country is one of the world's leaders in technological development.

    Ireland has a handmade golf course in County Mayo's Carne Golf Links, which was built between 1987 and 1993 by farmers using hand spades and rakes.

    Filling your golf divots in with sand makes the grass grow in that bald spot.

    Sam Snead holds the current records for winning the most number of golf tournaments.

    A reporter interviewing Jack Nicklaus said, "Jack, you are spectacular, and your name is synonymous with the game of golf. You really know your way around the course. What is your secret?" Jack lost no time in replying, "The holes are numbered."

    An Irish legend is attributed to the term "Borrowed Days" to describe the first three days of April when weather left over from later winter can still be nasty. The myth states that a mythical Irish cow boasted about March being unable to kill her. Being vindictive, March borrowed three days from April and made the weather terrible in order to try and finish the cow off.

    So, at the risk of mixing our symbols for the weather, if your April comes in like a "lion," remember that those few nasty days are "borrowed" from March.

    At Grande Shores during the month of February, guests bought 751 Yuengling draft beers and 2608 chicken wings.


    Local Events Calendar


    The sap is rising. The buds are popping out of their winter covers. The birds are on the wing, and life is moving back outside after a long, hard winter. Let's get you outside to enjoy it!

    Click here to see the calendar of events for March on our web site.

     

     

    Special note to former guests: We invite you to send us a list of the 7 best things that you
    saw or did while staying here at Grande Shores! Please identify the name of the resort, too!


    201 77th Avenue North   |   Myrtle Beach, SC 29572   |      |   UK and Germany: 00800-1231-2302

     
    Grande Shores Resort in Myrtle Beach, SC
    		Grande Shores Resort in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina