Hi!

Thank you for the reply. The hotels are Hampton Inn Oceanfront South,Holiday Inn Oceanside and Springhill Suites Oceanfront.

Yes, it will be very pricey. Most quotes on the beach have been between $269-$289 a night. We will be there for two nights. I hosted a family reunion at the beach in 2005. At that time, we stayed in the Marrott on 25th street. We paid $250 a night in 2005.

It is a family reunion. It will be mostly adults. However, there will be some kids.

I would also be open to other hotel suggestions. There are so many hotels that it is difficult to narrow them down. We loved the Marriott on 25th street last time. However, I was thinking it would be nice to change it up a bit so that it is not a repeat of 2005.

Thanks for any tips or suggestions.

Your hotel choices are all good.

Hampton Inn South and Springhill Suites are beside each other. The pool you probably saw google walking belongs to SHS even though it hugs Hampton Inn's parking decks.

SHS's outside pool is a nice feature and is in the full sun, no building shadow, so it's good for tanning or warm swimming. You can imagine in the summer it gets busy.

SHS also has a very large suite...850 sf I believe. It has a dedicated, walled, doored bedroom. The living room is available for sleeping as well and people sleeping there don't have to pass through the bedroom to get to the bathroom. There is one bathroom with a hall from the bedroom and another access to that hall from the kitchen/dining area.

SHS has a gigantic first floor with lots of colorful seating and tables for group hang outs...and a full wall of glass across the back. There's an indoor pool on the first floor too.

SHS has decks from some second floor rooms, very large and can be handy. We prefer a little higher up, though, for the broader view.

Hampton Inn was built in 2009 and SHS about a year before that. It has a bright indoor pool and those large rooms without the half wall thing that make it feel roomier.

Behind Hampton Inn and SHS is a children's play area in the sand. They are across the street from Subway, Il Gairdino, lots of beach supplies, the Christmas Mouse store, etc.

Not far is the Boardwalk-side summer extension of the amusement park a block back from the beach. The rides beside the boardwalk are sort of retro and just enough for some fun but not overdoing it if you like to stay along the boardwalk. This is at 15th. The Pier is at 15th also.

Holiday Inn Oceanside has a large lobby too, an indoor pool, and an onsite restaurant. I believe it was remodeled last summer.

Not far (At 22nd and Pacific) are two mini golf courses across the street from each other. Nearby are the usual...haunted house, old tipe pictures, food shops and Giovanni's restaurant. Wrapping around the corner of 21st is a Subway, 21st St. Grill, Albies Pizza and Quadalajara.

You can check out what boardwalk entertainment is going on so that you could stay closer to it...or not. Check that at www.visitvirginiabeach.com and www.beachstreetusa.com

If you want to explore a hotel a little further north you might take a look at Holiday Inn North Beach at the north end of the boardwalk...lots of pools, recently remodeled and expanded greatly.

First of all thank you so much for the detailed response. So, if you were planning a group (weighing all the positives and negatives)would you lean more towards the Springhill Suites?

Also, do they have a trolley that will give tourist a ride towards where the beach street activities are located? I seem to remember reading about that years ago. We did not need it because we stayed at 25th street last time.

I live out in Williamsburg but I plan to drive over to the beach to get a feel for the properties this week.

Oh and I called the Holiday Inn North Beach first. They did not want to deal with groups during the peak season.

Thanks again for all of your help.

I wouldn't have a problem with Springhill Suites. We always found it a good choice. Hampton Inn is nice a newer...but only a little newer than Springhill Suites.

The outdoor pool is a nice thing to have. And a place that makes sandwiches and drinks. It can get crowded at times. But then most times the beach and ocean seem to be the draw.

I know some people who were disappointed the nice pool didn't belong to Hampton Inn where they were staying. But maybe just as many that didn't come to the beach for the pool.

See what kind of room configurations you want. I like the open space of the larger suites at Hampton Inn and SHS. But personally feel crushed in the next size down at SHS that has a half wall between tiny living area and small bedroom. See how the sizes go vis a vis your needs and your cost.

There is the Wave bus that goes along Atlantic Ave regularly so you don't really need to take your car out. There is also one that goes out to shopping and a route to the museum.

Check out The Wave and their routes here:

http://www.gohrt.com/services/vb-wave/

Those entertainment sites will list special weekend festivals as well as the schedules for Beach Street street performers and for fireworks too. The street performers are from 17th to about 24th.

There's tons of nature things to do as well. Kayaking, paddle boarding, a sort of dune bus tour to the natural areas. If your family will have any interest I'll tell you more.

While family members are taking a walk on the boardwalk they might like to be aware of some of the things they'll see along the way...lots of places to stop, open air memorials, museums in historic cottages etc. There are also many benches along the boardwalk for resting:

tripadvisor.com/Travel-g58277-d269374/Virgin…

Thank you for all of your help. We have decided to go with the Springhill Suites. I loved the lobby and dining area. You were right when you said it was gigantic. I also found out that they will be undergoing renovation over the winter. The hotel will be renovated in time for our stay next year. The only thing I don't like is that it is on that end of the beach. I wish it was closer to the beach street activities. However, like you said they can take the wave bus down there or they can walk. I think they will love the hotel though.

Great location. You're not far from Rudee Inlet for fishing and dolphin watching boats and kicking back there.

There are lots of activities that take place at that end of the beach too. Check out those sites I gave you for events while you're there. There are actually some concerts and events that can fill up the beach just a little south of you.

The walk to the Beach Street performers goes quickly. You can enjoy the streetside restaurants, souvenir shops, ice cream shops etc or the nature, surries, bicyclers and benches to rest on the boardwalk side.

When will you be in VB?