Checkin and Room - The sign out front is small, so it is difficult to find. Checkin was very easy. Elevators are fast and they repaired broken tiles in one while I was there. All the hallways are enclosed and heated, which is great in winter, you can go from your room to the indoor pool without freezing! Room 1508 was basic but adequate. The kitchen was well stocked and has a dishwasher, oven, stove microwave and full refrigerator, but there is very little storage room for food. The round table in the living room is small and VERY wobbly, so computer work or even eating is difficult. Flat screen TV in living room was nice with a DVD player, bedroom is traditional TV. Beds are OK, nothing special. Safe in bedroom is large enough for a several laptops and phones, it was in a small closet. The bathroom sink counter is huge, lots of room for your stuff and a large bathtub. Parking garage is tight and visibility is poor (mirrors help, most people ignore them), but you can park within a few feet of the elevators which is wonderful. There is a surface lot across the street if you can’t handle the garage. Housekeeping was erratic, one says no towels or soap, the next one brings them up with a smile. Several just poured cleaning fluid everywhere and sloshed it around which really stinks and does nothing to clean the floor or bathroom. The hotel is non-smoking, but you can smoke on the balcony. Since I like to leave my balcony door open, the smoke just gets sucked in, filling my room. Internet was fast and very reliable even as the hotel filled up, there was no slowdown. Best internet in Myrtle Beach for workaholics like me.
Pools - The indoor pool has a small (very fast) lazy river, two hot tubs, a small pool with basketball hoops and small round kiddie pool. The outdoor pool was heated and very nice in the winter. One of my big complaints at Myrtle Beach is unsupervised children at the indoor pools. They weren’t too bad at Paradise at first, but on Friday I came down and the security guard hauled all the kids out of the pool. There were no parents and the kids were wild. He actually called their parents and made them come down and get them! He is my hero! Alas, that only happened one day and for the next week the kids jumped, splashed and broke every rule in the pool area making my stay miserable. Many kids also tracked sand from the beach to the indoor pool area and hot tub, and many times the elevators had pools of water in them from kids not toweling off.
Breakfast was basic with a small buffet, make your own waffles and they would make fresh eggs for you or on omelet. I got the free breakfast as part of my package.
Location - Paradise is in a tourist area of Myrtle Beach with lots of high rise hotels in the area, there is low rent housing and sleazy businesses as you move a few blocks inland. I felt safe, but I would be careful about walking inland in this area.
I normally stay at the Dunes Village, but it has become too expensive. This is a good alternative, the rooms are similar, but they don’t have all the water features of the Dunes, or the great breakfast buffet.
The best features were the great internet and enclosed garage. But they still need better supervision of the kids in the pools. I paid $62-77 per night plus 13% tax + $10 resort fee for the two weeks before Christmas. Make your reservations at least two months before you arrive, the rates will creep up on you if you wait too long!