Rehoboth---my new favorite beach town
Written: Aug 23 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Clean, budget friendly, family friendly
Cons: They "roll up the sidewalks" as early as 10PM!!
The Bottom Line: Pack the kids and GO! They'll love it and you won't go broke!
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| pixelfaler's Full Review: Delaware |
I am a native Marylander and for the longest time, I felt I had to travel to Virginia, the Carolinas or even my in-laws place on the Gulf Coast of Florida to find a nice beach that wasn't a tourist trap. I was so glad to learn this summer that there was something much closer to home. Delaware.
The first visit we made as a family was on the last day of school this past year. What started out as a day trip to the NSA's Cryptological Museum turned into an impromptu overnight at the beach. That's spontaneity for you! It was still early in the tourism season, so we were able to find lodging pretty easily (The Sandcastle Hotel on 2nd Street was just great! It's clean, reasonably priced with an indoor pool and parking deck. What more do you need?).
We were mere blocks from the beach and we weren't drowning in a sea of traffic and people! So different from Ocean City----or anywhere else I had been that wasn't a private beach! In those mere blocks, we were able to find a well-stocked sundry shop, a swimsuit retailer with AMAZING customer service (of course, the service was great everywhere we went) and plenty of kid-friendly food places. Pretty much every place you could think to want is within a few blocks' walk. Except for a liquor store, in the event that you may want to have a bit of wine with your significant other after the children have gone to sleep. You actually have to stop on the way into Rehoboth for that. Plenty of quiet bars, but no "to-go" liquor sales. We had arrived a little late to go to the beach when we go there, but we spent a couple hours on the sand the next morning. If you get out there before all the boats get out on the water, you can see the dolphins feeding right off the shore. Amazing! My daughter had a blast watching that, as she is a huge fan of dolphins. Since it was early in the season, the crowds weren't too bad at all. It did get pretty hot pretty fast, so we ended up leaving the beach area in favor of some A/C and cold beverages. Before heading back home, we had lunch at Nicola's Pizza Shop, about a block from our hotel. Lovely food in a very casual atmosphere. Price was under 6 bucks a person and the servings were very generous for that. I was impressed with the whole experience---usually someone says "beach", I start whining.
So much so, that we came back again on Father's Day weekend and spent the entire weekend. Tourism season had started to pick up a bit, but we were still able to book the Sandcastle at a great rate. Having that parking deck available to you is invaluable when you have to be concerned with remembering to do the meter thing while on the beach. And, it saves you the cost of parking on the street.
We were on the beach by 8 a.m. every day we were there. Not only for the dolphins, but to get a nice spot on the sand. Once the season picked up, the population swelled and if you weren't on the sand by 9, it was hard to find a spot to set up. Still, the beach was very clean and I was relieved to not have photographers selling photo-scopes while I was trying to supervise my children during the tide. If you are into metal detecting, photography or other art medium, I suggest getting to the beach earlier still. I was up early one morning for a walk and went out on the beach when it first opened at 6 in the morning. That's all I saw were people with some serious photography equipment, sketchbooks and metal detectors. It's so quiet and so beautiful. It was worth it to have a case of insomnia that particular morning.
Rehoboth is unlike any other beach-town I've been to in that they have some serious variety in the area of food. Our hotel had a sushi place and a Mexican restaurant side-by-side next to the hotel. There was a caviar bar right across the street and any number of places with prices anywhere in between. On a recommendation from our hotel concierge, we checked out a place called "Arena's Deli". The decor is so relaxed, you have no qualms about stopping by in your suit and cutoffs. The sandwich selection is AMAZING and you simply cannot beat the prices! I'm not talking about your classic PB and J (even though they did have that for the kids)---these things were HUGE, MESSY and DELICIOUS! Open from 11AM to 1AM, this is a very good place to grab something to eat.
The other favorite place I have in Rehoboth is Grotto's Pizza. Again, the value is wonderful. The service is great and the food is just yummy! But, that's pizza. What I love about Grotto's is that dessert there did not blow my diet to smithereens! Their gelato is to die for. It's about 50 cents cheaper than regular ice cream, but it's made with whole milk, which means a whole lot less fat and it's just as yummy.
Rehoboth was originally established as a Methodist camp resort area and I believe that a large portion of that area's success as a family beach destination is because there isn't a real "party scene" in Rehoboth. Most places close down before midnight and it's a very quiet area. There is a smoking ban on public places in the state of Delaware, so even if you find yourself with your kids in a pub, listening to the cover artist that night, it's still family friendly. There isn't a whole lot of commercialization, like one would almost expect from a beach area with thriving tourism. Outside of the couple of blocks of boardwalk that span the hotels (featuring mostly arcade, eateries and shops), the area's largely real estate, with timeshare houses and beach condos for rent.
It's refreshing to find a place that still feels like the family vacation spot without overtly marketing themselves that way. In a world of amusement parks and expensive vacation packages that target families, Rehoboth Beach manages to draw thousands a year for just being a clean, family-friendly beach that isn't a case of overkill.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Jun - Aug
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Epinions.com ID:
pixelfaler
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Reviews written: 23
Trusted by: 1 member
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