The Summer Place
- July 4, 2007
- Rated 2 of 5 by
if412 from Berlin, New Jersey
The Summer Place was once close to the beach; however, since the Sea Colony built their six-block highrise complex and blocked off direct access with a fence, one has to walk five blocks to the beach. If you drive, parking costs .25¢ per 12 minutes. Bethany Beach is small and far from clean. The beach had a load of horseshoe crabs and broken sea shells covering the beach which told me that the beach was not combed regularly. The beach was so small I could not fly my kite during the day as it presented a hazard. When I flew it at night, I had someone walk into my string.
The Summer Place itself obviously didn't have regular upgrades. Our TV had poor reception on a number of channels, and on three occasions we lost the channel in the middle of a program. I was also disappointed that there was no VCR/DVD or stereo system which I would have played and listened to this great station with the call letters WAVE.
Our screen door was the first sign we saw that showed little maintenance was involved in the unit's upkeep. Our screen was bent, rusted, and off the track. The upstairs air-conditioner was a lot louder than normal. My wife had a dream that she was being chased by a tractor-trailer because of this noise. It was so loud, we had to play the TV almost at full volume to hear it. Using the fan wasn't much of an option either, as it made a lot of noise, especially on medium and high. The worst thing about this place was that there was poison oak and sumac around their facility. Instead of cleaning it out, they posted a notice for the guest to BEWARE.
Everything wasn't a disaster though. It was two floors, so it was pretty spacious. There was a private sauna in each unit, plus they had an eight-person jacuzzi and a nice outside pool. It was also centrally located. This was important because Bethany has very little to offer (two blocks of stores and a bandstand that has a performance everyday after July 1 to the Labor Day weekend.) To the south is Fenwyck Island. Here you will find the most spectacular miniature golf courses you'll ever lay your eyes on. A little further south is Ocean City, MD (but this takes at least 30 minutes). To the North is Dewey and Rehobeth Beaches. At the Rusty Rudder in Dewey Beach, you'll find nightly entertainment that starts between 4 ad 5pm. Across the way is the Crab House. The food and drinks are better here and cost less, but there is no entertainment and it doesn't open until later. On the weekend we watched people in their boats float around outside both restaurants (and The Lighthouse where we did not eat or drink). One boater even played fetch with her dog. Rehobeth has three shopping outlets, a water park, and more.
From journal Summer Place, Bethany Beach