Ocean City 2007 (Sea Bay Hotel plus restaurant recos)

My husband and I visited OC in celebration of our 1st wedding anniversary July 12-18. We wanted to make it a road trip and since we live on Long Island we picked OC (about 5 hour drive).

We stayed at the Sea Bay Hotel in Building B - formerly the Bay Sails Inn. The rooms were not much to speak of but it was clean and had a good view of the Bay and sunsets. Its located at 60th Street which we found to be perfect walking distance to most of the places we wanted to go which made enjoying our evenings out a lot easier. The room had a nice size fridge and a microwave that came in very handy. The pool was tiny at Building B and only 5 feet deep in one small corner (its triangle shaped) but it was just enough to cool off in at the end of the day. I booked the hotel in April and got some discounts for booking early. There are some improvements that could be made but I think they are working on it. The wireless internet in that building was not reliable but it was good in the Sea Bay lobby. I really prefer to not spend alot on a place to sleep so this place fit our needs perfectly. The only thing I didn%26#39;t like was that there was open access to the front doors at all hours and with no front desk staff it could be a bit unsafe. But one night I did see 2 security guards posted at the front doors so that may be their temporary solution.

The best thing was the location. Right across the highway is a nice beach that is not overcrowded like the beaches closer to the boardwalk.

Restaurants:

The Shark - by far this was our favorite food. We ate there on our anniversary and it was fantastic! Very creative dishes, nice size portions and friendly staff. The manager let us bring our our special bottle of wine and then even waived the corking fee. The only negative was that sitting outside had an ok view and seemed ideal but the restaurant is set on the side of a condo and the winds through there were nuts -- like salad blowing all over me while I was eating it! Still this is the best food we ate

Bars/Restaruarants:

Cant go to OC without hitting Seacrests - live bands, cool tiki bar atmosphere and the bartenders pour a mean margarita (making it worth $6). The food is ok - very casual - served on paper plates and the service is OK. Its PACKED all the time so expect to wait. however the hostess said it woudl 45 minutes and it was no more than 10 min. During the day you can lounge on big rafts in the bay and the waitresses will wade out there to bring you a drink! SWEET!

Fagers%26#39;s Island - this was the closest place to our hotel and its awesome - didnt get a chance to eat there but the atmosphere in the bar was great. They have gas fire pits outside that you can sit around and enjoy a cocktail.

Macky%26#39;s - this was a great restaurant and our 2nd favorite. its very casual and open air. Their back area is cool - where you sit at tables in the sand with tiki torch lights. I wish they%26#39;d invest in nicer chairs -- those cheap plastic chairs in the sand are not that comfy. My husband and I both ate the Mahi special with lump crab meat on top and a lobster cream sauce and it was awesome.

Bahama Mama%26#39;s - BEST CRABS! Its located downtown in the inlet - on Wicomico (sp?) totally worth going to look for it -- I had never eaten whole crabs before and it was SO fun! They cover your table with brown paper and you order the fresh crabs by the pound. Then they dump them on your table , give you a hammer and a knife and you go for it! It was such a fun and yummy meal! Its nicely located on a dock with indoor seating too.

Breakfast:

Satellite Cafe was our favorite - its not walking distance but the food and coffee were great and came out SUPER fast!

Hall%26#39;s - we did this breakfast buffet one AM but I wouldnt recommend it - it was very kids focused (like they offer you a picture with a pirate when you walk in) and the food wasnt great for what it cost (even with a coupon)

Coach%26#39;s Diner - this was located in the hotel and it was decent - very busy though

Lunch:

Tubby%26#39;s

A sandwich shop right across the street - awesome sandwiches but it gets PACKED during the day. Call ahead and they%26#39;ll even deliver to the beach!

Activities:

Mini-Golf - there are a hundred mini-golf places and we played em all -- it was a lot of fun!

Boardwalk - we walked the boardwalk once - not really our scene but it was fun to people watch there

Assateague Island - we took a ride out to this barrier island and it was a nice day. Its $10 to get in. Parking is limited around the trails but the trails were lame to begin with - just a circle and in one case the whole thing was a wooden path -- not so much a nature experience. The one thing they boast are their ';Wild Horses'; they are pretty but not that wild - you can tell that people feed them despite the parks asking them not to. They just stand around in the parking lots waiting for someone to give them some food. we rented a canoe and rowed out into the marsh and got some beautiful pictures of a group of wild horses grazing near the water. It was great but bring bug spray, I got eaten!

Overall we LOVED Ocean City - its such a nice getaway - even though I was still in the US it felt like we were in a tropical location!!

Ocean City 2007 (Sea Bay Hotel plus restaurant recos)

Great review of your trip to OC! And congratulations on your 1st anniversary!

Ocean City 2007 (Sea Bay Hotel plus restaurant recos)

Congrats on your anniversary, and I agree with your review of the Shark - That was by far the best meal we had this trip.

As for the review of Assateague, yes, the horses are wild - but they are rounded up yearly and swum across the sound for auction, plus cared for by the Chincoteague Fire Dept, so they are used to humans - However, for a girl that grew up with the Misty books, it is a wonderful experience, and one that I insist on doing each trip (even though my friends laugh at me!)

Thank you for posting your wondeful review of your trip to O.C. We%26#39;ve been going there for years and still get excited about it. Our vacation is in August and I can almost smell ';the smell'; you get when approaching the beach! I%26#39;m glad you had a great vacation!

Thanks for your review! I heard about The Shark - I%26#39;m planning on trying it out! We%26#39;ve also done Macky%26#39;s and Bahama Mama%26#39;s. Love both. We%26#39;re heading to OC tomorrow morning - can%26#39;t wait!