Beach, boardwalk, and…parrots?

Rehoboth Beach Delaware is a storybook beach town along the mid-Atlantic coast with an active shoreline by day and a bustling family friendly boardwalk at night. The Boardwalk Plaza Hotel is located along the beach at the north end of the one-mile boardwalk.

The Boardwalk Plaza Hotel is an AAA four Diamond, family owned, vacation destination that takes guests back to the gentler Victorian era. The hotel offers standard rooms, ocean view and ocean front rooms and suites, as well as efficiencies. Our suite had pocket doors between the rooms; a nice touch to keep the kids asleep while you enjoy a cocktail on the porch overlooking the ocean or get a little work done at the desk in the morning. The couch in the room also pulled out to a bed, for additional guests.

Property, Location and Details

In keeping with the hotel’s Victorian theme, there are numerous antiques and antique reproductions in the lobby providing a fun history lesson for kids. Mine enjoyed looking at pictures through the stereoscope and were excited to learn the hotel will mail your postcards if left in the antique post box. The kids also enjoyed conversing with the hotel parrots, Emro, a colorful Sun Conure and Peanut, an African Grey parrot who are often out of the cage and greeting guests at check in. The birds keep the Victorian theme going as they were popular pets during that time.

The hotel is located on the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk, just far enough down from the arcades and food stands that you aren’t disturbed at night, but close enough that you can walk easily for an evening of family fun. The indoor-outdoor spa pool, although very small, is located on the boardwalk, so it’s fun to sit on the deck while the kids swim and do some people watching. Food and drinks can be ordered poolside from the hotel restaurant.

Highlights of staying here

Location is definitely a huge perk. The hotel is right on the beach offering complimentary beach towels each day and toys from a box outside the hotel. If it’s raining or kids want to get out of the sun for a while, they offer complimentary kids crafts each day and inexpensive movies for in-room viewing from a extensive list of recent titles. Kids will love the proximity to Funland, a miniature amusement park with rides for all ages including bumper cars and a haunted mansion, and games such as Skeeball and Frog Bog. Although some of the rides and games at Funland have been updated in the last 50 years, it feels like a step back in time. The barkers are replaced by exchange students from Russia and other countries, but several of the rides and games are eternal favorites.  In addition to Funland, plan to spend some time tasting the culinary treats on the Boardwalk. My boys were introduced to peanut oil fried Thrashers French Fries, Italian Water Ice, Kohr’s custard and Dolles salt water taffy (since 1929).

Good to Know

If you aren’t staying close to the beach and boardwalk, parking can be a bear. Bring a $10 roll of quarters with you as there are no parking lots close and all on-street parking is metered. At the Boardwalk Plaza Hotel, guests receive complimentary parking in the hotel deck.

Although we were provided a complimentary room for the purpose of reviewing (as is common in the travel industry), we only recommend places we would stay and products we would use.

Written by Sue Rodman