Beachfront Hotels: Introduction

Beachfront Hotels: Introduction

Beachfront Hotels: Introduction- Memories from your beach vacation should involve the breeze in your hair and the sand in your toes — not the bill at the front desk. Budget Travel magazine’s challenge? To find 10 getaways under $150 that are less than a five-minute walk to the ocean's edge — a tall order for summer's peak season, when the average price of a waterfront hotel starts around $250 per night. Budget Travel steered clear of the Caribbean (hurricanes) and Southeast Asia (monsoons) to focus only on the most desirable summer destinations in places that don't strand you in the middle of nowhere (unless that's the point). The resulting collection of hotels and resorts, from the family-friendly mainstay of Myrtle Beach to Barcelona's sizzling shoreline, proves that wherever you want to go this summer, you can be right on the shore without breaking the bank.

Beachfront Hotels: Azul del Mar, Key Largo, Fla

Near the top of the arc that forms the Florida Keys sits Key Largo, long celebrated for its glamorous watering holes and unspoiled beaches. In 1948, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall shone a spotlight on the town with a film of the same name. Today, about 200 feet away from where the stars cracked wise at the Caribbean Club, stands Azul del Mar. Thanks to husband-and-wife proprietors Karol and Dominic Marsden, the eight-year-old hotel evokes the island's heyday. Facing Blackwater Sound and Florida Bay, guest rooms feature round porthole windows, faux Ionic columns and colorful accents throughout. Lounge on the lawn amid tropical trees, key-lime bushes and frangipani, or oceanside on the private, man-made shale beach.

Beachfront Hotels: Best Western Plus Beach Resort Monterey, Monterey, Calif.

Finding affordable waterfront digs in coastal California can be a daunting task — which makes this spot right on the beach such a pleasant surprise. Here, you're also adjacent to the 18-mile-long Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail, which leads right to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, San Carlos beach (popular with divers) and Fisherman's Wharf. This is a "Best Western Plus" (as opposed to a straightforward "Best Western"), which means perks like free Wi-Fi. The 196 rooms are painted in sweet, muted tones of cream with cranberry accents and are furnished simply with wicker furniture. Floor-to-ceiling windows maximize the star attraction — the view of Monterey Bay.

Beachfront Hotels: Caribbean Resort & Villas, Myrtle Beach, S.C.

This summer, the year-old Myrtle Beach boardwalk has added a 187-foot-tall Ferris wheel to its already long list of attractions (cafes, street performers, fireworks displays). Just 16 blocks north is a stretch of beach that's sugary white, with shallow waters and low waves that are perfect for beginning swimmers. The Caribbean Resort & Villas is strung along the shore, with 438 rooms and suites spread across four beachfront buildings: the Cayman and the Dominican Towers, the Chelsea House Villas and the Jamaican Motor Inn — which is where you can still find mid-summer bargains. (Bonus: Guests here have access to the inn's own pool and beach deck.) The Cayman and Dominican Towers are both geared toward families with small children — they have indoor and outdoor tubing pools, a lazy river and hot tubs, plus an outdoor waterslide area on the north side of Cayman.

Beachfront Hotels: The Chelsea, Atlantic City, N.J.

The Chelsea lit up its retro neon sign in July 2008 along the southern end of Atlantic City's salt-and-pepper shoreline. With a distinctly Rat Pack vibe, the Chelsea channels the easy glamour of a bygone era with its poolside cabanas, fireplace lounges and in-house supper club, the Chelsea Prime, which serves classics like duck ragout and homemade pappardelle. Each of the 331 rooms and suites has boutique touches, like parrot-shaped white lamps, blue velvet curtains and upscale FACE Stockholm toiletries, and the hotel's expansive spa includes a seasonally heated saltwater pool. All guests have access to the Cabana Club, a 15,000-square-foot deck on the fifth floor, whose outdoor swimming pool and indoor lounge provide ocean views.

Beachfront Hotels: El Encanto de Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Though it's only about 60 miles northeast of the well-known resort community of Cabo San Lucas, the village of Cabo Pulmo has a rustic vibe that makes it feel a world away. A two-minute walk down a sandy path from the town's beach brings you to El Encanto de Cabo Pulmo, an inn comprised of three private suites with palm-thatch roofs, rattan chairs, vintage Oriental carpets and Mexican artwork. Opened in 2008, the solar-powered inn is hemmed by bountiful gardens designed and maintained by owners Robert Lerner and Diane Varney, who, now retired, both hold graduate degrees in botany. Set inside the eponymous national park, the town of about 100 residents has long been a haven for divers seeking out rare living coral reefs in some of the world's clearest waters. At night, the skies are nearly free of ambient electric light, presenting spectacularly clear views of constellations.

Beachfront Hotels: GBB Hotel Front Marítim, Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona has it all, so why not drop your bags at the beach to ensure your downtime here is well spent? Across the street from La Nova Mar Bella Beach — where you can rent sun beds and umbrellas and stroll the boardwalk — the four-star Hotel Front Marítim's 177 earth-toned guest rooms feel like they could have come straight out of an Ikea catalog, with clean lines, big windows and parquet floors. A night in means dining on Mediterranean cuisine such as grilled tuna topped with tomato and fried fillet of monkfish served with crisped garlic (a Catalonian specialty) at the house restaurant, Forum, which changes its menu weekly.

Beachfront Hotels: Hotel Napoleon, Menton, France

On the bright blue Bay of Garavan, about a 10-minute walk from the center of town, this chic retreat is just across the street from the beach — and less than a mile from the Italian border. (You can jog there on your morning run.) The 44-room hotel features light colors, airy rooms and soft, square armchairs in the lounge, which is right next to a small pool. It's worth spending extra for a room facing the sea — you'll be rewarded with a great view and a wooden balcony with a table and chairs. A road lines the entire seafront of Menton, but once the double-paned windows are closed, the whoosh of traffic is gone. Breakfast is served on the downstairs patio, under the banana trees. For the true Riviera experience, rent a lounge chair and umbrella (about $18 per day) on the private beach and have a waiter from the beach restaurant bring you a drink.