Myrtle Beach area DoubleTree remodels, adds massive water park. Take a look
Walking into The Ellie Beach Resort at 10 a.m., there is a sense of beachy elegance.
The smell of maple syrup and pancakes wafts through the air, the ocean is visible through the back windows and there is wooden furniture with light blue and pink cushions lining the room.
The Ellie, a Hilton Tapestry Hotel, is DoubleTree Hotel that went through an extensive renovation in 2024, with the revamp finishing in the spring of 2025. Changes include updated rooms, a pool with massive water slides and a new name with a nod to Myrtle Beach history.
The hotel, located at 3200 S Ocean Blvd., is named after Colonel Elliott “Ellie” White Springs. He was a World War I and World War II fighter pilot who ran Springs Cotton Mill, said Ellie marketing director Jason Coker. Springs bought 30 acres in 1948 and built the Springmaid Beach Resort as a retreat for the mill employees, according to an email from Wallace Cortazar with the Dana Agency.
It had a campsite and a dormitory with barrack-style beds that cost $1 a night per bed, Coker said.
The employee retreat eventually turned into a public resort. The current building was constructed in 1970, according to Horry County land records. The resort has lodging, a conference room and the Springmaid Pier, which guests have free access to. Hilton bought the property in 2016 and it became a DoubleTree Resort before a renovation and rebrand to The Ellie in 2024.
Today, the DoubleTree and The Ellie are two different hotels but operate under the same Hilton umbrella and share amenities.
With the renovations, The Ellie has a classier feel, with more elegant hotel rooms and an impressive pool with comfortable seating options.
Coker encourages locals to stop by the property, either coming to grab a meal at Ocean Blue Restaurant or buy a day pass and enjoy the Hilton amenities.
“It’s such a great mix of nostalgia and upscale and modern amenities. It’s a great mix and a unique experience,” Coker said.
Inside The Ellie lobby, pools and game room
The Ellie lobby is filled with couches, chairs and tables made out of natural wood and metal painted white. There are blush-colored pillows on the couches and think forest green seats on the chairs. On July 3, visitors enjoyed the spaces, chatting or scrolling through their phones while sitting together.
There is a bar off to side, featuring Grand Strand Brewing beer on tap, fully-stocked liquor shelves, and a bartender eager to create fun and fruity drinks for customers. On the other side of the room from the bar is the Ocean Blue Restaurant. It has a view of the adults-only pool and the ocean, with seating lined up against the window as well as on a balcony outside.
Outside, there are three distinct pool areas. The most impressive is at The Ellie. There is a large pool with a wading space that has several chairs in the water, so guests can lounge in the pool. There are three tall water slides, featuring a drop slide and a tube slide filled with lights.
The morning of July 3, children ran up the stairs to the top of the slide, screamed as they slid down and landed with a massive splash. They then got out and ran back up to go again. In general, the drop slide was the most popular, with kids and adults popping out every few minutes.
Multiple guests said the water slides were their favorite part of the resort.
Off in the corner is a splash pad with interactive water features children of all ages enjoyed. In the larger pool, families relaxed pool floaties and threw beach balls back and forth.
The second pool area, located outside Ocean Blue Restaurant, is adults only. It was quieter, with people napping on lounge chairs, reading or enjoying a cocktail inside the pool. There is a pool bar, where patrons can order drinks.
Outside the pools, there a massive green space, where kids can run off energy, kick around a soccer ball or play other games.
In between the adults’ pool and The Ellie pool was a decked-out game space. The clink of pool balls and the tapping of ping pong balls rang through the space and patrons enjoyed the space. In the game room is multiple pool tables, ping pong, bowling, boche balls and fooseball. Outdoor sectional couches fill the space.
The game room is located in the open air but has plenty of shade and a light breeze, making it comfortable on a hot summer day.
Stephanie Harrison visited The Ellie with her family from Greenwood, South Carolina. She said her nine-year-old daughter loves to “roam” and can do so on a large resort campus.
“Having access to the whole resort has been a plus,” Harrison said. “The only thing missing is a hot tub, but it’s too hot for a hot tub anyway.”
The hotel rooms
Nearly all the hotel rooms feature an oceanfront view. The quarters at The Ellie overlooked the massive pool, the Springmaid Pier as well as the Atlantic Ocean, while the DoubleTree saw the older pool and the ocean.
The Sun News toured a room with two beds at The Ellie, however, there are multiple options for hotel rooms, including double king bed rooms, suites and hotel rooms with a set of bunk beds.
The Ellie room had white walls with a dusty blue stripe painted at the top, which matched the curtains. The room featured a small sitting area with two chairs that matched the blue wall stripe and a painting of the beach, littered with pink and yellow umbrellas. Above the beds was a headboard made of a natural light-colored wood.
The DoubleTree rooms, while nice, were not at the caliber of The Ellie hotel rooms. The color scheme was darker, with black headboards and black pieces of furniture highlighted in the room. This made the room feel less open and elegant than The Ellie.
As The Ellie continues operating, there are plans to bring in more art, Coker said. The hotel partnered with the Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum to create a replica of the original Springmaid Resort and bring in local artists to decorate the pool cabanas.
When staying at The Ellie or The DoubleTree, there are many community events for families. On July 3, The Ellie had a foam party and a live DJ playing. There usually are opportunities for guests to listen to live music, go fishing on the Springmaid Pier and have fun with others on vacation. Coker also loves the location of the resort on Springmaid Boulevard.
“If you’re going to build the perfect resort in the perfect place, this is the spot to do it. We’re right next to the state park. We’re not directly on that Ocean Boulevard with all the hustle and bustle and traffic,” Coker said.
