Virginia Beach hurricane damage?

[suenmike32]

I realize that the V.B. area may have been at the tail-end of Hurricane Michael. But does anyone know how they fared? Staying at Beach Quarters next week and thought I'd check. We were washed out of Myrtle Beach two weeks ago (for the second time) due to hurricanes. I understand that Ocean Watch is still operating at only 30% capacity. Hopefully B.Q. only received rain. Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[DaveNV]

My good friends who live in Va Beach texted me this after Michael went through: “Well, we got a ton of leaves and lots of small branches everywhere, but did not lose power or anything else. Very lucky, indeed!”

So I think you’ll probably be ok.

Dave

 

[suenmike32]

Thanks Dave

 

[DaveNV]

I’d double-check with the resort, just in case.

Dave

 

[pedro47]

To the OP, you can read how hard Virginia, VA Beach & OBX was hit via. The Virginian Pilot newspaper & The Roanoke local newspaper.
Trees are down and some places still do not have electricity as of this morning. A tornado touch down in James City County causing 1.8 million dollars in damages.
Please also read via the internet WAVY TV & WTKR TV News television stations reports on Hurricane Michael.

 

[Bernie8245]

We just checked into Beach Quarters today and everything appears normal.

 

[Steve Fatula]

To the OP, you can read how hard Virginia, VA Beach & OBX was hit via. The Virginian Pilot newspaper & The Roanoke local newspaper.
Trees are down and some places still do not have electricity as of this morning. A tornado touch down in James City County causing 1.8 million dollars in damages.
Please also read via the internet WAVY TV & WTKR TV News television stations reports on Hurricane Michael.

Here in Williamsburg, just got power back where I am.

 

[suenmike32]

Thanks to all that posted. Gonna give resort a call in a day or so. Don't check in till 10/20.

 

[Steve Fatula]

I would call to make sure! Tried to go to Cold Stone, no ice cream, all melted days ago.

 

[RNCollins]

Hurrcaine Florence Update
A Place At The Beach III, Atlantic Beach, NC

Posted on their website
A Place At The Beach III
October 11, 2018

“APATB’s office is currently open and operating under the limited hours of 8am-6pm. The restoration process is in full force and we hope to be back fully operational soon. All affected weeks prior to week 44 may call the resort directly or VRI corporate to exchange into any available week in 2018 or any available week up to week 17 in 2019. We thank everyone for their continued support as we work diligently to return A Place at the Beach back to the best resort on the Crystal Coast!”

 

[suenmike32]

Kind of amazing....I've tried to call for 3-4 days all hours of the day....and got a busy signal. Finally called Turtle Cay..(across the street & an associate to BQ) and ended up speaking to Diamond's home office in Florida. They contacted BQ by email (while I was on hold) and HQ was advised that BQ's phones were out of order, but assured me that the resort was open with all amenities.
To be quite honest....I'm going to trust "Bernie" in post #6. He's there...and says its OK.
Hard to imagine a resorts phone line down and there HQ didn't know about it.

 

[pedro47]

There are still very small areas in Hampton, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach without electricity.
As beening reported by the three (3) local major networks (WAVY NBC channel 10, CBS WTKR channel 3, and ABC WVEC channel 13).

 

[Steve Fatula]

Yep, supposedly 98% are back with power, but that leaves 2% not fixed yet. Just watched the news here.

 

[suenmike32]

Not really expecting much. It's just something to do and a last resort after being washed out of Ocean Watch last month. Weather will only be in the 60's and I'll be recovering from a cataract op. Sort of an exploratory trip to avoid cabin fever here in upstate NY. We have had tons of rain in in Sept/October. Not our typical autumn.

 

[RLS50]

Not really expecting much. It's just something to do and a last resort after being washed out of Ocean Watch last month. Weather will only be in the 60's and I'll be recovering from a cataract op. Sort of an exploratory trip to avoid cabin fever here in upstate NY. We have had tons of rain in in Sept/October. Not our typical autumn.

I would be very interested in your assessment of Beach Quarters after your stay, especially as a MOW owner.

 

[suenmike32]

I will be happy to post.
I hope I'm not getting a bad vibe.....as to your interest.
Do you know something I don't?
I know we traded a lovely 2 BR for something considerably smaller ...with a "dorm mini fridge"...but in reality it was take that...or just lose the week (again). We traded on the last day we could with II. Virtually everything was booked (unless we wanted to fly west).

 

[Bernie8245]

I will be happy to post.
I hope I'm not getting a bad vibe.....as to your interest.
Do you know something I don't?
I know we traded a lovely 2 BR for something considerably smaller ...with a "dorm mini fridge"...but in reality it was take that...or just lose the week (again). We traded on the last day we could with II. Virtually everything was booked (unless we wanted to fly west).

Like I said earlier, there is no noticeable damage from the storm. However, we have stayed at MOW before and Beach Quarters does not come close to being the same quality as MOW. We are right on the beach and the boardwalk. We leave here Saturday and check into Ocean Beach Club which is on the other end of the boardwalk on 34th Street.

 

[suenmike32]

Bernie, just a quick question. Although this may seem silly...do they have wheeled luggage racks?
I'm going to be there 3 days after cataract surgery and am not supposed to lift anything particularly heavy.
Just curious if I should bring a small luggage carrier.
Thanks
Mike

 

[pedro47]

Would you say Beach Quarters is better than a Holiday Inn Hotel? I know the major selling point is, it is directly on the beach with oceanfront views..

 

[silentg]

Hope your cataract surgery goes well. I had mine in August, no complications and I can see so much better.
Silentg

 

[RLS50]

I will be happy to post.
I hope I'm not getting a bad vibe.....as to your interest.
Do you know something I don't?
I know we traded a lovely 2 BR for something considerably smaller ...with a "dorm mini fridge"...but in reality it was take that...or just lose the week (again). We traded on the last day we could with II. Virtually everything was booked (unless we wanted to fly west).

Sorry, wasn't trying to imply anything negative per se.

There is no real apples to apples comparison between anything in Virginia Beach and the Marriott resorts on Hilton Head or Myrtle Beach. Mainly because all the Virginia Beach accommodations (timeshares and hotels) are basically located on small postage stamp properties. There are no multi acre parcels of land like at Oceanwatch in Myrtle Beach, or Grande Ocean in HHI, etc. So Virginia Beach is a very different experience and has to be judged relative to what else is in Virginia Beach. Even the Marriott hotel properties in Virginia Beach are on small city block parcels of land.

Having said that our family enjoys Virginia Beach very much and we own at some of the Diamond properties there. We used to own at MOW, which is a fantastic property, but Virginia Beach cuts our drive time in half and saves us over 5 hours each way, so we end up going to Virginia Beach far more often. Our personal favorite property is Oceanaire, followed by Ocean Beach Club (they are part of the same complex). But if coming into Virginia Beach thru II, and you want guaranteed oceanfront, Beach Quarters is probably the best location to request. And Beach Quarters shares amenities with Turtle Cay across the street which is a nice perk. Turtle Cay is also nice but is across the street from the ocean, not oceanfront.

Beach Quarters seems to have had a rough 2018. There was water damage to about half the rooms early in the year that needed repairs and those repairs affected availability of some units even into July. So a number of owners were understandably upset when their rooming assignments were impacted even during their summer vacation. Then Diamond recently opened the 7th floor pool bar to the public, also upsetting some owners, who preferred it to remain private. On the other hand Diamond has recently started a series of projects aimed at refurbishing the resort, but that process might take another couple of years to really be completed.

Beach Quarters is in a nice location, every unit is oceanfront, and it's near some good restaurant and dining options. However I think in order to realize the true potential of the place Diamond probably needs to successfully complete a full remodel. And just for reference Beach Quarters is one of the Diamond properties we are owners at.

 

[pedro47]

To RL550, thanks I have learn a lot from your post. I agree VA Bach, is very different resort area from Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head.

I may have to try Beach Quarters maybe next fall. Again, thanks RL550

 

[Bernie8245]

Bernie, just a quick question. Although this may seem silly...do they have wheeled luggage racks?
I'm going to be there 3 days after cataract surgery and am not supposed to lift anything particularly heavy.
Just curious if I should bring a small luggage carrier.
Thanks
Mike

They do have wheeled luggage racks. I agree with RLS50 that Beach Quarters is in a nice location. Several years ago we were here over Memorial Day and watched a Miranda Lambert concert from our balcony. Our unit needs some work done. The closet door in the bedroom sticks and is hard to open. There is a hole in the wall in the bathroom. The refrigerator is not level and the freezer door is hard to open and close because it is rubbing against the wall.

 

[suenmike32]

Thanks again guys. We're optimistic and are going in for just a bit of R&R and to check out VB.
RL is right. at 77 the drives to Ocean Pointe, HHI or Myrtle were starting to wear on me. VB is about 8-9 hours...so we're looking forward to it.
Already got 4 calls for presentations.....my fears are they will throw a net over us as a last ditch effort to take one. Ha

 

[pedro47]

suenmike32, DRI sales presentation are very a hard sale. Do not attend. We are headed to MOW & Surfwatch in three (3) weeks. You are correct driving is no fun after you turn a young seventy plus in age.