Christian-themed hotel planned for Strand

MYRTLE BEACH — Guests could stay in rooms themed after the biblical King Solomon's Temple or go to a juice bar named the Garden of Eden if a planned Christian-themed hotel about 20 stories high is built in Socastee.

The building, to be on the Intracoastal Waterway behind Socastee High School, would be the tallest in the area. But some nearby residents said they were not against the idea, although they were concerned about traffic and environmental impacts.

The hotel, to be called Big Top Resort, could include a water park, a restaurant and stores aimed at creating a family-friendly atmosphere, said JoAnn DeKind, who is trying to build the resort.

"When you do go to a hotel and they say it's family-oriented, it really isn't because you still have cursing allowed, you still have drinking allowed," she said. "When they say it's family oriented, it's not, because you still have smoking allowed. And that shouldn't be around children."

DeKind said she moved to Myrtle Beach from New York about a year and a half ago and has worked in the hotel industry for more than 10 years, although she has never worked as a developer. In New York, she said she worked as a guest services agent for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. She is now a reservationist for a local hotel.

DeKind said is meeting with investors and has a tentative agreement to buy the site, which is more than 30 acres. The resort would have about 480 rooms. DeKind said she hopes to have it open sometime in 2010.

With evangelical Christians in the Carolinas, Tennessee and West Virginia within driving distance of Myrtle Beach, the resort could be successful, said Gary Loftus, director of the Center for Economic and Community Development at Coastal Carolina University. But Loftus was skeptical whether building such a big resort several miles from the beach during an economic downturn would be feasible.