January 2016

The Wharf in Orange Beach, Alabama, is a shopping, dining, resort and golf complex developed where the Foley Beach Express bridge crosses the Intracoastal Waterway into Orange Beach. This provides the Wharf with a prime location for ease of access, both to the Gulf Coast’s beautiful white sugar sand beaches to the South and via the Beach Express North to the Interstate system.

Levin’s Bend Condominiums at The Wharf offers nine floors of beautiful luxury condominiums, ranging from one to four bedrooms, overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway and The Wharf Marina. The Wharf is located at 23101 Canal Road, Orange Beach, AL.

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When visiting the Gulf of Mexico in Alabama, why rent a condo at The Wharf?

1. All The Wharf condominiums feature top-of-the-line furnishings, appliances, beautiful tile flooring and well-appointed architectural details.

Our unit offered a living/dining room combination placed next to the kitchen.

The kitchen featured stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. There was a wine cooler and a Keurig in this unit.

We stayed in a lovely two-bedroom condo on the 5th floor for my birthday in 2016. Our rental company was nice enough to leave a birthday surprise for me/us in the refrigerator.

Our rental was a two bedroom unit, each with a full bath. This is the 2nd bedroom followed by the master bedroom.

The master bath was very impressive, with a deep jetted tub and tropical decorations. Note the birthday sign again, a super nice above-&-beyond touch from our rental agency.

2. You will enjoy spectacular sunset views on a spacious balcony.

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3. Shop and dine until you drop in store after restaurant after store.

 

Wharf condos offer great views and front-door convenience of Main Street and Wharf Parkway’s specialty shops, boutiques and restaurants. Given my Disney World background, I will admit the lighted palm trees at night remind me of WDW’s Tomorrowland.

There are yachts for sale at the Wharf marina, so you will have a spectacular view of how the other half do their boating while you walk around the property.

4. See a movie!

The Wharf’s Carmike Cinemas feature 15 screens, stadium seating, and blockbuster movies year-round; use this link for the Carmike Theater movie information. 

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5. When is the last time you rode a Ferris Wheel?

The Wharf Ferris Wheel is the largest Ferris wheel in the Southeast. Designed and crafted by Italy’s Technical Park, this Ferris Wheel is over 112 feet high and will carry 140 people within 24 gondolas You will have a bird’s eye view of Main Street, The Marina, The Oasis pool area and the Intracoastal Waterway. With its wood-grained ship’s wheel design and thousands of clear lights, this spectacular Ferris Wheel portrays both the character of the surrounding natural waterways combined with the excitement of the countless attractions offered at The Wharf shopping and entertainment complex.

The wheel is definitely an impressive site, and we have seen free coupons floating around in local coupon books every now and then.

6. Golf, anyone?

The Golf Club of The Wharf features 18-Championship holes newly redesigned by the legendary father-son team of Jay and Carter Morrish.

7. Swimming, anyone?

Not that we used it on our weekend, but The Wharf has one of the best pool areas of any condos along the Alabama gulf coast. The Wharf Oasis pools feature a lazy river, zero-entry wave pool, hammock island, and a tiki bar. Friends report it’s one of the few condos where you can purchase an adult beverage right there at the pool.

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8. Concerts, anyone?

While you most likely will not receive a discount on accommodations during dates with scheduled activities, the Wharf Amphitheater has concerts and events in a 10,000-seat facility. Tiered seating ensures each concert attendee has a great view, plus two giant screens are posted on each side of the stage to give everyone a front row view.

Summer is prime vacation time in lower Alabama, so rates will be at their peak. Peak season for us means WAY out of our price range, unless you bring friends and family and share a condo.

However, I’m The Cheapskate Princess, and I love searching for a great deal. If we can travel off-season, let’s get it rolling.

We found a great deal for weekend stay, because January is not a popular beach travel month. I realize that some of you from the north will scoff at my idea of what cold means. Some winters in Alabama are cold while others are not. Our 2016 weekend temperatures were 34 and 28 degrees not including the wind chill, and it was unusually windy. That, my friends, is cold to this southern gurl. If you don’t mind keeping your bikini in the drawer for several more months, then winter is a fantastic time to pick up a deal on a beach condo.

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There may not be many people walking on the cold beach in January, but this just means you may get the whole place to yourself on certain frosty days. What I can just about guarantee is 100% chance of zero snow.

The Wharf is an amazing shopping and dining complex, with tons of activities and beautiful condos for rent. You will have to drive to reach the beach on the Gulf of Mexico, but with the pool and Ferris Wheel, you may decide sand is over-rated after all.

Thanks for stopping by…

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Disney’s Cheapskate Princess

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Call Mike at 919-606-6725 or e-mail him at mike@pixievacations.com.

Amanda Major is the creator of cheapskateprincess.com. She remembers her first visit to Magic Kingdom like it was yesterday, because she had a ham sandwich tucked in her shorts pocket. The whole family snuck in their lunch; you can’t make that kinda stuff up. 40 years worth of trips to Orlando later, she is still trying to save money on vacations.

Amanda is a Disney Vacation Club Member and Annual Pass holder. Her amazing husband, band director Carl Major, plus three teen children and two dogs keep her busy. Amanda teaches Leadership to high school seniors in the almost-coastal town of Foley, Alabama. Read about her cheapskating local vacations with this link. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, walking somewhere, or paddling a kayak. Life is indeed a blast. 

We hope we can help save you some money too. Use this link for a free no obligation vacation quote from our Travel Consultant with Pixie Vacations, Mike Ellis. You can also e-mail him at mike@pixievacations.com.