Dillon, South Carolina: South Of The Border

Having been at South of the Border as a child traveling from the North to Florida, I remember it well. However, that was 30 years ago, and unfortunately it is not the same. The buildings are in disrepair, few travelers were visiting, and it reminded me of a modern day ghost town. Certainly I would not utilize their accommodations, as the exterior of the buildings are in great need of paint and general repairs. Several of the buildings were closed. The glitz I remember as a young child is now gone....how sad.

I visited in 1959 and took a menu for a scrap book of my honeymoon trip to Florida. I visited two other times in my life. All my children and grandchildren have seen it. We traveled together for 28 years for our vacation to Disney. We loved it . Taco burgers are great. On my last trip in 2006, I took a menu again -- i have one from 1959 and a new one for 2006. The place has good memories for my family. It changed a lot, but the feeling is still there. Love it..

We all met up at South of the Border for Thanksgiving vacation, 2006. My wife and I drove from Hackensack, NJ, to meet my mother, who came up from Ocala, Florida. We spent two nights and three days before finally leaving. We had Thanksgiving, believe it or not, at the Waffle House just off the S.O.B. exit. It's odd, people felt sorry for us when we told our story, but we had a blast. We stayed in the rooms across the way from the pleasure dome. They were clean and very colorful. We have stopped at S.O.B. many times during our yearly trips to Florida.

I love the place, and I thought it would be a perfect central destination when splitting the distance from Jersey to Florida for turkey day. It bothers me to read so many submissions from people who rip on the place so much. I feel that it is well kept. Yes, it's a little old and full of kitsch, but people have to realize that we don't have many of these places around anymore, and I actually look forward to stopping in whenever we begin our trips to Florida. P.S. The steak at the Peddler is the best you will find for hundreds of miles.

My three boys, husband, and I stopped at Pedro's Pleasure Dome motel for the night. We found the grounds to be in good order and the room we stayed in to be clean. The outdoor and indoor pools were very nice. The Peddler's Steak House, shaped like a sombrero, served excellent steaks at a reasonable price. The salad bar was outstanding. My children enjoyed the playground and the amusement park. We would have played miniature golf if we had the time, and at $4.00/pp ... it would have been a great deal for 18 holes! The stores offered trinket items much like a dollar store. There were some items such as statues, picture frames, and tee shirts that were decent quality. All in all, we found our stay to be enjoyable.

Room 305 is not haunted. I stayed in this room (before I read about it being haunted) with my mother and two kids - nothing happened. I'm a very light sleeper and I'm very jumpy, but nothing happened in this room!