OceanCity.com, the premier and largest online destination for tourists on the shore, has announced its annual Best of Ocean City® winners for the 2021 season. Now in its 11th year, the online voting contest engages lovers of the resort from far and wide to choose the top places in town.
This year’s voting cycle, which began on Memorial Day 2020 and continued into June 2021, garnered nearly 100,000 votes across more than 40 categories. Voting totals remained consistent with previous years, proving that people were still passionate about Ocean City, Maryland during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The list of winners ranging from restaurants, bars, activities, and boardwalk businesses, provides an updated guide to the must-stop places for the millions of tourists that visit the island each year.
Many longtime Ocean City staples continued their reign on the list this year, including in the waterfront dining category, with winner Fager’s Island, runner-up Fish Tales, and editor’s choice Macky’s Bayside Bar and Grill. World-famous Seacrets also topped the best bar and best drink categories. For the first time, businesses such as Tarhaka Brothers Ice Cream and boat tour groups OC Bay Hopper and Sail Alyosha made appearances on the list.
For the full list of 2021 winners, click here.
“We are thrilled to have been able to continue our Best of Ocean City® series throughout the pandemic, highlighting the greatest places and activities our town has to offer,” said Ann McGinnis Hillyer, CEO of OceanCity.com. “This is the only competition in Ocean City that has absolutely nothing to do with advertising or other schemes. These prizes are truly indicative of what our tourist base believes are the top establishments in Ocean City.”
After reviewing vote totals, OceanCity.com designated winners and runners-up in each category. Additionally, the staff, a team of local residents, and business owners all collaborated to pick editor’s choice winners in most categories, offering tourists yet another option. In some cases, however, the winners our followers picked were simply the best without question, so a few categories do not include an editorial winner.
Each winning business, even if bestowed more than one award by the voters, will receive one metal sign and a window decal to proudly display in their establishments. The signs, sporting the brand new OceanCity.com logo, are a badge of honor, especially after the unprecedented year business owners just experienced. Their tireless efforts to keep their doors open and serve both the residents and tourists of Ocean City have not gone unnoticed.
Keeping the fun going, our website and social media pages will soon launch a new contest, encouraging visitors to take photos with the Best of Ocean City® signs they spot around town. They will then be eligible for giveaway drawings, including free/discounted activities. Stay tuned to our digital properties for more details.
Voting for the Best of Ocean City® 2022 is already open and will continue through May 31. We thank those that voted and hope to have a record-breaking year of participation in 2022.
Click here to begin voting for the 2022 contest.
