Litchfield is really nice, my family used to rent a house there every summer due to the beach being so family friendly. It's a little bit removed from the touristy areas, but close enough that you can drive to practically all of it within 30 minutes or so. Garden City isn't bad, it's a little touristy but still with a small town feel to it. Surfside is somewhat similar but more developed and is right next door to Myrtle, so there's going to be more hustle and bustle there.

I've also stayed at Springmaid a couple of times and quite liked it, but it's been a long time and nothing really sticks out in my mind about it.