The Spot At Porpoise Bay Hotel & Marina

The rooms feel spacious, and the motel seems to be making a real effort to update them. There’s a fairly new TV, microwave, coffee maker, and bedside lamps that might have USB charging. One odd choice is the sink fixture: whoever picked it didn’t think through the tap, which looks bound to leak 😳!

It’s much better than when I stayed here about 12 years ago, and the rooms and beds were clean and comfortable. The location is handy for the sea and Lighthouse Pub, though noise from the bar carries over. There’s plenty of hot water, but the pressure could be better, and I don’t understand how the bathtub passed code without grab bars. The toilet tissue setup is pretty stupid, and I’d rather have bar soap than body wash. I found it expensive for what it is, and I probably wouldn’t stay again.

Our room was spacious, with lots of storage and a hair dryer, microwave, mini fridge, and Keurig coffee maker. I liked the modern fixtures, but there were mold spots on the wallpaper above the shower (who wallpapers a bathroom?!) and the vanity cabinet’s vinyl coating and toilet seat were peeling. We got a relatively good mid-September nightly rate through Expedia for an “ocean view,” though it was really the edge of the inlet. Parking in front is limited, so most guests have to park across the quiet road, where there’s no marked crosswalk. There’s no support service from 8 pm to 8 am, so we had to put up a fallen shower curtain ourselves. If strong chemical smells bother you, avoid Rooms 8 & 10. Also, when we came back during the day, there were almost always carts and cleaning supplies in the hallway.

We needed somewhere for one night in the area, and this worked perfectly. Being close to the pub was a bonus, and we got to spend some time there too.