Tar Heel Motel

The room was in disrepair, and so was the motel. It was old and shabby in person, nothing like the photos, and full of small black flies, probably coming in around the window air conditioner. I took photos, but the flies didn’t show up unless you zoomed in, so I only posted two. For one night we paid $209.23 including tax, even though the motel advertises $84. The parking was odd, parallel in front of your room if nobody else had taken your spot. We had a small car and got close to our room. I’d missed the email with the door code, and the front desk door was locked. The owners don’t live here or run it day to day; attendants who also serve other motels handle things. A quick call got me the code. We walked down the street to a nearby beach crossing, then went to the pool on the way back. The outdoor shower for washing off sand was broken. A pool attendant arrived 15 minutes later to close the pool. We showed him the broken showers, and he said, “Yeah, they've known about that since last year!” then shrugged and made us leave. The toaster oven was a plus, since none of our other hotel stays had one, and my shower was hot, though the bathroom was horrible. The motel was right next door to Dunes Restaurant, which seemed like an overpriced Perkins. We’re going back next year and will find somewhere better.

My fiancé and I had a lovely five-night stay last week. The room was spacious, clean, and comfortable, and the bed was really comfortable too. It’s an affordable motel right across from the beach, with a short walk to public access. The pool was nice after a long day on the hot sand. We arrived late and liked being able to enter a code to get into the room without the usual check-in process. Whenever we saw staff, they checked if we needed anything, which we appreciated. We’ll stay here again if we’re back in the Outer Banks.

Such a pretty, clean room, and public beach access right across the road. I could smell the beach air from inside and loved it. This motel was so lana del rey coded. I love it, and I’ll be back!

The dumpster gets emptied at 3:00a.m., in case you manage to fall asleep and need a wake-up call. The AC sounded just short of a jet plane with a “f” upped engine. We had a dog, so we were in a pet room, where the carpet was so stained and soaked with urine that my eyes ran and my nose and throat burned. I wouldn’t step on it without shoes and couldn’t wait to leave. The only reason I stayed was that the rate was non-refundable and I had no money for another room. Unless you hate yourself, don’t spend your money on this stinky, gross, loud motel.