The Shore House

Jen made us feel at home all weekend. She decorated The Shore House as if it had been lifted from a Hallmark movie, and she seems like the heart and soul of the operation. My husband and I had an amazing time there this past weekend. Our room was comfortable and clean, and there was a light breakfast in the morning. The attached bar served delicious evening cocktails. Relaxing by the fire with a drink was probably the best part of our trip. We'll definitely return.

The peaceful ocean waves and the view with my morning coffee were exactly what I wanted on vacation. It was a great way to ease the stress, and if you have the budget, it's well worth staying here to unwind. The main house has a colonial feel, while the rooms have a retro, classic motel style. A few design choices made to keep the look are less convenient, like the sink setup, which can be awkward to use.

The worst part of our area trip was what was meant to be a treat for my friends and me. I spent $800+ for two nights in October and felt like I'd thrown my money away. Before posting this, I tried to contact the hotel and got no response. I don't recommend staying here. I wish I'd listened to the low-star reviews, because we experienced everything they described. This motel was deceptively advertised as a luxury boutique hotel. Unless you're in the main house, you're put in a poorly maintained motel with “fancy” appliances. It felt like photos of things that might put guests off had been left out on purpose. Parking was chaotic when we arrived. The spaces were narrow and poorly marked, and people parked crooked. While we unloaded, we watched and heard another guest scrape our car getting into their own. I mentioned it at the front desk and was told we could use the back lot or park along the sea wall. With such small lots, some supervision would've helped. The back lot was narrow and a nightmare with a large vehicle, and there was only one entrance and exit for cars and pedestrians. At first glance, the room looked great. From our second-floor balcony, we had the advertised partial ocean view, but we also overlooked the kitchen back door. Workers made nasty comments whenever we went outside to do ordinary things like take photos. We weren't told we had an adjoining room. The walls were paper thin, and we heard everything from the guests next door when they checked in. About an hour later it went quiet, so we think they may have moved rooms for similar reasons. We should've asked to switch, too. The TV remote had a layer of dust and stayed grimy even after a quick wipe. The sink was terribly designed: the faucet took up much of the basin, and even moved aside, it was hard to use. Brushing our teeth or washing our faces in it was a challenge and got water on the floor. We wiped that up with a towel and were shocked at how filthy it came away. Our socks went black from walking on the floor without shoes. It looked as if the floor had never been mopped. The shower and bathroom floors were dirty too, especially around the toilet, where it looked like nobody had scrubbed in a while. The nightly destination fee was supposed to cover amenities, including WiFi that was open to the public and anyone near the hotel, plus a meager “breakfast.” If you eat breakfast there in bad weather, there's nowhere comfortable to sit. There are no indoor tables or tables in the guest rooms, so you're stuck eating on your lap in the lobby chairs. I know the hotel is seasonal and can make repairs in the off-season, but the number of problems made us feel they didn't care about off-season guests. Our curtains were broken, the lampshade had water damage, the sink was rusty, and there was paint dripped on the shower door. The dirt and grime throughout the room made us uncomfortable. At checkout I tried to mention the dirty floors kindly. I got no apology, only an assurance they'd be scrubbed. Based on other reviews, I doubt that will happen.

We stayed three nights at The Shore House and would definitely come back. Our room was very clean, had great AC in the 90 degree heat, and opened onto a good-sized deck with chairs and a beautiful ocean view. We liked sitting out front in the provided Adirondack chairs, and also enjoyed an ice tea from the restaurant. Jen, the manager who runs everything here, is the greatest asset: she's the most pleasant person to have on staff. The rest of the team works hard and goes out of their way to make guests happy.