Beachway Motel

They’re selling it as a place to put people in homes, but there’s zero effort to keep it clean. There was a dirty coffee cup in the fridge, and the smell of cleansers was so strong it could have asphyxiated us. The weeds were overgrown, and the ashtrays on the decks outside the non-smoking rooms were dirty. It looks like a motel being rented out monthly as housing.

We’d driven past this motel on the way to the beach before, and it always looked cute and well kept, so we booked one night to enjoy two days at the beach. With tax, it was $222. The property was in shambles, dirty and neglected, with overgrown landscaping. Items outside some doors made it look like people might be renting for a month or longer, and it immediately felt unsafe. I didn’t even want to go inside. The clerk came to the desk wearing a wife beater T-shirt, probably just off the back deck, where there was a car seat. Our room, #26, was tucked in a dark, dank back corner. There were dirty ashtrays outside every non-smoking room, and the chemical cleaning smell was nearly overwhelming. It seemed like they’d used it just to make the room look clean. Finding a used coffee cup in the fridge made it a definite no. The place was disgusting. Spend a few dollars more for a Best Western.

We knew from the photos that this probably wasn’t the nicest place, but there weren’t many choices nearby, and a few pictures looked decent. The office was empty when we arrived, though a guy came in fairly quickly. We paid $140 for one night and regretted it as soon as we opened the door. There was a small hole in the wall, part of the window was covered with tape and cardboard, and the sheets were stained. The room was just dirty, and we didn’t feel comfortable staying. No one was back at the office, so we left the key in the drop box and drove off. We didn’t want to wait around to talk to anyone and figured it was a lesson learned. Save yourself the time and money.

Wouldn’t stay again. The beds were almost rock hard, and we could see outside through the closed front door. The bathroom door had holes and wouldn’t shut all the way, and the inside of the bathroom was bad. One towel was ripped, and the toilet seat was so loose it felt like the toilet might come off the pipes. The shower had a black mark running all the way to the drain, and it took five minutes for hot water to reach our room. Even though we had a non-smoking room, the blankets had burn holes. Bring your own blanket, maybe. The only good things were no bed bugs and good air conditioning. I’d rather have stayed in the car.