Hampton Inn & Suites Carolina Beach Oceanfront — Hotel in Carolina Beach

I recently stayed at this hotel for 2 nights with my mother and 2 daughters. It was off season in January. The location was excellent, as it is right on the beach and next to the Carolina Beach boardwalk. The breakfast options were decent and the hotel main areas were well kept. The room we stayed in was an ocean view suite, and it was spacious. Unfortunately, I had an experience at this hotel that still does not sit well with me, and the public should be aware of the situation. While staying at this hotel, I was bitten by bed bugs. I know they were bed bugs because I have been bitten by them before, and the symptoms I experienced were the same and in line with all the subsequent research I did. This happened to me on both nights I was there. The first night, it was just one little bite. I barely noticed except that it itched all day. I didn't think anything of it and did not associate it with the bed in the hotel room at the time. After night 2, I experienced another approximately 8-10 bites. I woke up with big red welts. They were in a line going from my right ear down and across my neck to under my chin. They itched like crazy and were extremely painful for several days. It is now over a week later, and I can still see where the bites were, though they no longer hurt. When I woke up that morning with the bites, we were checking out. I went down to the front desk and politely and quietly informed the man there that I had experienced the bites. I made sure to do so when there were no other people or guests around. I was honestly just trying to inform the hotel so they could do whatever they needed to do to fumigate. I also thought they may want to not book that particular room that upcoming night. I thought I would be met with an apology and a thank you for the information. Instead, I was met with immediate skepticism, gaslighting, and some grade A mansplaining. The tall, young, brown-haired man proceeded to ask me if anyone else in the room was affected. I told him no, despite my daughter sleeping in the same bed with me. He told me that bed bugs will bite all the people in the bed, not just one person. When I showed him the welts on my ear, neck, and chin, he proceeded to inform me that they would send someone to check for evidence and if they found any, they would be able to reimburse us for one, but not both, nights, but that the experience I was describing didn't sound like bed bugs and maybe I got the bites on the beach (in January). I told him I wasn't informing him of the incident to try and get my money back or cause a scene. I honestly just wanted them to be aware. I travel a lot for work and stay in Hampton Inn or other Hilton hotels almost exclusively. I am a Gold member. This stay was booked by my mother, not me, so any reimbursement would have been her money, not mine. I was taken aback by the exchange at the time, so I just walked away without further engaging. Of course, I immediately started researching all the symptoms of bed bugs and everything I read said it was extremely common for one person to be bitten, while others not. It is also very common for some people to have much worse reactions than others. The bites generally occur in groups, often in a line on the person's body. Many times they will be painful for several days and then heal on their own. My experience exactly. I don't enjoy posting negative reviews, but when you have individuals representing your establishment who communicate with guests like this about a situation that could be very negative for your hotel chain, or at least a location that probably depends on a ton of seasonal business, it needs to be called out. I hope the hotel responded accordingly and took care of the issue so it won't directly affect anyone else, but in case they didn't, just be aware of the beds in Suite 419, and ask for a...

We've stayed at many Hampton Inns over the years—more than most because my spouse is a Hilton Diamond member and travels frequently for work—so we know what to expect from the brand. Unfortunately, this particular location fell well below that standard.

We arrived with reasonable expectations, but a series of issues quickly added up. The room itself felt extremely dated. The mattress was well past its usable life; it offered no support, and we barely slept due to how uncomfortable it was. The linens were the terrible quality. Our room had empty toiletries upon check-in, which we reported and requested to be refilled. Instead of replacing them properly in the wall-mounted holders, housekeeping simply left the refills on the counter - which then had to stay on the floor of the shower to use for our whole stay. Housekeeping didn’t change the sheets and simply pulled the comforter up over the bed. Normally this might not be a big deal, but the duvet and comforter weren’t secured together, so I had to spend time wrestling the comforter back into place after it bunched into a ball.

We asked the front desk about some of these concerns once it was clear it was a pattern, and we were met with excuses. That same morning, we saw housekeeping cleaning the room next to ours around 9:15 a.m., but when we returned at 4:15 p.m. to get ready for dinner, our room had still not been touched. We were told they were behind (Clearly we were saved for last) and told service could be done while we were out at dinner, but again returned from dinner to find the room untouched..

Other issues: The door lock malfunctioned and took 10+ attempts to open each time, despite the key being recognized. Later, we were told they are malfunctioning and need to be replaced and we were given the 'trick' to opening them - why not tell us upfront if you know this? The TV cable didn’t work. Everything felt worn, dated, and poorly maintained. We weren’t expecting luxury—just the basic standards Hampton Inns usually deliver. For the veryyy high nightly rate, this was unacceptable. We were comped 1 night's stay, but at the end of the day what we really got was 4 sleepless nights, a dirty uncomfortable room, a lot of excuses and a disappointing vacation.

To the General Manager who regularly responds to reviews with platitudes, I ask this: Before you invite me back to 'try again', please explain exactly why I should return? We gave this property a second chance during our stay by raising concerns in person, only to have our room skipped by housekeeping that very day. I can assure you we won't be back and want others to know what they are getting into. We won't make the mistake of spending our money here again. After all,...

We enjoyed our first stay in a balcony ocean front balcony view hotel room. Everyone was pleasant to us. It felt like a dream come true. I remember visiting Carolina Beach over the summer on a Thursday when they do fireworks. I looked up and saw the people on the balconies of the hotel wishing one day I have the opportunity to experience the same. After planning and saving, we got our chance! After checking out though, I received a notification of a $250 hold on my card after receiving a zero balance receipt. This is when the experience turned for the worst. I called the hotel to question the charge. The gentleman that answered placed me on a hold, then a woman picked up the call. She explained to me after we left a strong smoke smell scent was discovered by the housekeeping staff/manager and the room can't be rented out because the smell was so strong. I explained that we did not leave the room in that condition and was aware of the hotel's policy. The call ended with telling me to call back and speak to the Assistant Manager after 4pm. I called, left a message, then called back again. I spoke with Jordan who explained to me hours after we left the room had a strong smoking scent and he went up to the room to inspect when he came to work. I know we did not smoke in the room or on the balcony. Jordan explained to me there was no one else I could talk to regarding this issue besides him. This answer was not sitting well with me so I reached out to my card company to see if I can dispute the charge. This is when I found out the $250 hold was placed on my card at 11:15 am, before we checked out. I remembered that a housekeeper mistakenly entered our room around this time. If the room had a strong smoking scent then why the staff couldn't address me in person while I was still on the property. My final receipt says we checked out at 11:24 am, a zero balance, with no $250 fee showing. I was on the property when a hold was placed on my card so I feel like the hotel used the power and control of having my card on file instead of communicating with me as an adult and paying customer. I am disputing the charge with my card company hoping for the best. I never experienced getting a smoking fee at hotel. I'm disappointed and will not give Hampton Inn...