Inn at Corolla — Hotel in Corolla

In all years and places I have traveled and stayed I have never had to write an unfavorable review. It's unfortunate that this is where I have to leave one. This Inn had a special place in my heart as our family had lots of memories here from previous stays years ago. I thought it would be a great idea to revisit and have some pictures of my daughter 10 years later in the same place. This turned out to be a large mistake. I have been told several times there is new ownership, and then told no there isn't so I am not exactly sure what the truth in that is. I can say the quality in care for customers is no longer there. The room was in varying levels of cleanliness. There was a clean smell and the bed was clean and comfortable but unfortunately that is where it ended. The floors were sticky, the kitchen was very old and dirty. There was splattered grease all over the undercounter light fixture that I could not get cleaned off. I had to clean the kitchen to feel comfortable using it just to house our snacks. The coffee maker had build up in the filter that kept us from utilizing that feature. The pull out mattress where my daughter was supposed to sleep was flat and discolored. There were no sheets or a mattress cover. The after hours Maintenace Man (didn't catch his name but he is fantastic), quickly brough up sheets and a foam cover (also, very dirty) to try and help. He and the Bruce who handled breakfast were the only bright spots in our stay. The front office staff were rude and dismissive. When I checked in I was told there was construction happening in front of my room. From the hours of 8-5. I was surprised since there were 3 phone calls confirming my stay and what time I was getting there, yet, no one mentioned construction or offered to move me to a different area of the property that was clearly not fully booked. After the first night of paper thin walls that you can literally hear every conversation being had by your neighbors I was woken up at 8 am by construction workers literally outside my door plugging in equipment and in front of the sliding door to get their work done. The second morning was a lovely 7:30 am start. At this time with 2 nights of no sleep, early morning wake ups and a room that I had to put washcloths on the shower floor to use we checked out early. Then I was told I could not get a statement of charges. Deb said she could not check me out early that her system wouldn't allow it. We were checking out at noon, not in the evening. After never receiving an email with my charges even the next day, I asked to have the charges for the 3rd. night that was not utilized reversed. I was told by Janet that she would have to talk to the owner (Shane) and get back to me the next day. 5 days went by with zero communication back. When I called for a follow up I was told the owner refused to correct the charges and would not be discussing it with me at all. So, buyer be ware. This is what you will be dealing with going into the season in Corolla if you choose this Inn. There are plenty of other options. I would check out the Hampton Inn and pay the extra cost. Even after I said I would have to now dispute my charges and post this review I was told to go ahead. They got 1 star because the two gentlemen I mentioned earlier were very nice and tried very hard. We are working hard for our money and downtime these days. Don't waste your time or your money here. They clearly knew there was construction and I was also told that the cleaning crew was an existing issue and had been talked about. So, taking hard earned money with no regard for the consumer is just...

I would like to apologize in advance for what I am about to say. This three star hotel offers a five star service, Susan and JC are so professional that I cannot tell if they own the place or just work there. All the negative reviews about the place can be almost summarily dismissed since the place was renovated. The complaints about damp smell or spiders and spiderwebs, though true, do not consider that part of the inn actually sits on post atop of a marsh surrounded by pine trees. If you want clinically clean bleach smell and concrete and glass, go to the Hampton Inn and Suites, but please don't come to an old historic building and expect vinyl siding and squeaky clean surgical surroundings. I am biased somewhat because I bought the best room they had and if you make a reservation, please get a waterfront room or you might be disappointed. I love this place, I love the staff and I love the experience. I must, however, make a confession and let the chips fall as they may.

We were in Room 18, a ground floor deluxe sound front suite. My girlfriend fell asleep before me and started snoring, so I moved from the bedroom to the living room and fell asleep on the sofa. At 2 am I awoke to my girlfriends footsteps shuffling on the carpet. But then after hearing about thirty footsteps, I was like - where the hell is she going? The bathroom is four feet from the master bedroom! I called out to her and she said - what is it? I said - where are you traveling to? She said - what? I am in bed. I jumped up and flicked on the gas fireplace and turned on whatever lights were nearby. What? Did you not just walk around the room? No, she said. I got immediately sick to my stomach. I am a 45 year old construction worker, I am not overly worried about some drunk stumbling into my room but this made my feet cold. Of course, I opened all closets, looked into the bathroom, nobody there. My girlfriend said - the reason I answered you so quickly is because something woke me up, I think I heard something in the room. Needless to say, I couldn't sleep all night. Google search reveals a paranormal activity at something called whalehead club which is really close to this place. I think the words they used were researchers and scientists have spent their fair share of time here. Anyway, most of the time something like this has a reasonable explanation. However, it scared me enough that I am reluctant to return, especially to the room I just described. Room 18, the cabaret suite. I apologize to the owners and the management because how do you handle a ghost complaint? Maybe some of you want to experience this, so try it out and post a review. Thank you...

Beautiful inn. We stayed in room 27 because it was pet friendly and we had our dogs with us. Inn and room were very clean. I absolutely loved that there was a designated pet friendly section of rooms that were located near the dog walking area. The view of the sound was spectacular and the inn was easy to find. Everyone staying at the inn seemed to be very respectful and were quiet in common areas. Breakfast was good. We had cereal and muffins. Vending machine needed restocked but I don't fault the inn for that. The only downside was the mattress. I have a Purple mattress on a platform frame at home and the bed in the room was the complete opposite: an inner spring mattress on a box spring on a frame with rollers. I completely understand that they don't want to invest a lot in mattresses, especially in pet friendly rooms because of the potential damage...but perhaps a mattress topper would help and be less costly if messed up? Perhaps even a waterproof one? I had a very hard time getting to sleep and staying asleep because of all the creaking and movement transfer of the bed. This may be fine for some people, but I'm used to a completely different type of bed. The pillows were also terribly flat and hard. I usually bring my own pillow because I have neck issues but I completely forgot to grab it this time. I will definitely bring my own pillows next time we stay here and maybe a slab of foam lol. I absolutely could have asked the staff for pillows as they were friendly, but I didn't want to be a bother. Once again, probably okay for some people. They didn't bother my husband...but he wasn't too fond of the mattress either. We would definitely stay here again, but I did expect just a little bit better quality bed & bedding for the price of the room.

Edited after owner response to add: I had no idea that toppers were available upon request! I never even thought about asking for something like that. We will definitely take advantage of that amenity next time! We really appreciate your quick response. I have upgraded my review from 4 to 5 stars. The work that has been put into the inn recently was definitely noted and appreciated. Keep up...