Cape Hatteras Motel — Hotel in Hatteras Island

You have to scratch your head some time when you look at a wooden structure on stilts literally built into a Sandune within feet of a roaring ocean in the center of the hurricane region on Cape Hatteras. In Short this is a weird and wonderful place to put a hotel or a motel as it were in this case, but Boy, is it an experience . We were skeptical when we drove up to the place, because from the outside this wonderful idiosyncratic lodging looked like it was from the outside, a shingled structure on its last legs, about to fall into that sand dune, on whose other side the ocean was raging. There were indeed signs of robust reconstruction or recent renovation on closer inspection, including new staircases and siding but when we got to our room on the top floor, any doubts vanished, and we were in complete awe of the location. If you can manage three flights of wooden stairs – there is no elevator – you can get a very large room on an outside corridor, with a balcony, running the whole length of the ocean, facing building, where you can look directly over the tip of the sand dune and see the waves coming in literally right beneath your nose. This is an intoxicating site in the evening, and in the morning when the sun rises and you get the full blast of the morning wind and the waves, and literally with dolphins dancing in the morning light and those crazy surfers right beneath you catching waves in the frigid December ocean to the beach. This town is mostly closed in December but this hotel is not, and is highly recommended not just for the view, but also because someone has put some money into this place recently , and the room was very clean a very viby collection of 50s and 60s type retro furniture and a nice little kitchen and a very good bathroom and sink, all pretty spotless and also a great bed. There was no breakfast in the off-season, but they may have that in the off-season when I am sure the prices go up. While this place is still standing and evading the strong wins and storms that sweep through this area, it is well worth a visit not just for the view, but also for the whole funky thing of it all. Indeed, it reminded me of Frank Zappa‘s description of the famous motel he stayed at on the waterfront in, I think, Seattle, as described in the song, Mud Shark, where, he said, you could stick a pole out the balcony, and do anything you want with it if you know what I mean… Including catching mud sharks in that case. In this case there are dolphins and of course you wouldn’t want to do that. … but enjoy...

I wasn’t going to provide a review even though this has to be the worst hotel/motel we have ever stayed at, until we had no hot water. The on-site manager, Jamie, lied to my face and the General Manager, Melina Meadows, lied to our credit card company. Let me explain more…

We stayed for two nights - at $500 a night! We thought the location was great, so close to the ocean - the view was beautiful, until high tide. The building was literally in the water and there was no beach. The parking lot completed flooded at high tide so you had to park across the street unless you wanted to walk through ankle deep water and potentially get your car stuck.

When we first walked into our room, a spacious but RUN DOWN two bedroom (see pictures), the stench of cleaning supplies was overwhelming! Smelled horrible. And the room wasn’t even cleaned that well - nightstands and coffee tables were dirty. But there are only two people cleaning rooms (actually only two people working there on-site period!). We realized after the first night they are trying to mask the mold and mildew smell, which too was overwhelming once the cleaning supplies wore off!

On our second day, we had no hot water. The hot water for the entire building was out. I have myself a sponge bath, my husband washed his hair in the kitchen sink and my son took a cold shower. Unacceptable for $500 a night! We didn’t get hot water back until check out day. Jamie, the on-site manager said she would call me in an hour and never did and then could never get in touch with her again - didn’t answer her cell or office phone. At check out, she said her manager would definitely credit part of one night which was all I was asking for. She said she would email me, but never did. I called many times with no answer and no return call, so I disputed the charge with my credit card company. The credit card company would only allow you to dispute the whole charge so I made it clear I was only asking for part of one night.

Melinda Meadows called me after she received the dispute. She said she figured I was disputing due to the hot water issue - so she was well aware and she said she would take care of it. Unfortunately, she lied to me and lied to the credit card company saying I never complained during or after my stay. What a lying manipulative excuse for a person!

Please don’t stay here unless you want a nasty smelling room with poor service and customer service! How can a place like that only have two people working! ...

Alright, a review of my other ratings will show I try my best to be evenhanded. This won't be different although it's going to sting a bit. First the good: location. We are on the "street side" but still less than a hundred yards from the beach. We were minutes from a small store which had what we needed. We basically had a small apartment with tons of space. So that was nice.

Now the bad, hang on for this: Roaches. Several of them. Never good for a motel to have roaches in 2018 in the US. The room needs some care asap. The mirrors were old and looked moldy. The stove looked like they purchased it from a yard sale, and everytime we fired it up another roach ran out. The place looked like it hadn't been cleaned in several months. The couches are essentially patio furniture and are filthy. The spare pillow appeared to have a blood stain. We found two razors in the bathroom, which weren't ours, indicating no one bothers to look in the cabinets or drawers. The towel rack above the toilet was hanging off the wall...barely. When you moved the beds to make them you found piles of dirt and hair and sand. Finally the windows for the front of the room were so greased over you couldn't see out of them. I understand this is a "budget" establishment but it had multiple 4-5 star ratings on Google and even proudly flies their trip advisor flag outfront. Our experience was terrible. We are actually leaving...