Watermen's Retreat — Hotel in Hatteras Island

My brother and I took a last minute surf trip over a long weekend (Thurs - Sun) after seeing a swell pop up. We stayed in the Cabanas and it was an excellent experience - the Cabana we stayed in was perfect for the two of us and easily would have worked for three individuals or one couple and two individuals. The Cabana was very affordable and is offered as lower priced alternative to the other accommodations available at Watermen's Retreat. We looked at multiple options and the Cabana was the by far the best bang for the buck that we saw across various sites (Airbnb; VRBO). That said, it was not affordable at the expense of comfort or quality. The space was very well thought out and includes a full kitchen, a dining space, a large living room with full size leather couch and chair, a separate laundry room, a deck, two bedrooms, a full bathroom, an outdoor shower, and a large, separate storage space underneath the living space that can be locked and is perfect for storing boards, cooler, chairs, etc. There was also plenty of on-site parking. The check-in process is great - you are texted/emailed an entry code for the keyless lock and the padlock on the storage door. In terms of location, it's perfect - especially for a surf trip - it's across the street from REAL Watersport's flagship store and from Watermen's Bar and Grill (which is definitely your best bet for local dining). It's also centrally located with respect to gas stations, convenience stores, etc. Again, for surfing - the location is perfect - there are a number of breaks within 5 minutes of the Cabana and there are an unlimited number of breaks in either direction North or South. If you are surfing, it's well worth it to contact REAL about a 4WD guided tour so you can access breaks via the use of their 4WD truck and permit to drive on the beach. We spent one of the days by ourselves on an incredible peak that we would not otherwise have been able to access. Finally - the staff does a great job with respect to COVID 19 protocols. Check in is remote, everything is incredibly clean and the provided toiletries are all individually wrapped. Overall, an awesome experience that was affordable, clean, and...

We stayed in Waterman's Oasis for one week at the beginning of August 2020. We saw cockroaches on a daily basis in the kitchen and in the screened-in porch. At first we thought it might have just been part of having a house near the ocean, but by the end of the trip it was clear from the frequency and size of the roaches (many small roaches about the size of a dime and 6-7 roaches about 2-3 inches long) that the house has an infestation. We cleaned the dishes immediately after eating, ran the dishwasher twice per day, took out the kitchen trash twice per day (trash can did not have a lid), and left no food on the counters. Despite all that, we still saw multiple cockroaches in the kitchen, in the cupboards, and one in the utensil drawer on the second to last day of our trip. I swept under the bed before check-out because a pillow fell behind the bed and pulled out a dead cockroach as well.

We informed the owner afterwards of the problem and he stated that he wished we had told him while we were staying there. However, it was clear that others had the same issue because the house had roach killer spray bottle in the closet. Do not stay here unless you get a written guarantee that the owner hired a PROFESSIONAL exterminator.

Additionally, the owner complained that it took "one whole hour" for him to clean up our dog's hair after our check out - it is clear that he did not use the $200 dog fee to hire a professional cleaner. It's troubling that during COVID-19 he would not hire professional cleaners.

Otherwise, the house is in a great location and has all of the amenities you could possibly want - unfortunately the cockroach infestation left a black mark on our vacation and we had to disinfect our bags and clothes after we got home to make sure we didn't bring any...

The place itself is fantastic. The bed and linens are extremely nice and very comfortable. I always bring my own because they usually are not the nicest or the most comfortable. I didn't even want to use mine. It was very clean and had everything you need, except a Keurig, which I knew and brought my own. There is only 1 TV in the living room, but we had our tablets and phones, so not a big deal. They updated the seating for the dining area so everyone could fit. I am only giving 2 stars because of the way I was treated at check out. We were running about 1.5 hours behind bc I set my alarm for pm instead of am and I wanted to clean and leave the place the way I found it. The operations manager, Brandon, I believe, showed up to the property and rushed us out, which I understand. But instead of speaking to my about issues he had with my dogs and me running late, he spoke to my guest, who he made very uncomfortable. Telling her that I did this and that and that he was going to charge me all these fees. I was right upstairs, he could of spoke to me. Apparently, I didn't pay the pet policy, which I get, charge me for it. He also saw my sisters dog who stayed at another place but was riding home with me. Again, if he would of just spoke to me. Do not talk to my guest who doesn't know anything about what's going on and then send me an email charging my credit card all these fees, without even speaking to me. So BEWARE, don't make a mistake and be late leaving and make sure you leave a dog outside in the heat or in a hot car (which I would never do) instead of bringing it in the house, if its more that 2. Your going to get a passive aggressive email and your credit card charged a extra $100.00 on top of the...