Dolphin Oceanfront Motel — Hotel in Nags Head

We booked this motel for a 5 night stay in September, solely because of the beach front location. In retrospect, I should have spent a bit more and stayed someplace else. The pictures of this place make it look much better than it is. Granted it is listed as a 2 star motel so I may have set the bar too high. The motel is very old but recently "remodeled". It is located right on the beach making it easy to walk out of your room and onto the beach in a few steps -that is a big positive. The room was reasonably large with a full sized refrigerator and a microwave. The bed was comfortable. The AC unit was in the window and worked hard to keep the room cool. The bathroom was small and cramped with a pedestal sink and NO counter space and no place beside the back of the toilet to put anything. The towels were thin and yellowing, soap a very thin sliver - the kind you might find in a 50's motel. I had some that I brought with me thankfully. The shower, however was newly remodeled and good. It had a "rain" shower head that I don't particularly care for however. When we stay someplace for several days we like to unpack. This room had no bureau drawers to put anything in, only a couple of plywood shelves covered with linoleum. Because it is so close to the beach, there is sand everywhere. There is no entry rug to clean your feet so consequently there is sand everywhere including your bed if you're not careful (and even if you are). There is a broom & dust pan provided, but there is no housekeeping offered. Towels and trash have to be placed outside your door for pickup and you have to find a housekeeper cleaning an empty room for fresh towels. There are limited office hours. No breakfast or coffee are provided except the coffee maker in the room. We were pulling a small trailer and called before our trip to determine if they could accommodate us and were assured that they could. The parking area was very tight and limited so if you plan to stay there with more than a 10 ft trailer, look elsewhere. I read reviews by other travelers some good, some bad, I should have paid more attention to the negative ones - my bad, lesson...

Great location- and that's the only great thing to post... if you book here use one of MANY traveling websites- way cheaper!!!

With myself included, you see people reviewing many "middle of the road" reviews about this place and seemly about small issues like the bathroom and lack of hvac but thsee small issues add up and charging such an OUTRAGEOUS PRICE, they're real lucky to get the rating I gave them. Worst thing is they after I told them that I was arriving late Friday and leaving Sunday morning- they told me my total was the price for just one day not for both so when I got here my price doubled...

-THE CONS- -All this comes back to poor management-

just a list of problems that I addressed at check in that were never addressed. -the little window unit struggled- IT'S ONLY 85 DEGREES; STOP BEING CHEAP AND BUY SOME HVAC- BECAUSE BUY WHAT YOUR CHARGING, YOU COULD HAVE PURCHASED AN ENTIRE SYSTEM FOR THIS WHOLE HOTEL IN 2 WEEKS AND STILL MAINTAINED PROPER PAYROLL and profits. -TV works when I wants to; bad cable line coming to the tv(this seems to be a irrelevant to most however when you have 2 kids that need a break from the sun and your trying to continue to entertain them it's important!!!) -SAND IN OUT BEDS BEFORE WE GOT IN THEM- YOU MEAN TO TELL ME YOU DIDN'T CLEAN THE BED'S BETWEEN GUEST??? First night we ALL slept on top the blankets and sheets -Shower fixtures are not strapped off to the inner wall so when you turn them off your playing Russian Roulette as to when it's going to break off. -Horrible lighting, rooms are extremely dark ALL DAY and no curtains to block out the parking lot and outside lighting -Beds are guaranteed to be the cheapest you've EVER slept on- if you have back problems STAY AWAY

-THE PROS- -THE BEST LOCATION OF ANY OF THE HOTELS/MOTELS IN NAGS HEAD. walking distance to the best pier on the east coast, 5-10 min to TONS of shopping, eating and non stop fun activities great...

I really enjoyed my stay here. Let me start by saying that if you must have ALL the amenities, this is probably not the place for you. I took my two big dogs (one a pit bull at that) and my boyfriend, and we did not have a microwave. Just a mini fridge and a coffee maker. HOWEVER, this didn't bother me so much as my mom was also staying with a friend so I just be-bopped on down to her room to use a microwave (which only happened maybe twice). The location is amazing, you are mere steps away from the beach, even if you don't have a beach front room. Being only one level, you got to park very close to your room which we all loved. I have never stayed in a motel room so peaceful and quiet. There were multiple dogs there and the only dogs I ever noticed barking were mine 🤣 The price was fair. I have never taken my pups on vacation as they just don't always travel well, but I wanted to take them to the beach just one time as my pitty is getting older and more gray around the face. I can't tell you all how relieved I was to feel so welcomed with my 2 dogs. Not everyone is so welcoming when you have 2 big dogs, especially with one being a pit bull. But I never encountered one rude person during my stay at the Dolphin. Housekeeping was fantastic! My only other wish for the room would be to have thicker sheets on the bed. I do understand though that being dog friendly they need to have easy to clean sheets. I'd rather have clean sheets than thick sheets 😁 If I ever wish to return with my dogs, this will certainly be my first choice...