The Winds Resort Beach Club — Hotel in Ocean Isle Beach

I though hard about this review, because I want to be fair, but nonetheless - it's unfortunate I have to give 2 stars. The two stars are for the location and amenities available. Long story short....if you choose to stay here for the location and amenities (which are great), be sure to request a top floor room with no one above you and be prepared should any issues arise during your stay that you may be met with management that doesn't show any compassion or care because it's peak season and they'll turn your room in a second to someone else.

So, let's start with the good....being direct oceanfront with a very short walk to the beach was wonderful! There are three pools to take advantage of and the free breakfast every morning was actually quite good and filling. But, now on to the reason why I can only give 2 stars and not more. The guest services manager, Garison Kaufman. His demeanor and lack of compassion when an issue was brought to his attention was unacceptable. Some background on the issue to give full disclosure....we paid the top price for an ocean front suite and we had a great view...unfortunately, we were directly below the penthouse and there was a large wedding party staying above us. The lack of insulation between floors at this hotel is terrible. I realize it's an older building with tile flooring, but ALL day and night until this party above us went to bed we could hear them simply walking, sitting down to eat, using the restroom, and of course the children running back and forth. It was impossible to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet of the ocean waves through all this noise. I waited until 9p and when the noise hadn't died down, I called the front desk, was informed there were no other rooms, but to come down in the am to report this to the manager (Garison). Now, I do NOT place blame on the party above me. This was their wedding and they were in their own room minding their business, so I don't place fault there. To me, the fault is placed on the resort for not properly insulating between floors -- I know I cannot be the first to bring this to their attention. When I spoke with Garison the next morning to request a room change, he again told me there's nowhere to move me and placed the blame on the guests for being inconsiderate of others beneath them (again not their fault). He also blamed past guests for requesting carpet removed, and that when they switched to tile to please guests, this caused the noise issue. I professionally, and kindly expressed my disappointment and lack of peace and quiet to which his response was no one has ever complained before and that when he goes to a hotel with his family, he expects there to be loud noises and inconveniences. That's just how it goes, he stated. To which I very much disagree. He repeated he was "sorry I felt this way" and then when I explained the noise was so loud we were attempted to find a different hotel at 10p at night just to have some quiet -- to which his response was "well if you choose to leave, please tell us by 11am so we can turn over your room." He asked what did I want him to do, I asked for compensation to an interior room on a top floor (willing to give up oceanfront which is why I chose this resort to begin with) and he said I'll do some research and get back to you. He had no compassion, no sincerity and no idea how to make it right. We never heard from him the rest of our stay. When we checked out, he was there, saw us and didn't speak to us. He went in his office and shut the door. The front desk staff just printed our receipt, said we got a "small adjustment for noise" and that was it. No followup, no "how was the rest of your stay we hope you come back." So, while I could have coped with the noise factor because I had nowhere else to go, my interaction with this smug "manager" is what has caused my poor review. Had his comments been different and had he apologized and taken accountability, my review and experience would have been very different, sadly. So much for a peaceful,...

Background: weekend with BFF to just relax and enjoy the pool/beach, have some cocktails and food... The GREAT: beautiful place/grounds (felt like we were in the Caribbean), comfy beds (brought my own pillow), wonderful charging station for our phones, iPads, etc., very nice staff, breakfast (eggs and bacon perfectly cooked), places to go on the grounds (little tuck away table here and there, benches, umbrella covered tables, etc.), price, plenty of towels (bath and beach), TIKI bar at pool w/variety of drinks and food and beach access right there. The GOOD: tiki bar bill to room, lunch options (and tasted good too), room super cute (cottage feel), clean, pool refreshing, overall good/great. Not so good: I was not prepared to carry our stuff up 3 flights of stairs, I thought I had ocean view at least (rooms in Palm Breeze, Mariner's Breeze, Nautical Breeze, Tropical Breeze and Atlantic Breeze Buildings are in the very back and can't see anything but other buildings), TIKI Bar doesn't open until 11:30am... should be a whole lot sooner than that like same as pool hours, then it closes at 8PM.. I would've loved the opportunity to have gone to the bar at 9PM (without a bunch of kids there) especially since there was a wicked storm preventing anyone from going to the bar from about 3pm on. Speaking of bar, during the day we went to get a drink and there were children.. like little children sitting in one of the bar stools!!! I think that's illegal.. but whatever, 2 more chairs were "occupied" with the owners things and a mermaid doll, etc. we actually had to order our drinks around their stuff... c'mon people-we know you're trying to have a good time too but really???!!! Did I mention 3rd floor??!!! NO ELEVATOR... we added chair climb to our "steps" LOL. I may not have read that in the booking but shoot.. that was rough carrying our stuff up. The room was so cute but SOOOO small... thank goodness it was just the 2 of us. I recommend removing all those notecards and info book, etc. so there's a place to put something down. Single cup of coffee service... no big deal since breakfast is included... IF the coffee was actually good!!! I'm not even a coffee type person and it was so weak.. we left and bought coffee offsite! That's how bad it was. Overall, we had a lovely time, the place is beautiful, there is a good TIKI Bar (if you can keep kids off the stools and taking over), but just to make you aware that you may NOT have an ocean view even room, walk up some stairs, and be prepared for TINY.. but the staff is wonderful and we would come back again... knowing what we know now. OIB is wonderful and we...

3/5 The beach area is great. Plenty of room even during peak season and the beach front is beautiful. The southern breakfast was good although the room its in gets a little crowded at times. I would suggest taking your breakfast to the garden area right outside and eating there if the weather is nice. The only suggestions I have here is switch out the coffee (it's pretty weak) and adding splenda or stevia as a sweetener option but that's a personal preference. Housekeeping was attentive to us, cleaned the room every day, and always left plenty of towels. They did forget to leave extra toilet paper one day but not a big deal. Just went to the front desk and got more. We stayed in the cordelia room on the island side in a room with two double beds. Be aware these rooms are VERY small. We had two adults and a child and we made it work but it was tight. If I had to to do it again I would have scheduled farther ahead and gotten a bigger room with an oceanview on the 2nd floor or higher. Be aware that not all the buildings have elevators so if you arent sure make sure you ask when booking your room. I saw this on the FAQ and was fine with it. The bartenders at the tiki bar were fantastic. The only one whose name i remember is Mike but he and both the ladies there were great. Food was good. A little bit pricey for what it was but you have to remember you are paying for the convenience. Parking was tight but we were always able to find a space convenient to our room. The resort is older but seems to be kept up pretty well. Just keep in mind, its not Wild Dunes so if that is what you are looking for its not for you. If you are looking for family owned, casual resort that you can just hang out in a tshirt, shorts and sandals all day, enjoy the beach and some cocktails by the pool then its for you. We even grilled out one night using the charcoal grills to save some cash and do something different. I know management and the owners read these reviews so they only thing I would ask is please, please consider moving the trash cans away from the picnic areas and tables. They did a commendable job keeping them changed out but they get very full, very quickly and the flies were really bad in those areas almost all times of day. They really need to be moved away from anywhere that people are outside trying to enjoy their meals. We also loved all the cats. We met them all-Princess, Spooky, Mel, Big Daddy, Willow,...