Saltwater Resort & Suites — Hotel in Surf City

We chose Saltwater Resort for our annual New Year's Beach Trip So Ain't Nobody Gotta Die™. As the name suggests, we do this (almost) every year to decompress from the holidays, so our chief goal is to find a quiet place to just be for a few days. Both of us love the beach, and during the off season, room rates are deeply discounted and crowds are basically a non-factor. We've stayed at all types of establishments, from large chains to independent hotels, but Saltwater was a whole kind of new experience (in all the right ways).

First the plusses. The suite was spacious, clean, and being on the third floor gave us a view of both the ocean (front window) and the Intracoastal Waterway (back window). There's a full kitchen, complete with a cooktop, oven, microwave and toaster, a full size fridge, and in room coffeemaker. Dishes and basic cookware are included. If we'd been there longer than three nights, we'd have made more use of the kitchen, but we found ourselves within a comfortable walking distance of at least two restaurants, and a short drive ( under 5 minutes) from at least two others (both of which we ate at while in town). You're also within a comfortable walking distance of public beach access, which will save you on parking. (Like most beach towns parking is at a premium, and the towns have monetized that asset to its fullest, so this is a big deal.) The biggest difference was having a washer dryer combo (full size) in the room. You might think that would make more noise than it was worth, but we were able to watch the hockey game on TV without having to turn the volume up or the closed captioning on even with both machines running. And speaking of the TV, this is a wall mounted flat screen smart TV approximately the size of Kansas. There is an elevator (but if you're in a hurry you're better off with the stairs) which is helpful when loading your gear in and out. The"bell cars" are actually beach wagons, which works out well for the gravel parking lot.

As for the rates, this was off-season, but we had the top tier king suite and all inclusive our 3 night stay was just over $650. There are probably cheaper options on the island, and definitely on the mainland, but none of them as well appointed as this.

None of the minuses rise to the level of a complaint, but do bear mentioning. First, the wi-fi is fast, but unsecured, so make sure you engage your VPN if you use it. There is a password, but the connection is not encrypted. Second, the front windows could use darkening shades or curtains. The blinds don't close off the entire window, and the lights on the walkway leak through. (The upside to this is that it makes the room easier to navigate in the middle of the night with the lights off.) Third, the one amenity you won't find is a fitness center, which may not be an issue for you, but if you're planning on working out during your stay, you'll have to make do with the stairs and/or the free-to-guests bicycles available for use. Finally, from an environmental standpoint, there are a couple of things they could do to reduce single use plastics. The coffee service is a K-Cup machine, which could be mitigated by using a reusable pod, and the property supplies travel sized shampoo, conditioner, and lotion rather than adopting the refillable dispensers you find in chain hotels. (One offsetting feature is the gravel parking lot which reduces runoff that an impervious surface would cause. Being directly adjacent to a delicate marine ecosystem, this is a big deal.)

Lastly, this is neither a plus nor a minus on its face, but you should be aware of it. The cancellation policy is one of the least flexible I've ever come across. If you cancel 30 or more days in advance, you'll only lose the cancellation fee (this varies by the type of suite). If you cancel 14-29 days in advance, you forfeit your entire 50% deposit. Cancel less than 14 days in advance, and you're billed the entire amount of your reservation.

On balance, we will definitely book here again if and when we come back to Topsail Island....

We were looking for something that was non-Airbnb and came across Saltwater Resorts & Suites. It consisted of two buildings, one was named Resorts (@ 412 N. New River Drive) and the other named Suites (@ 605 North Topsail Drive). Based on price, we picked a suite that had two queens and a sofa bed for two nights (from Jul 2 to Jul 4) located on the third floor. Reservation process was straightforward. I received an email from the corporate managers – BlueStar Real Estate – with specific instructions on what to do when we arrived. Although a check-in time was provided – 4pm – there was no formal check-in. Instead, a numeric code for our suite’s front door was provided that was valid only after the check-in time. As management put it, using the code before then “will cause the lock to send out a Tamper Alert and your code will be deactivated… a $50 code reset fee will be billed to your account.” Per their email request, I provided them my email and phone number. The suite included one complimentary parking pass for our vehicle.

One concern we had was hauling our luggage up three flights of stairs. That was assuaged by an elevator at the rear corner of Saltwater Suites. It was a slow ride, taking almost 30 seconds to get to the third floor. The suite (#303) was impressive, most particularly so to Wife. It had immaculate décor, vinyl wood flooring, a washer & dryer set that looked brand new, a pristine bathroom and an equally pristine kitchenette. The A/C unit came with a remote and instructions on how to use. It took a while to figure out how to set it to Eco mode because the air was strong and cold. The pillows came in different levels of fluffiness – my preference was thick. Sleep was not difficult at all on both nights. There was an armchair by the wall next to the queen bed – I made that my spot.

The kitchenette had a microwave, a refrigerator, a K-pod machine, crockery, cutlery, utensils, K-cup machines and pods, condiment packets, a leaf-drop dining table and chairs. The parking pass was hanging by a cabinet door. The bathroom had shelves next to the bathtub and was stocked with a generous supply of towels (face & body), soaps, shampoo and toilet paper. The shower curtains came in two layers, one for inside the tub and the other outside. The bathroom sink could be wider – there wasn’t enough room for our toiletries so we put them on the shelves.

There was no on-site staff. Communication with management was only by email or phone during business hours. Although we didn’t encounter any issues during our stay, I could only imagine how difficult things could be if there were issues beyond the guests’ control – such as a leak that floods the room – that would not be immediately addressed. Furthermore, the reservation fee for two nights was an obscene $121.44, which bumped up the cost to nearly $280 a night. As the last photo shows, the dining table had leaves that weren’t fully level. I was concerned that they wouldn’t support any objects placed on them, so I moved everything towards the center of the table. There was an issue with the building wifi. In spite of the written instructions provided in the suite, I couldn’t get it to work on my phone. But I found another free wifi spot that did.

Overall, the stay was enjoyable. We would definitely...

We were looking for something that was non-Airbnb and came across Saltwater Resorts & Suites. It consisted of two buildings, one was named Resorts (@ 412 N. New River Drive) and the other named Suites (@ 605 North Topsail Drive). Based on price, we picked a suite that had two queens and a sofa bed for two nights (from Jul 2 to Jul 4) located on the third floor. Reservation process was straightforward. I received an email from the corporate managers – BlueStar Real Estate – with specific instructions on what to do when we arrived. Although a check-in time was provided – 4pm – there was no formal check-in. Instead, a numeric code for our suite’s front door was provided that was valid only after the check-in time. As management put it, using the code before then “will cause the lock to send out a Tamper Alert and your code will be deactivated… a $50 code reset fee will be billed to your account.” Per their email request, I provided them my email and phone number. The suite included one complimentary parking pass for our vehicle.||One concern we had was hauling our luggage up three flights of stairs. That was assuaged by an elevator at the rear corner of Saltwater Suites. It was a slow ride, taking almost 30 seconds to get to the third floor. The suite (#303) was impressive, most particularly so to Wife. It had immaculate décor, vinyl wood flooring, a washer & dryer set that looked brand new, a pristine bathroom and an equally pristine kitchenette. The A/C unit came with a remote and instructions on how to use. It took a while to figure out how to set it to Eco mode because the air was strong and cold. The pillows came in different levels of fluffiness – my preference was thick. Sleep was not difficult at all on both nights. There was an armchair by the wall next to the queen bed – I made that my spot.||The kitchenette had a microwave, a refrigerator, a K-pod machine, crockery, cutlery, utensils, K-cup machines and pods, condiment packets, a leaf-drop dining table and chairs. The parking pass was hanging by a cabinet door. The bathroom had shelves next to the bathtub and was stocked with a generous supply of towels (face & body), soaps, shampoo and toilet paper. The shower curtains came in two layers, one for inside the tub and the other outside. The bathroom sink could be wider – there wasn’t enough room for our toiletries so we put them on the shelves.||There was no on-site staff. Communication with management was only by email or phone during business hours. Although we didn’t encounter any issues during our stay, I could only imagine how difficult things could be if there were issues beyond the guests’ control – such as a leak that floods the room – that would not be immediately addressed. Furthermore, the reservation fee for two nights was an obscene $121.44, which bumped up the cost to nearly $280 a night. As the photo shows, the dining table had leaves that weren’t fully level. I was concerned that they wouldn’t support any objects placed on them, so I moved everything towards the center of the table. There was an issue with the building wifi. In spite of the written instructions provided in the suite, I couldn’t get it to work on my phone. But I found another free wifi spot that did.||Overall, the stay was enjoyable. We would definitely...