Cutty Sark Motel and Historic Cottages — Hotel in Virginia Beach

DO NOT STAY HERE!!!! Filthy!!! We booked a cottage for 3 moms & 3 girls the week of 6/25/- 7/01. We were in VB for our daughters dance nationals. When we arrived it was midnight so we had made arrangements for the key to be left at the hotel for us. Upon entering our so-called “cottage” (that was nothing more than a moldy basement of a shabby, run-down house with steps leading in from the outside of the home) We immediately had to cover our noses because of the wet basement smell & some other “unidentifiable” odor. We walked from room to room and couldn’t believe our eyes. There was black mold in the refrigerator & all over the bathroom. The temperature of the basement (I refuse to call it a cottage) was 87 degrees! There were 5 rooms total (kitchen, living room, bathroom, and two bedrooms and one tiny window air conditioner located in the living room - when we turned it on it blew warm air!! We were furious! The kitchen also had a “dehumidifier” that was on full blast & also blowing HOT AIR! Now, the owner & innkeeper claim the basement to be “vintage” which was actually a selling point for me when I booked it (for $1,752 for the week!). Myself as well as the other moms are very into the vintage look & all love to go antiquing so we thought it would be just perfect for us! Wrong we were! The couch was FILTHY and very uncomfortable - I could tell by the black arm rests of the couch, it had NEVER been cleaned. They claim to also use a “professional linen cleaning service” that washes & presses all of their sheets & blankets for the old, uncomfortable beds they have, this is nothing more than a way to pawn off the poor condition of their linens!! Even with the bad lighting, we could see brown/yellowish spots covering the sheets, pillow cases, and comforter - it was disgusting. The pillows were the cheapest looking pillows I’ve ever seen! They were no more than a half-inch thick! Moving on to the bathroom-first of all, it was so small that you could barely turn around without brushing up against the black mold that was covering the walls! There were also nice short black hairs greeting us when we pulled back the shower curtain - gross!!! The kitchen sink was incredibly old & the faucet was leaking. The fridge was gross, had black mold in the fridge & freezer (no way would i put food in it!) & it literally looked like something that was a piece of junk back in the 70’s. The cupboards were gross & covered in dust as was the kitchen table & counters. There was a 13” tv sitting on gross, tiny little wooden table that was also covered in a thick layer of dust. There were dead bugs on the floors, the side tables in the bedrooms were filthy and one had one even had a broken leg -when we pulled back the curtains, the window sills were full of a black substance that looked much like....you guessed it, MOLD!! One of the moms ran to Walmart to buy several sets of sheets for the beds & to cover the gross couch so we could sit down. While we waited for her to get back, the other mom I was with (who is very sensitive to mold & dust) started to have a reaction. Her throat was tightening up & got very itchy and her eyes started to turn red & were also very itchy. We then decided there was no way we would be able to stay there comfortably. I personally would not have been comfortable sleeping in the bed or showering in that gross bathroom much less having my daughter do the same! We decided as a group to venture out at 1:15am (in the middle of a storm) to find a new hotel. We ended up paying $399 to stay at the holiday inn express for less than 12 hrs. We called the VB Health Dept in the morning & they ended up shutting the place down 2 days later because they found black mold in the kitchen & bathroom. Went to the Cutty Sark in the morning to talk to the lady owner & the rude male inkeeper. After arguing w/ them for an hr they refunded us 100%! She refunded the portion that was pd on a cc immediately & the check portion 10 days later. We believe the only reason she refunded in full was because of the...

To start, this will be a long review. We stayed from Saturday through Monday night on Labor Day weekend. It was ample space for a large family, plenty of beds, a fully equipped kitchen, cozy living room with pull out futon/sleeper, included vacuum, broom/dust pan, stove, full sized refrigerator, flat screened tv, 2 a/c units, ceiling fans in each bedroom, plenty of towels, all bedding minus comforters, plenty of pillows, coffee maker, toaster, sponges & dish soap, dish rags, dish drainer, can opener, plenty of toilet paper, dinner seating for up to 6, great natural light despite very dark paneling. The best part of the duplex I believe was the privacy from the outside world as it had an inner grassy courtyard enclosed partially with a cute white picket fence. Noise from crowds and traffic in my opinion was near nil since we were away from the very touristy southend. I only wish we could have gotten a chance to stay in the cottage(I don’t know the name or number of this cottage) out front with the wraparound porch as it sleeps up to 8 hence more space for our large family but we’re booking now in order to get it for next year. The kids absolutely LOVED the pool! Yes, it is tiny and not deeper than 4 feet but with very small children I considered it a Godsend! It wasn’t heated as described but it was such a hot day it was ok and the kids had a blast anyhow. The best thing about the pool area was the on-site private bathroom with sink and electrical. Mere steps to our duplex from the pool when we needed snacks or anything we forgot. The duplex did not have any porch or balcony but we spent time just outside our door at the cute patio table set and picnic benches near the provided grill. Just steps down the street was a Dunkin Donuts and was GREAT for morning coffee options. Not too much in the way of restaurants in my opinion unless you walk quite a bit however we took the trolley for a mere $2 bucks per person with children under 17 free and it will take you the entire route of Atlantic Avenue for that price. Very pleasant trip on the open air trolley versus walking in the heat carrying bottled water, bag, purse, souvenirs, etc. Now on to the beach since that’s why we came. Very nice- what can I say, it’s a beach. Pretty rocky and full of stones at the shore for some reason but we just went deeper in to avoid that. Not too crowed surprisingly considering it was Labor Day weekend. Plenty to do and see on the boardwalk, cute stores, fantastic food choices, everything is of course pricey but it’s to be expected. After all you’re on vacation at a hot spot tourist beach locale on the east coast so it’s all worth it. What you’re actually buying is a lifetime of memories and fantastic experiences with your mate or family! Kudos and much thanks and blessings to Mrs Koch on a job well done indeed! Thanks and we’ll see you next year God willing! We are forever grateful for the accommodations and thank you for being available to us to stay this summer. You won’t be disappointed unless you are extremely hard to please. We loved it , it exceeded our expectations and we will...

PROS: Great price, amazing location - beach access and walking distance to many amazing restaurants, kitchenette with whatever you need to store/warm up leftovers, spacious room with couch and balcony with view of beach across the road, and heated outdoor pool.

FYI/Neutral: Not at all updated, looks like it's from the 60s, but kind of cute in a retro way if that's your style. It was generally clean, but the carpet felt a little sticky and everything looked very worn (such that it looked dirty in spots). Some cute decor though. Also, be aware, they provide a single hand soap/shampoo/body wash dispenser in the bathroom. I've gotten so used to hotels providing those things, I didn't think to bring my own. Not my favorite, but better than nothing.

CONS: Small rather uncomfortable bed, road noise kept us up (especially since our balcony door didn't want to latch) although the hotel itself was quiet (not much noise from other rooms during the night), I heard the management was perfectly nice to my husband when he spoke to them, but the vibe from all the signs is a little politely unfriendly (absolutely no guests or you're out, no toys in the pool, extra fees for each additional person no matter the age, one parking spot per booking, etc.) - kind of feels like living at your persnickety great aunt's or something. The pool is in the middle of the parking lot and both the pool and parking lot are tiny. I think the ac was broken/blowing warm air. (Not a problem for us since the weather was nice enough, so we just turned it off)

Who should stay here: I feel like it's kind of a niche audience that would really appreciate this place. The price is good for anyone on a budget and again, great location. But you have to be okay with all the rest, so not a great option for anyone with several people (college kids, families, etc) or anyone loud or anyone who prioritizes comfort and luxury.

On the other hand, how comfortable the bed is may vary person to person - I have a bad back and normally sleep on a memory foam mattress at home, so this may just have not been the best choice for me personally.

If you're looking for somewhere quiet, not crowded or full of noisy kids, this could be for you.

Also if you're here for the shamrock marathon, it is right on top of the course at the final mile turn off, which was wonderful for us. So if you're a runner just looking for a place to crash for the night, it could work well.

Overall, it worked for our purposes, but I didn't sleep well any night we were there due to the bed and road noise and I dislike not being able to have friends over, so we probably...