Accommodating service, great beach access, but the physical building and furnishings are showing wear, so much so, that a 3 rating. An early spring visit with below average temps, difficult keeping the room warm.

I spent the first week of May 2009 at the Whaler. The one BR is HUGE - almost 1000 sf with 2 full baths. My unit was C-11, with a magnificent view of the ocean and down the beach. The full kitchen and in unit washer make this perfect for families.
There is wonderful sightseeing in nearby Beaufort, New Bern and other points "down east". The Whaler is just a great place to have a memorable vacation.

This is a lovely place to stay. You are right on the ocean, so the view is great! If you have one of the ocean front rooms you can sit on your deck and enjoy. If you don't have an ocean front room, you can go out and enjoy the view in one of the deck chairs on the grass. It is a great place to be with children because you are so close to the beach....just a short jaunt. Then of course there is the covered pool if the weather happens to be bad. You are within close driving distance to a lot of interesting places to explore.

Stopped here for 2 nights last week while picking up our daughter at camp. The room was adequate for the 4 of us-nice full kitchen. We were in a "end" room (the patio facing the side and a view of the wall). The room was very clean and sheets and towels were fine. Apparently most of these units are for sale?

We were disappointed by the beach at this section of AB. We are used to Emerald Isle where it is very wide and very swimmable. This section drops off quickly to deeper water and the surf is pretty rough for little ones and even our 10-year olds. Nice adirondack chairs and porch swing along the sea wall.

The lawn behind the hotel (along the beach) drops off a high seawall (not fenced to keep little ones from falling) and there are not steps in the center to easily walk down to the beach. You must walk to the end of the hotel property to go down the steps(which tempts you to jump off in the center even though they warn you not to)?? We paid $207 plus tax/night-I'm sure there are better deals out there, but we booked very last minute and it was the week leading up to the 4th of July.

There are grills and picnic tables on the lawn, a nice set up for families that like to cook their catch. The pool was out front (close to the parking lot and road) and enclosed so no view, no breeze, and kind of stuffy. Probably nice in the winter and cooler months, but not for active kids in the summer. There is wi-fi in the lobby and I was able to use it in my room A-3 as it was very close to the lobby.