Not sure why there are so many terrible reviews of this place because we had a good experience here. I had asked for a smoking double room on the ground level floor near the pool and that is exactly what I got. The room was clean and the towels were fine. The bed was comfortable enough, the only complaint that I had was that there were only 2 thin pillows per bed, so if you're like me and like big fluffy pillows, bring your own. Also there were only 3 bath towels, 3 hand towels and 3 wash clothes in the room and there were 4 of us there. However I talked to the maid and she said that was their policy but happily gave us extra. There was not carpet on the floor of the room but a very nice ceramic tile. I'm sure that is due to the sand and let's face it folks, the beach is for partygoers and I'm sure these rooms get abused. The pool was sparkling and had pop & country music playing all day. The housekeeping staff and the desk staff were very friendly and helpful. As for cleanliness, I did not personally see anything dirty, our room was very clean and smelled nice when we arrived, and we also witnessed the housekeeping staff washing comforters all day one of the days we were there, so I can personally attest to the fact that they do get laundered.
Is it the nicest motel at Carolina Beach? Probably not but it's definitely the cutest. Is it the most expensive? No and you get what you pay for. We had a clean and comfortable room with a working a/c, a very nice pool and walking distance to the boardwalk and restaurants...all for a very reasonable price. What else do you need at the beach??

Not sure why there are so many negative reviews on Drifters Reef. My husband was traveling for business and brought me along. The office staff is awesome, we had a quaint king room, which was roomy and very clean. The only complaint I had is that the housekeeping staff did not make the bed or clean the room, during our 3 day stay. We were provided with clean towels though.

I will never stay here again. The management was awful and rude, the rooms were a mess, and there were more bugs than should ever be allowed for a running motel.

My husband and I stayed at the Drifter's Reef last September around Labor Day. The location was great, within walking distance to the beach. However, it's obvious that the owner of this motel doesn't put any money into it. The bed was in desperate need of replacement. My back was killing me every morning when I woke up. The sheets appeared clean, but had cigarette burns in them and the comforter. The bathroom was clean, but the bath towels were the size of hand towels. I wasn't expecting anything fancy, but full size towels would have been nice. After we had been there for a few days a family that had like 8 kids arrived and stayed in the room above us. They looked like they were homeless. Needless to say, we will not be staying at the Drifter's Reef in the future. We probably would have been better off staying at Microtel or paying more for a nicer place.