I was very disappointed this time around, there is new management. It took forever to check us in, I had waited in the car rather than go back and forth in the rain, I finally had to go in and help my husband after he came out twice asking me questions and was obviously having problems with the management. They wanted proof of my reservation. Fortunately I had a receipt they mailed me confirming all the details. Uh, if you mailed me a reciept, guess who else has proof? Another 20 minutes later and still no key, when i asked why i was not in the system they said i was in the system. Well why are you still inspecting my receipt and why cant i have my key? Why has it been 30 minutes now? The people were rude and inconsiderate throughout check in for no reason I could tell other than this was the new management style. Take the money and no concerns for the customer at all. We had booked a specific room over the phone. I know it was available. They had given it to someone else. The room I booked had deck access the room they gave us did not. This has never happened before, when I mentioned the concerns I was pretty much told tough, they could do whatever they wanted. Gee thanks, let me give you more money? We went to the room, the internet was down, the tv was out, the phone did not work so we could not call the office. Back out in the pooring rain to go to the office. Apparently they knew it was all out but had not bothered to mention that. Thanks, we like pouring rain. I think we will wait for another change in management before we go back. Don't think these will last too long. We have historically stayed here a couple times a year, time to try the Hampton inn I guess. They left chocolates by the bed, opened one, it looked 5 years old, all discolored. This was not an inexpensive stay, I expected much better.

We stayed at the Inn 9/8/11 for 4 LONG days. The room was so old- using old bedspreads, wool like blanket ( that I doubt was washed recently), spiders thruout, disappointing breakfast.
he management is not on site 24 hours- so if you had any probnlems - no one is there. It says leave the key in a box!! We wanted to stay ONLY because it was pet friendly- however, we lost our lil dog before our visit. Now I am glad he was not there because of the spiders! The bathroom was horrible. I could go on and on-- but for the price - this INN is WAY overrated ..

Musty Rooms, cats galore, and the rudest obx people we've met

We're veterans of two stays at the INN. We've tried an economy room up on the 3rd floor and it was damp and quite musty. We've tried a ground floor room and yes, it too was damp feeling and musty in July. The only way to miss the musty smell is to have a plugged nose! It's strong. If you have allergies you'd best go to the Hampton Inn or the Sanderling, etc.

The Inn has potential but has seemingly been run into the ground by the manager. It's sad because the place has a lot of potential if run by the right person. I'd say that the attitude of the senior staff is so bad, they are in the wrong kind of business, and really should be barred from any customer involvement of any kind.

Here's the short list of what we saw:
1. Cats galore on the decks so watch out for your allergies.
2. Musty and damp rooms. If you are allergic to mold this is no place for you.
3. Our door knob would not lock, though it appeared to be locked. Only by accident did we learn that anyone could simply push it open...scary.
4. The fireplace glass doors were so sooty, they appeared to not have been cleaned in decades. Because they're 2 sided and daylight shines through them, it give the room a feel of filth that's hard to explain. Is the staff so busy they can't clean a fireplace glass at least once in 6 months? What are they doing Jan-March anyway?
5. The bathroom sink was not secured to the wall and shaky.
6. The entrance door to the room sticks so badly that you have to put your full body weight against it to open it.
7. The cleaning staff does not seem to clean under beds or behind anything. We'd call it call in cleaning 'light.'
8. We'd rate the cleanliness of the rooms a D.
9. Wireless Internet. They are not telling the truth. It's is a joke. From what we could tell, not one of their premium soundfront rooms or balconies could receive a wireless signal. The rude staff said we could sit in the office to use the internet. Kind of like the timeout chair!

Other than the things we observed, it was not all that bad. I'd estimate that 99.9% of the problems reflect lousy or non-caring, or negligent management. It's better than sleeping in a tent. We won't be returning.

My husband and I have visited the Inn once or twice a year for more than a decade, but our last visit marks the end of what had become a fond tradition. Not only is the Inn going downhill in terms of cleanliness, a lack of amenities and the overall decline in the quality of the accommodations, but the management is incompetent and rude. We were overcharged $100 more than the package we'd signed up for...our attempts to rectify this situation were met with a customer-is-always-wrong attitude, despite the fact we'd been loyal customers for years. We'd considered other hotels in the Corolla area for a while, but despite factors such as pitifully inadequate wireless Internet, VCRs that have been obsolete for about a decade, and a skimpy continental breakfast, we enjoyed the seclusion of the Inn and the beauty of the Sound. However, after dealing with this manager, we will NEVER visit the Inn again. I doubt the owner is actively engaged with the running of this establishment at this time...the other comments I've seen regarding the Inn's decline and the rudeness of the manager simply confirm for me that our experience was not an isolated event. Perhaps the economy is so robust the the Inn truly does not need our $$ every year, but we will never again waste our cash on an establishment that feels a loyal customer who's been overcharged should simply deal with it and get lost.