Many moons ago, my best friend's family used to stay at the OLD Sea Gull Motel every summer. However, as the family grew in size, and the little kids became big kids, they moved on to rental homes to accommodate their large group. In 2003, Hurricane Isabelle blew through town and did a little remodeling along the Outer Banks, thus necessitating a rebuild of the Sea Gull Motel.
In 2008, my husband, son and I took a last minute trip from Virginia Beach to Hatteras and were able to get a room at the new Sea Gull. Although we were just there overnight, we liked the room.
In July of this year, we again returned to the OBX for a short vacation and opted to stay at the Sea Gull for 4 nights. We rented their 2 room apartment so that our son could have a separate sleeping space from my husband and me. Upon arrival, we were impressed with how spacious the apartment was, esp. the 2nd room that had a small kitchenette, table w/chairs, TV and bed. It looked perfect for our needs.
Over our 4 day vacation, we actually spent more time in the motel than we would have anticipated. We would rest up between the pool/beach and going out to dinner, lounge around before bed and hang out for breakfast the next morning before heading off to sight see or hit the waves. One evening, we picked up a pizza from a nearby restaurant and ate it at our table while watching a bit of TV - it was very nice!
One of the things we were worried about was whether or not our 7 year old son would be bored without any of his friends to play with. One day there were several children close to his age playing in the pool (which was very clean and well-kept) and it turned out that they were the children of one of the housekeepers and a friend of theirs. My son played with them on 2 of the days we were there and solved our problem. We thought it was very kind of the owner to allow employees' children to enjoy the motel amenities while their parent works - it seems like a win-win situation for the employee and owner and our family inadvertently benefitted from it as well!
So, the motel is in good shape, is located just across a sand dune from the ocean (stairs and a walkway provide access to the ocean/beach from the motel), sits approximately 1/2 north of Hatteras Village and it might be a mile/mile and a half down to the Hatteras/Ocracoke Island ferry. There are plenty of places to eat and shop nearby and if you have a 4WD vehicle, you can drive on the beach along both the ocean and sound and access to either one is just a short distance from the motel.
The Sea Gull Motel offers a perfect package: quiet solitude for those looking to get away from it all but close proximity to places to eat, sights to see and shops for that perfect souvenir.
We only stayed at the Sea Gull for 4 nights this summer, but we are already planning our 7 day vacation at the Sea Gull for next year!
- Comfort Inn Hatteras Island
