Four of us shared a 3 bedroom "cottage" at this funky 60's style beachfront motel for three nights. The price was extremely reasonable, but one disappointment was that when booking at the motel's website you have to choose a room number but they don't honor your selection when you check in. So, we thought we had a cottage right next to the beach, but noooooo! we were right by the busy road and as far away from the beach as possible. The gal at the front desk was completely unfazed by our unhappy reaction to the news that we were by the road and laconically offered to cancel our reservation, so it was put up or shut up for us.

The vibe is older couples who smoke, accompanied by their dogs. Everyone has been really friendly, the place is clean but old and definitely no frills. There are window unit air conditioners in every room which are a bit noisy but definitely keep things chilly. The kitchen is stocked with aluminum cookware, Corelle dishes, etc. To make things more comfortable, bring your own paper towels and scrub sponge, some air freshener for the bathroom (no fan), and a throw blanket if you get cold with air conditioning.

The adult and kiddie pools are separate, with loungers and chairs to hand. There are adirondak chairs outside every room, but these cannot be taken to the beach, so bring your beach chairs. The beach is right there - a bit washed away looking after Hurricane Irene, but what can you say about golden sand and foaming waves but "ahhhh!"

Overall, if you are on a strict budget and/or traveling with your pets, this motel is a good choice since it is very clean, right on the beach, and near many amenities and shopping opportunities.

Our rental in Corolla was accessable due to hurrican Irene so we stayed at the Cavalier for 1 night. We rented 4 rooms here. Basically we would've slept in a shoe at this point because there were no vacancies anywhere in the southern part of OBX. The beachfront aspect was awesome, althought it was too cold and windy to swim that night. I'm not sure what that long pipeline into the ocean is for-- that sort of scared me. Was that a sewage line? yikes.

Anyway, like all the other reviews say- the cottages are old. There is paneling on the walls but the beds were really clean. We had a microwave and a fridge, which was convenient and unexpected. The walls seemed to be thick enough not to disturb your neighbors (or be disturbed).

The staff seemed extremely concerned with parking. They have numbered spaces for each room. Someone was in our spot after dinner so they told us to park in another spot. An hour later we get a knock on our door asking why we are parked in the wrong spot. It was sort of annoying but parking is very limited here, so I can see why they are strict on it. They should give people a piece of paper to put in their windshields or something.

The bathrooms were super small. The door wacked the sink if you open it too far. We didn't shower there-- we pressed on to our rental house the next day.

For the price, we'd stay here again if we were in the same predicament. I wouldn't stay here for a week though.

This was our first time staying at the Cavalier "in season". And it will be our last. But we'll get to that. When we first called the Cavalier they didn't have a room available but they have a waiting list and we had stayed there before, so I was excited when they called and said they had a poolside room for us. We chose the Cavalier for several reasons - price, service, cleanliness in our previous stay, location. They were very friendly at check-in. No problems there, even though it was almost 7:00 pm and we were the last room to arrive.

We dropped our bags, quickly put on our suits and headed to the beach before the sun went down. The beach is pretty wide there at the hotel. But the beach was full of bandaids and cigarette butts. When we came off th beach EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE was sitting outside, drinking, getting loud, wet beach towels and toys everywhere...I am not a snob, but seriously...trailer park vibe. Someone was grilling beer can chicken on a little hibachi on the steps from the beach. There are no balconies or any sort of division to the rooms, everyone's space just kind of runs together. And even though they say that everyone is supposed to be quite by 10:00, people were still sitting outside talking loudly, going in and out of rooms, slamming car doors until at least midnite both nights.

The room was clean, the shower and tub looked like it has been recently remodeled. The AC worked well. Only 4 pillows for 2 beds, we didn't ask for more but probably could have gotten more. Lighting was fine. My one complaint about the room was the door. It was like a 70's track home hollow particle board closet door. Given the constant activity outside, I was not feeling 100% secure! But we didn't have any problems.

I would stay here again - but only during the off season. And only in one of the cottages or ocean front kitchenette. Its just a little unnerving to me personally to walk out the door to my room and there is a shirtless stranger sitting there drinking a beer and smoking a cigarette. But its important to say that this is not the motel's fault. When we checked our this morning, they had fresh coffee in the office and some sort of a fresh baked pastry. How nice is that? It's not for us during the in season. I need a little more space from my neighbors.

This is an older motel (probably built in the 50's or 60's) which has been fairly well maintained. The rooms are small and relatively clean. The motel is on the ocean with a private beach.
If this hotel were not on the beach it would be barely 1*. The rooms are small, the bathroom is very inconvenient, and the Wifi is non-existent. On the plus side the beach is nice and they do a pretty decent job of cleaning the place. But as you know sand is everywhere. The hotel is non-smoking, but smokers are all over the place outside littering the grounds. You come here for the beach and not the hotel.