My husband and I just spent a long weekend celebrating our 28th wedding anniversary on the 28th of August,2010 at Darlings by the Sea. It was perfect. The lovely breakfast basket, brought each evening to enjoy the next morning, was loaded with goodies, and the room was very nicely decorated and very very clean. Beautiful view of the ocean from the balcony, very pretty back deck to sit out and read in the afternoon away from the sun. Jim and Dee are terrific hosts, providing even beach chairs and bicycles. Comfy terrycloth robes were a treat, and we thought the linens and towels were very nice quality.

The advertising for DBTS may mislead you a little by calling itself a B&B. The breakfast is a continental breakfast that they deliver to your room nightly, which is published in their brochure. It consisted of cut fresh fruit, one pastry (English muffin or blueberry muffin), one biscotti, jams, jellies, cream cheese butter, and assorted coffee items for you to make. There was more than enough for two people for breakfast but there were some unusual items (microwave popcorn, grandma’s cookies, etc).

Check in was like a regular hotel. We were disappointed to find out that there was no evening social or welcome reception, as there was no common meeting area. There was no help with our bags and just did not seem like a B&B in the typical sense. We also thought that the picture on the brochure was misleading; it appeared to be very isolated on the beach but was actually surrounded by neighbors. There was no issue with noise or neighbors throughout our stay.

The room was very elegant in some aspects and mismatched in others. For example there was an Italian leather sofa and a marble entryway, but poster art on the walls and $5 light fixtures. The Jacuzzi tub was terrific; it filled quickly and came with bath salts and bubbles. The balcony was spacious and we were treated to a wonderful lightening show when we arrived. This was the cleanest hotel that we had ever visited! There were free bicycles and beach chairs with only a one way road and short walk to the beach. For the Kure Carolina beach area this is probably one of the best places to stay and we will definitely return.

We had reservations at Darlings by the Sea in early July 2009. My husband and I wanted a few days of escape and was going to splurge on somewhere nice. This is not a cheap place. We had to cancel the day we were suppose to arrive due to my husband's illness. He has a serious illness which sometimes makes him unable to travel. I explained this to the owner.

We understood about the cancellation policy, and expected we would have to pay for the first night. The Mrs. Darling was cold and unfriendly, as she firmly stated, "we have your credit card on file and you will be charged in full for the first night." That was ok, but she could have been a little less harsh. We will never stay at this place simply because of the unfriendly tone we received on the phone.

We have stayed at many B&B's all over the country and it's because the owners are so friendly and helpful...Not so at this place!

Darlings by the sea is the perfect couples getaway! It is the best place we have ever stayed on the beach and we will definitely be going back. Everything was taken care of, we did not have to ask for a thing during our stay. We had originally booked 3 nights and ended up staying longer because we were having such a great time! The Innkeepers are very, very nice and took great care of us during our stay. We loved it and would highly recommend Darlings by the sea.