I'm not normally a fan of Days Inn - some of their properties are decent (for an "economy" hotel) and some of them are downright frightful. All other things being equal, I'd call this a good, not great, Days Inn. The real draw, however, is the low price - lower than a typcial DI. Their street sign proudly trumpets "Best Value". Our rate was only about $4 more per night than the scary rock-bottom motels a mile or two down the road. I would consider it $4 well spent.

Check-in was smooth and pleasant. The staff was friendly and helpful. Another guest had problems getting the internet on his laptop and I saw the manager helping him out. Location was decent - lots of eating options in the vicinity and a safe neighborhood (down the road is another story, however).

This is an older property which is currently undergoing renovations as of Jan 2012. Several of the rooms are shutdown for the upgrades. I imagine they'll be finished in time for the summer beach rush. We got one of the upgraded rooms, so everything in the room was still "sparkling". Our room had new carpets, new drapes, new bath fixtures, a new 36-inch flat-screen TV, new vanity, new shower curtain, and a new curved shower rod (which could have been hung better).

The toilet was definitely "original equipment". It was an old 5 GPF beast that has seen better days. The caulking around the base of the toilet was not very good. I can't tell how good the maintenance here is since most of the stuff in the room was new, but the sloppy caulking was not a good sign. Water was hot and we had plenty of it.

This is an exterior-door property. In our room, there were surprisingly large gaps around the door frame that let in outside air and light. I would think that management could save some AC/Heating money with better insulation I imagine that outside noise is a problem during the high-season. If you're sensitive to noise, check that out before you get too settled in.

People who like extra firm beds would be thrilled with the one in our room. It looked like it might have been new - it certainly didn't sag and it had a "new bed" feel. I found it to be a bit too firm for my tastes, but that is personal preference.

My biggest ding against this property is that the carpeting could have been vaccuumed better. Everything else in the room seemed clean (again, most of it new). Maybe the cleaning staff was rushed to do our room. The carpets are a dark forest green, so little bits of paper and stuff like that really stand out.

There are two floors. Access to the second floor is primarily by stairs, so make sure you get a lower-level room if you have physical needs that rule out stair climbing. There is an on-premise restaurant (a rarity these days at budget chains) and small curio shop. I did not eat at the restaurant so I can't comment on that.

One thing that was very obvious is that the advertised rate as you drive by the property was about $7 less that the price listed on their website. That's not unheard of in the hospitality industry, so you may want to call and see what kind of price you can get from them directly. I imagine during the busy season they're less likely to deal.

Overall, I'd say it is a pretty good deal for the money. It is certainly a notch below, say, Comfort Inn or Hampton Inn. But you're not going to find anything better in Wilmington at this price point and you can easily do much worse.

I've stayed at this hotel 3 times since December while looking at properties in the Wilmington area and visiting Wrightsville Beach in the off-season. I have a dog and the pet fee is reasonable, as is the price for the room. The rooms I've stayed in have all been very clean, especially the bathrooms, and the beds and furniture are in decent shape. Heat and ac worked okay. Breakfast at the family-operated restaurant is very good and not expensive. The staff have all been very friendly. The only noise issue came from the Holiday Inn next door from a convention one time but even that ended early.

The first thing I want to say is this is not a hidden gem or diamond in the ruff. You are not going to pay $50 (off season rate) and leave feeling like you stayed at a resort. Ok, that being said...It's not awful. We wanted to bring our dogs for the night and many places charge $75+ for a pet fee. Here it is $15 a night and we brought 2 small dogs. The only cheaper place I found was the red roof which had no pet fee but the reviews were so awful I chose the days inn.

the good:
the rate!
the pet fee
bed was clean
bathroom was updated
flat screen HD tv
pool
location (10 min from wrightsville beach and the river walk area)

the not as good:
outdoor entry room (i always feel less safe with this)
carpet stained all over, I didn't walk around without socks on
woke up to loud noises from drunk kids getting home at 12am on Sat night

we would stay here again for the price, but we tried to stay out of the room doing as much as possible in the Wilmington area. The room isn't very relaxing or soothing to spend much time in but fine to sleep.

I was looking for a hotel that allowed me flexibility in shopping as I don't drive. This hotel was close to everything I wanted. The room was clean. Fresh towels daily. Staff were very helpful and courteous. The breakfast in the on-site restaurant was very good with the option of Waffle House (across the street) or IHOP (just down the street) The 2 fish/seafood restaurants( very close by) were excellent. Fantastic value for my money.
I am returning to Wilmington in April and will stay here again.