A no-frills Beach Road motel a short walk from the Kill Devil Hills sand
Driftin Sands Motel sits on North Virginia Dare Trail — the Beach Road that runs through the heart of Kill Devil Hills — putting guests within an easy walk of the sand without the price tag or crowd of a big oceanfront resort. It's a straightforward, no-frills motel setup: a place to sleep, shower off the salt, and head back out, which is exactly what a lot of beach trips actually need.
The location does a lot of the work here. Kill Devil Hills sits at the center of the northern Outer Banks strip, so guests are minutes from Wright Brothers National Memorial (the actual site of the first powered flight in 1903) and a short drive from Jockey's Ridge State Park in neighboring Nags Head, home of the tallest natural sand dune system on the East Coast. Grocery stores, restaurants, and beach-gear shops line both the Beach Road and the parallel Croatan Highway bypass, so nothing is ever far.
Book through the motel's own website for current rates and availability, and keep hurricane season (June through November, with August through October carrying the real risk) in mind if you're planning a late-summer or fall stay.
184 reviews
2 weeks ago
We needed a quick one night stay before our house was open from a rental the following day over July 4th weekend. The man working the front desk was exceptionally nice and so helpful. He went out of his way to help us with our parking situation and I couldn’t speak more highly. This is one of the few places that still has some real classic Outer Banks charm. A+ all around
3 months ago
Priceline is a beautiful app if your looking for the best values especially on the beach. With that said, I got a great deal with this nice motel. I only paid $99. Do you believe it?! With that being said, I pulled into the parking area. Mind you, the parking is limited and so is reservation for rooms. I was lucky to get 1 especially this time of year. I got out of my car, observing and looking around to find the office so I can check into the hotel and the hotel desk associate waved me down which I appreciated. I checked in and he gave me the room closest to the road which was easy access. 1 thing that was different from other stay which I find kind of cool was that you put in a pin, pound and lift the door handle up instead of having a key card to scan. The beds were very comfortable in the temp of the room and decorations were attractive being we are near the ocean I loved the beach display and anchor. In the room is a sink and when I walked in access to a walk in shower and bathroom with plenty of roll up towels and toiletries. They do offer pets. Visitors are prohibited unless it is an extra amount of guests staying the night.
2 months ago
Stayed for 3 days, daughter booked hotel. I was skeptical at first. Room was clean, plenty of towels and toiletries. Two Queen beds, clean sheets with enough lighting everywhere. Clean refrigerater and working air conditioner. Host was friendly and accommodating to inquires. Parking was tight but adequate. A little walk to the beach, a fantastic restaurant Jolly Pirates next door, movie theater around the corner and Target close by. I would definitely stay here again! Thank you!
4 months ago
Check in was easy and quick, the gentleman at the desk was super nice… even came out to pet our pup. Pet friendly, and they have a nice grassy area for pups to do their business with waste bags available - well lit for night time potty breaks. Room was clean, and offered a fridge to keep things cold and microwave. The rooms and bathrooms are small, which is to be expected from an older roadside motel… but was fine for the one night we were there. It was quiet and we never heard any noise from our neighbors. WiFi worked fine. Great location. Overall a good option for a night or two, or if you don’t plan to spend a ton of time in the room. You’re at the beach…. Go outside and do something!
3 months ago
I travel for work, long story short I was a guest at this motel for a week, I rebooked for another week check out was 1030am so i Work at 6pm to 6am. Asked could I just check in my other room because I needed to go sleep. Management possibly owner told me that my other room wasn’t cleaned so I needed to get out my room and come back at 4pm.. mind you I could see that the other room was cleaned already. So I said the room is clean so why can’t I just move so I can get some rest before I have to be back to work. He starts yelling and threaten to call the police. Cops get there and they were confused just as I was. I found the mgmt racist because he said I used a racial slur when I definitely didn’t. I would not recommend booking this motel.