Had a great time this 4th of July weekend on our stay at the tarheel motel. The rooms were clean and orderly upon arrival. The property management's communicated well. We had our code for the door prior to arrival and had no problem getting in our room. Each room had a patio bench outside,nice for dropping off beach gear on your way in.
I did not get in the pool,but other guests seemed to be enjoying it. Parking here is ample,but if you have a larger vehicle you may find parking outside of your room challenging. If that's the case,just do like I did and park beside the dumpster on the back side of the motel. I was always able to get in and out,and I was in a 10 foot u haul van.
Apart from the rooms being Nicely decorated and cozy,the thing I loved the most here was being right by the Glidden street public beach access. Very nice to have such a short walk to get your toes in the sand. While I felt like the Tarheel measured up in every way,location is its best attribute. Its within walking distance of almost anything you could need.
Overall we would definitely stay here at the Tarheel motel again.
We had a wonderful experience at the Tar Heel Motel, so much so that I had to share. It's important to understand exactly what you are getting when visiting here, and that's the main reason I'm taking the time to write this.
First of all, this is like a motor court. There really is no front desk, or at least I never saw anyone there. You dont go and ask questions, or get more towels, or seek for assistance from any person on site, at least not like you would a traditional motel. Its much like being on your own. You have your room, and the amenities it provides, but that's about it. Even the room key is done digitally through texting. In some ways, this is nicer for me. You get more freedom to move about and be independent as a guest. In other ways, especially at night, it can be a little disconcerting. We felt very alone on our side of the motel. At one point I was scared and had a question as to what to do in a certain situation. I called the emergency number for the motel and a woman named Vivien answered the phone. She was wonderful, and instantly made me feel more comfortable. She made herself accessible to me anytime I needed help, and I felt much better about the situation.
The only people you really interact with at all face to face would be the cleaning personnel. When we were there, it was two young ladies and they were just amazing. You could ask them for towels and they were very helpful. Always had a smile on their faces and a cheerfulness about them. And the room was so clean. Everything worked. I'd come here again in a heartbeat. I feel others who did not enjoy their stay were not aware beforehand of what was to be expected, I hope this helps.
PS The ice machine was a major plus, as I love having fresh ice available.
This one is kinda short and to the point. For OBX, this was an AMAZING find. We loved the location as well as the cost. Room was clean and tidy as described. My one and only complaint is parking. We were unsure if you can drive around (no you can't) so we had to time parking with traffic as we were right up front. Other than that, great spot especially for the cost.
Pros: Close to 2 public beach accesses, close to shops and resturants, fairly quiet road. Comfortable beds and pillows. They provide coffee.
Cons: The hot water is very inconsistent. Kept going cold during my shower. The parking is very tight if fully booked. I had 2 connected rooms, we left to go out and put the do not disturb signs on our doors. Came back and the cleaners had came in anyway and shut and locked the interior adjoining doors.
We had a great stay! The location is amazing—just a 3-minute walk to the public beach, where we enjoyed beautiful sunrises every day. There are plenty of restaurants, parks, kids’ activities, and beach access nearby, so the location gets a 10/10 from us.
The motel has a pool, free Wi-Fi, a coffee maker, and a toaster in the room. The staff was friendly, and the room was cleaned daily. The room code access was convenient and secure.
The only downsides were limited parking, some difficulty adjusting the hot water, and figuring out how to operate the TV.
Overall, we had a wonderful experience and enjoyed our vacation!
