Where to stay in Manteo / Nag's Head (NC)

May 12, 2006 7:04 AM

Manteo / Nag's Head (NC) lodging - 10-ish minutes or less from Jockey's Ridge, lets us microwave/refrigerate our own veggie food, clean (mold-free, non-stinky) -- where can we stay for a minimalist hang-gliding-school weekend?

We'll spend what we have to, but less is definitely better. Next weekend, we're just going for the hang-gliding.

I've tried searching, but haven't found actual recommendations. I bought a book last night, but it only tells if a place is "conveniently located", not whether the non-smoking rooms are actually only recently non-smoking or whether they're just down the hall from the other kind.

This may sound petulant and picky, but we had a pretty bad room in a major hotel last time we were down there. Mold growing on the walls near the ceiling. Other ickynesses.

We don't care if we're next to the ocean. Manteo seems nice. Heard that the Elizabethan Inn wasn't so great.

Vegetarian(-friendly) restaurants nearby a big bonus.

Any recommendations?

posted by amtho to travel & transportation around Manteo, NC (8 answers total)

I've had really good luck with Village Realty . They have some nice homes for rent on a golf course in Nags Head proper - and their prices are fantastic. Having rented in that area for many years, Village has consistently been the best value.

The homes I'm speaking of aren't right on the beach, but the realty company does have a nice beach club that all renters have access to, with beach access and nice pool facilities. Having the houses right on the golf course provides a nice quiet setting, and the whole area is wonderful if you like to ride bikes, etc. There are also several sound access areas there that are great for kite flying, etc.
posted by jcummings1974 at 7:28 AM on May 12, 2006

Sorry, just read "for the weekend". Village rents by the week only - but hopefully the information will be helpful to someone else. As far as hotels go, I've also stayed at the Days Inn in Kitty Hawk. It wasn't "great" by hotel standards, but was serviceable for a weekend.
posted by jcummings1974 at 7:32 AM on May 12, 2006

I've also stayed in the Days Inn in Kitty Hawk, during the off season. There are a set of larger rooms that face the dunes that have a mini-kitchen. The rooms stank of cleaning chemicals, though. The room was cheap, and had no mold on the walls, at least.
posted by zsazsa at 7:59 AM on May 12, 2006

(by dunes I mean the little dunes that separate the hotel from the ocean)
posted by zsazsa at 7:59 AM on May 12, 2006

Elizabethan Inn is wildly inconsistant and needs updating. (I do confess that I have sentimental attachment to it, though.) Duke of Dare is, um, retro. The nonsmoking rooms are not so nonsmoking, and I would be very surprised to find a microwave or fridge.

(While in Manteo, make sure you check out the newly revamped North Carolina Aquarium.)

No specific recommendations for Nags Head/Kill Devil Hills motels, but you may have better luck with the small, independently owned places than the national chains.
posted by desuetude at 8:09 AM on May 12, 2006

If the Elizabethan Inn is the place across the street from the Weeping Radish Brewpub, we stayed there in '98 or so and it was fine then. They let us leave our car there for a week while we rode our tandem down to Ocracoke and back up the mainland. Oh, yeah, the beer was pretty good at the brewpub.
posted by fixedgear at 8:29 AM on May 12, 2006

How do I find those small, independently owned places? Any clues?
posted by amtho at 1:53 PM on May 12, 2006

Ten years ago I probably would have been able to give better advice. I've been vacationing in that area for almost thirty years, but my family has had a time share for over twenty of those years. A lot of places I remember have changed hands or been mowed down to build more condos. Oh my god this makes me sound old. This list has lots of names I remember. Do some googling. You can check things out on Trip Advisor. The hard part will be finding ones with a kitchenette -- it used to be pretty commonplace, but you'll have to call each place to find out, I bet.
posted by desuetude at 8:43 PM on May 12, 2006