If you're looking for the perfect Carolina Beach stay, Hampton Inn & Suites oceanfront is tough to…read morebeat. The views are amazing. From the moment you wake up in an ocean-facing room to the fireworks every Thursday night in summer, you've got a front-row seat without even leaving the property. The tiki bar by the pool is a total win. Tasty drinks, good food, and that "vacation mode" energy, all just steps from the sand. Being right on the boardwalk means you can stroll to shops, treats, restaurants, amusement park and live music in minutes. A couple small misses kept this from being a perfect 5. We had to call for room service since they didn't automatically come during our stay, and the pool towel supply runs out fast. Definitely bring your own towels for the beach and pool. That said, the location, views, and laid-back vibes make this a spot we'd happily return to again and again.

The location is amazing. You walk onto the beach. Surrounded by bars and food, great for big groups.read more

Check in is done via email and when I booked through booking.com we asked to come an hour early due…read moreto my husband becoming ill during a camping trip. We received a reply of declined. I call and booking.com called them several times with no answer. Then at 7pm, I get an email apology and that they were still holding a room. They had just removed the decline at 7 pm. By then, with no additional funds, we had returned to the campsite and briefly stabilized my husband. After hours of being declined, they expected me to break down my campsite and move my husband again at 7pm. They are refusing to refund me for the error they made.

This hotel has gone drastically downhill since my last visit five years ago. What used to be a…read moregreat stay is now completely unsafe and unsettling. We could hear people fighting through the walls, which was scary and made it hard to relax. The main entrance was left unlocked all night, and there were no staff members or security present--just an overall feeling of being unsafe. To make matters worse, we just saw on the news that there was a shooting at this hotel, which sadly doesn't surprise me. Our group had multiple rooms and all showed signs of pets--hair, strong chemical smells clearly trying to cover up pet odors, and a general lack of cleanliness. There was no front desk, no amenities, and no one available to help or even answer basic questions. It's under new ownership now, and unfortunately, it shows. I would proceed with caution, but personally, I will not be staying here again.

(January 22 to 25, 2026 ) Photography by 3Spade7Star…read more@3spade7star_photography We were recommended to stay in the newly renovated room in this Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Carolina Beach. My husband was immediately impressed by the new renovations in our room and the balcony with an ocean view when he checked in the hotel early without me. The room we had was more spacious with more convenient or better amenities than the hotel we just transferred from in downtown Wilmington. We had a larger fridge in our room . A microwave was located at the ice machine room - a small walk away from our hotel room. The couch in our room converted to a bed. Looking at the bed in the couch you could see it was still encased in plastic & never used. My husband was very happy with the room and the beautiful ocean view from our balcony. It is the first time we booked an oceanfront hotel room in Wilmington, North Carolina. We always love visiting the beach even in winter weather - off season. The balcony was perfect for a private & quiet Christian memorial service for a loved one during sunrise at the beach. She had loved watching sunrises on the beach before she passed away. There were some difficulties experienced at this hotel, yet the stellar customer service from the staff overshadowed the obstacles we encountered there. Therefore, we are giving this hotel a rating of excellence especially in customer service. One of most accommodating & congenial staff at the hotel during our stay was Laney at the front desk. She was very professional, easy to communicate concerns with, and sensitive to the needs & the constant discomfort experienced by my husband on the day he could not get hot water to work in the shower. On top of that, we heard what sounded like construction work going on in the room above us around 7 AM in the morning. It turned out it was hotel guests above us. Luckily, they checked out that morning. My husband was getting irritated on our second day at the hotel and was going to have us relocate to another hotel if they could not get the hot water to work. We found out the whole hotel had no hot water when they let him have access to another hotel room to use the hot water there. The problem was finally fixed at the very end of the day. Laney listened to all our questions, concerns, & requests when we encountered the most obstacles in the hotel on our second day there . She communicated to us that she would resolve the problems we experienced in the hotel as quickly as possible and followed through with immediate action to ensure our hotel stay was above satisfactory. Despite being busy with hotel guests, she had a blanket and cleansing facial wipes personally delivered to our hotel room as I requested that day. Laney elevated our hotel experience that week from 4 stars to 5 stars. We had no more obstacles during the rest of our stay at the hotel. There was construction going on in the hotel but we never encountered any problems with it. We had peace & quiet, good sleep, stellar customer service, and a spacious nice new room with a balcony & ocean view. My most memorable and visual highlight there was just going out on the balcony to listen to the ocean and to see the ocean sunrise every day. It was pure magic. Cheers

Newly renovated room, and this still occurring currently at the hotel with minimal intrusion on…read moreyour stay. One of our best stays at a Marriott. Had some issues with hot water, but it was quickly fixed by management. To be totally honest, the room on this level takes over five minutes to get hot, and then there was no turning down the steaming hot water once it finally came. It was kind of annoying but maybe they can figure this one out still. Our view was gorgeous and room comfortable otherwise. Ice and microwave was conveniently down the hall by the elevator. Room comes with a decent size mini fridge. Laney, our receptionist, took great care and interest in our needs throughout our stay and followed up regularly to ensure we were well taken care of. Thank you.

Amazing experience and location! The hotel is being renovated, but still encompasses the Hilton…read morebrand. Oscar, the FD Manager, has impeccable customer service skills and made us and every customer feel like they were important. His smiles, kind words, and never making people feel like they were bothering him made the visit that much more pleasurable. Thank you Ocean Sands for making our stay memorable and pleasant to behold. Kathy and David

We had a wonderful time staying at the hotel…read more There are some small details to point out that will be beneficial for families staying but overall, it's well worth a trip here. To start on a positive, it has a very fun and funky vibe with a fantastic view. Our room overlooked the pier with a Tiki Bar. The Christmas lights were a nice touch. The hotel staff was very friendly and willing to assist and answer any questions. Nicole was kind enough to take time and show us additional rooms to help us better prepare for our next visit. While the family room boasts about having a bunk bed option, the upper bunk has a weight limit of 100lbs and unfortunately that left our kid unable to use it. The lower queen size bunk has a tv on the wall but you have to view the tv through the upper bunk bed ladder. It would have been a better function for our family if the upper bunk was not there. There is a lack of seating for the number of beds. The room has an oversized chair that converts to a pull out twin size bed but when used as a chair, was very uncomfortable. We doubled up the back cushions to sit on the chair. The dining table did have two dining seats so you could sit three people in the room when using the oversized chair. We plan on bringing additional beach chairs if we use this room option again. The lights are very funky and look amazing but they all point downwards. With every light on in the room, it still felt very dark at night. Visiting in the summer should not have an issue but it definitely feels dark in the winter time. While this sounds somewhat negative, there is a phrase "you get what you pay for" and for the price of the family room and the view, it is still a well worth option that just needs people to be prepared for the room type. We will opt for the double queen room for our next visit to have a full size couch when not utilizing the amazing surrounding area. Definitely check out this amazing hotel when visiting for the view, the friendliness of the employees and the price!

We stayed here for one night on our way to Virginia. The room was so tiny and the bar across the…read morestreet was so loud that it kept us up all night.

Love the Location! Nice staff and clean rooms. Walking distance to Seawitch to hear the band.read more

We stayed at The Lighthouse at Kure Beach for four nights in mid October. I like going to the beach…read morein the off season. The weather is still nice enough to enjoy the beach, the hotel deck and the pier. In narrowing down where we wanted to stay, it came down to who we are as vacationers. Even when at the beach we tend to spend quite a bit of time in our hotel, so it's more than just a bed to sleep in between activities, we want it to be comfortable and nice. The Lighthouse was perfect because it's just been renovated, is as close as you can get to the water, and depending on what room you choose, you can have an overview of the ocean. We chose the Grandview, and it was. I will mention there are residential homes right next to it but that was fine by us. I would describe our room as a lovely studio apartment with a massive bathroom. There's a pretty full kitchen, mini fridge, table to eat at, couch and very comfy bed. Now, the bed is very close to the kitchen but again, it was fine. The decor is trendy, grays and minimal. The dividers on the deck are sort of like shipping pallets hung vertically so you can certainly hear your neighbors conversations if they are out there. We didn't find this too distracting, just of note. Almost everything you could need is provided - dishes, coffee, towels, cooking utensils, microwave and electric stovetop. I mostly used the wine glasses. The outside areas of the hotel are also lovely. Potted flowers, fresh mulch and palm trees decorate the outdoors. There's a shower on the first floor to wash off and sand acquired at the beach. Even in off season there are a few walkable restaurants and of course the pier with a gift shop. The contact with management/owner was very easy and professional. You get a parking pass so you don't have to worry about street parking. We were on the third floor and I don't believe there is an elevator, just of note.

gorgeous! right across the beach. really well designed (love the renovations) and the bathroom was…read morehuge and clean. lots of towels and extras provided (we got a little tote bag with some snack bars and teas). we'll be back!

Pros: Great location in the Carolina beach, good price, and friendly staff…read more Cons: it's a typical beach inn so we didn't expect much but we called to see if we can check in early and they said it was really busy. When we got there on a Monday, there was only one other car in the parking lot. There's no housekeeping possibly because they said that they're being bought out. Next morning, we reported that the toaster and microwave didn't work. Toilet sink was clogged and it needs more toilet paper. Towels were really thin so we needed more but no one came so we had to call the number the office left posted on the door late evening. They came and left a bin full of towels and offered They have a kitchen but make sure to bring paper towel, salt, pepper and trash bags. It's a bit run down and don't expect workers until the transition is done. It needs upgrade desperately. We love to love it because it has such great potential esp in the summer but I don't think we'll stay again until new owners come in with some hospitality trained staff.

We chose this place due to its close proximity to the beach and the price. It is very reasonably…read morepriced for the area with a pool and decent sized rooms. You must know it is quite old and due to this, seems a little dirty and run down. Even so, some people may even think this is quite cute and enjoy its rustic features. We would stay there again as we had no problems with our stay.

Next year's prices are rumored to be in the neighborhood of $400 a night. Save yourself the money…read moreand rent a room at Hampton Inn on the boardwalk for less AND get free breakfast. So sad to see this place go downhill like this. We've been coming here for at least 15 years and will likely never come back. The new owners made some cosmetic changes, hired a hospitality company, fired all the original staff, some of which had been working here the entire time we've been coming, and raised the rates $120 a night. You can stay at the Hampton Inn for around the same price and get free breakfast, the ability to walk to restaurants, the boardwalk, or the amusement area. **Update: I added a couple of stars to my original review because the employees here are so friendly and welcoming. They have also been very attentive when we have had a need. The biggest detractor is the increased prices.

I would give service a negative star if I could! Unfortunately they have changed management and the…read morelevel of service and the building has degraded severely. We've been coming to this location for 5 years now and were shocked this year. When I booked there was an issue with their site and I was overcharged- they argued with me and said it was the correct rate and hung up on me. Two out of the four chairs in our room were broken upon arrival and they did not have any replacements nor offer any help so our family of 4 had to eat on the bed the whole week. The first day we checked in there were no towels, hand towels, or washcloths in the "clean" room. When we asked for some at the front desk first thing the next morning we were told there were none at all and they would have to wash some to bring to us later. We ended up having to go get them ourselves still... The stairs are incredibly slippery and in disrepair with nails standing up that injured my childs foot. My 65 year old father had a huge fall down the stairs after slipping and my husband also slipped on the pool stairs, not a coincidence theyre not well maintined. Majorly upset about the visit and Unfortunately probably won't come back after this even though it was our favorite place to celebrate my sons birthday every year. No one seems to have a clue who is in charge or how to respond to an issue with a customer. Management never called even though I left my number at the front desk on day 2 and said it was important.

Absolutely amazing location right on the beach. The pools and jacuzzi were nice and they did…read moreprovide a keurig with kcups. The staff was great, BUT it was DISGUSTING. The towels were just gross. One towel had a permanent black stain and the other had a giant clump of hair folded into it. Unfortunately, we didn't bring enough of our own, so we mostly air-dried. Our feet were blackened from the carpet, so we always had to wear sandals or shoes. The sliding door to the balcony was basically broken and wouldn't stay on track, so my boyfriend had to constantly fix it which isn't exactly relaxing. The bathroom and shower barely fit one. I'm so glad we brought our own blankets and pillows because the ones they provided didn't seem very clean. We drove twenty hours round trip from Cleveland, so we couldn't exactly pack up and leave and we weren't going to waste time looking for another hotel.

Nice unassuming motel! Why pay over $300 in peak season for a hotel you are just in to sleep!…read more This hotel has beach access and is less than a mile from the boardwalk. The rooms are clean and the air conditioning works too good! The staff is nice and accommodating.

So gross. Bedspread in closet was pee stained. Shower is third world country…read more Drapes aren't black out.

Picked up a reservation for the Starlite through USAA. Get there at 1AM after driving eight hours,…read moreonly to find the office closed, locked, lights off, and an emergency number posted on the door. Called the number multiple times, and never received a response. Went to a nearby brand-name hotel and paid twice the original rate so we would have a place to sleep for the night prior to a big competition. Now, the hotel is refusing to reimburse us, because of a no-cancellation policy. We didn't cancel, they did not make the room available to us! My goal in life now is to post review about this place every time they refuse the refund.