I had planned a day trip to Hampton Beach a few weeks ago with a friend. After getting to the beach, I was happy to learn he wanted to stay the night. So we quickly left the beach and went to Little Jack's for lunch to see what was available, since the service on our phones was kinda bad at the beach, and I have grown to love Little Jack's as a kid while vacationing in the area every summer. So glad it's still there.
We found Sun & Surf Motel had a vacancy, so we booked fairly quick, since it was so cheap and they had like one or two rooms left. (And it was right across the street - awesome)
I'm glad we went to get gas and snacks and took our time because it was about 3pm (check-in time) when we arrived. I thought something was up when the lady checked the time a few times (they charge for early check-ins.) Actually, checking in was painless. However, she seemed annoyed and made it clear this was last-minute and she made it abundantly clear smoking is not prohibited IN the room, and there would be $50-$100 fee if any smell of smoke was detected. I assured her it wouldn't be a problem.
We got our key and headed to our room. The room was clean, on the small side but the AC was blaring, making the entry pretty nice. We went in and relaxed a little, then headed to Castaways just over the bridge for a drink and maybe an appetizer.
While there, I decided we should eat dinner (to save time since we were already out) and then check out the pool when we got back, since the water at the beach was freezing. Upon leaving, traffic was backed way the hell up going into Hampton Beach from the bridge, causing us to get back around 7pm.
We hurried back to the room to grab towels to head to the awaiting pool. Approaching the gate, which unfortunately had chains around it, I realized it was closed, I'm guessing for the night? OMG I was so pissed! So the guests seem to have a short 4 hour window to use the pool, if check-in is at 3. There didn't seem to be any "pool hours," but just a sign that said not to push the door. After our unfriendly check-in, I didn't dare "sneak" into the pool. But I gotta say, since it's summer, and the sun still being out, and the pool being closed, I almost wanted to just go in anyway!. Who does this? I guess since the "no vacancy" sign was lit, the employees decided to call it an early night and to lock up early? I paid double for the size of the room (website claims the rooms start at $85, but I'm not sure about seasonal rates, or if last-minute bookings aided to the price) but with the pool being locked up, and the office being closed, I felt "had." So needless to say, we went back to the beach and submerged ourselves into icy choppy water. (Which actually made for some breath-taking pictures of the beach)
I will say if you're looking for a fairly cheap room convenient to this side of the beach and if the pool hours don't matter to you, then this place is for you. I will say upon arrival, I felt like we were putting the lady out. Most places are happy to have full rooms - this place, not so much.
After tooling around the town a little bit, we saw other places (vacant or not, more expensive or not) that we would go to next time, where we could get a balcony, that probably had longer pool hours, and displayed.
If the woman seemed just a little more cheery, either yesterday upon check-in, or check out this morning, I would've overlooked the whole pool thing and would've been happy. read more