by Wendy
Jack and I had our share of rainy beach days last year. It happens. Luckily, our trip to Duck, Outer Banks, in early July was almost 100% sunny.
Outer Banks in North Carolina is one of the most beautiful beaches within a 6 hour drive for us. Hatteras Island is one of Jack’s favorites, where we’ve rented houses previously. During this visit, we opted to stay for 5 days in The Sanderling Hotel in Duck. Beach hotels can be a gamble – but we felt like we won the lottery.
Our spacious room had a comfortable bed and large bathroom stocked with toiletries, bath towels and beach/pool towels. We had a little balcony with chairs, perfect for a pre-dinner drink. I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of mosquitos at that time of year.
The beach is a short walk away. If you call the front desk, they’ll send a staff member to meet you on the stairs leading to the shore, and then help set up beach chairs and umbrella. We noticed that the hotel’s team, from housekeeping to groundskeeping to front desk to restaurant and bar staff, were friendly and professional.
There are two pools – one all-ages and one “tranquillity” pool. There are fire pits where you can make s’mores (a complimentary kit was provided in the room). A spa with a range of services and treatments is located across the street.
We loved the beach bar and thought they did a great job with the standards – burgers and hot dogs, crab dip and French fries. The frozen drinks were refreshing on a hot day. There is also a kiosk nearby where you can rent sports equipment like surfboards.
We visited the on-site Lifesaving Station restaurant several times and tried breakfast, dinners and bar snacks. With the exception of a strangely executed dish of tuna on “warm” Niçoise salad – everything was delicious. We especially enjoyed the steamed mussels, loaded duck waffle fries and bloody mary shrimp cocktail. The hotel’s upscale restaurant across the street, Kimball’s Kitchen, was booked solid – but we rolled the dice and scored two seats at the bar in this stylish dining room.
As Jack says, beach weather can influence your perception of your hotel/house – when it’s sunny everything is fabulous and when it’s rainy you notice every flaw. This is probably true. We felt lucky that the weather was so nice, but we also think we can objectively say that The Sanderling Hotel rooms, grounds, spa and restaurant options were excellent. They definitely had their ducks in a row.