Drifters Reef Motel

This hotel is by far the worst place we have ever stayed at. I highly do not recommend this place. The only reason why this place was an option was because of our two dogs. Parking here is a hell hole due to it having a restaurant on the same property as the motel. Not sure if they share the same lot, but it’s definitely an inconvenience for us paying guests to park far from our rooms. Room itself was okay. King bed, mini fridge and bathroom. The toilet stopped working at one point. We complained to the front desk about it and his response was «yeah I’ve been getting calls all morning about the toilets, I sent someone over». He wasn’t very friendly at all about it. He almost seemed irritated. The location is decent. Close to restaurants and the beach. Overall we are ready to ditch this place and go home. If it was possible to give this place half a star I would.

Room was clean.
Wished the colorful outside motif continued into the rooms.
Staff was nice.
(Review stars given based on my experience of the place & not made to compare with another lodging/​eatery establishment.)

When we got there, they told us it was the last room. We spoke to several other guest that checked in after us, and they told them it was the last room also. They would charge different amounts to each person, each time, the rate went up, up to $ 80 difference. They have 3 buildings. If you are black, they put you in the building that is the maintenance shed on the second floor. There was no latch, chain, or dead bolt on the room door, just the cheapest door knob from walmart. The TV was missing buttons, and I almost electroquted myself when I accidentally stuck my finger in the hole where the missing button was. The remote really didn’t work, so I had walk over and push buttons on the TV. Housekeeping kept trying to come in while we were taking a shower, and we requested a late checkout. It was really only 11:05 when housekeeping kept opening the door. There was no chain or anything on the door, so we couldn’t lock it. We checked out at 11:20, but it was not fast enough for housekeeping. The room was not cleaned well before we got there, becuase there was somebody else’s clothes in the room that they already left. The toilet holder was broken, so they just put the tissue on the back of the toilet. Half the stuff in the room was broken, and there was mildew on the floor, yes floor, in the bathroom. Make sure you wear shoes in the bathroom and shower. There was only one small window 2×3 in the room, and it had a window aircondtioner in it. The staff was not a friendly hotel staff. It seemed like we were bothering them everytime we needed something, or even when we wanted to check in. The only good thing about the motel was the location. Other than that, avoid the place at all cost.
#370

Stayed here bc a girlfriend of mine was going into labor, stayed two nights, first night was peaceful, second night I kept hearing people outside my door, car alarms, sounded like someone stomping above me. I go bit by a bed bug.
I didn’t see any other bed bugs. Also the do not disturb sign for the door kept banging against the door making it seem like someone was trying to break in

We checked the motel website a week before we left for our vacation to Carolina Beach and the price was $ 49 for a room. We arrived and the price was $ 59. My husband had his heart set on this motel because it looked so cute from the outside but I was against it to begin with (I thought it looked tacky). The manager was rude as soon as we walked into the door. She sneered, didn’t say hello or goodbye, and spoke with a very demanding, demeaning tone. She said she only had one room available on the 3^rd floor so we took it. We paid for three nights (no discount for multiple nights as many motels/​hotels do).
We returned to the lobby about an hour later because the manager didn’t give us a receipt. She acted annoyed that she had to get on her computer and print out a copy. All she said to us during our second trip to the lobby was ‘Here you go’ as she handed us the receipt.
The room was clean though outdated, and smaller than expected. The light in the bathroom only worked when you turned the air vent on. There was 1 ½ rolls of toilet paper, 2 thin bars of soap, two towels, 2 wash clothes and a floor mat in the bathroom but no shampoo and conditioner. The shower curtain rod hung from broken brackets and the curtain puddled in the tub to trip us as we showered. We had to grab the rod a few times when the curtain tripped us to not fall and then the broken rod would strain against the wall even more. Very unsafe.
There was a chain lock on the main door, no deadbolt, but the bathroom was right behind the main door so we left the bathroom door wide open as a blocker in case someone tried to break into our room in the middle of the night. (There were several rough, dirty-​looking men hanging out on the balconies when we arrived and the motel is next door to a late night sports bar.)
The motel website and brochure in both the lobby and room advertised free HBO and highspeed WiFi Internet. There were about 20 or so channels, most of which were black. One channel was in Spanish, there were 3 movie channels (one channel had no sound) and the rest were local channels. The Internet was through a service provider called Broadsail and was as slow as dial-​up. All the channels that worked were still fuzzy and grainy.
The bed was clean but very hard and uncomfortable, even with the thin mattress cover on it. The pillows were flat. The AC unit worked great – the best part of the room.
The walls were so thin that we heard our neighbors yelling at one another on the second night we were there but, other than that, it was peaceful.
After the second night, we decided to leave early because we didn’t like the motel and we ran out of things to do on our trip. We packed up the car and headed to the lobby to get a refund. The manager refused us a refund and acted very shocked that we wanted to leave her wonderful motel early. She offered us a one night credit for a free room that we had to use in three months but we told her we don’t live in the area and we couldn’t use it. She said there was a No-​Refund Policy but there wasn’t a sign anywhere in the lobby and it’s not stated on their website. We then told her we’d never come back to her motel and stormed out.
We returned to the lobby a few minutes later and asked why there wasn’t any shampoo and conditioner in the room. She claimed the customer has to ask for it before she lets the maid put it in the room. I asked why the Internet was slow, she said the provider was Broadsail (she refused to answer my question) and then I said there wasn’t any HBO. She said there is HBO and the channels are 6,7 and 9 (which were the grainy movie channels and one channel had no sound). When most people think of HBO, they think of a dozen plus channels with a menu guide. Lastly, I asked why there wasn’t a phone in the room and she said there aren’t phones in any of the rooms. That’s a lie because you can go online, see pictures of the various rooms and there are phones on the nightstands. Also, the brochure in the room said that you have to dial 9 to reach the lobby desk, which means there are supposed to be phones in the room.
We realized after a few nights that there were a lot of vacancies at the motel, yet the manager claimed she had only one single room left. Another lie. We didn’t ask for a new room because we expected all of them to be bad.
We stayed for the third night because we didn’t want to waste our money. The maid showed up at our door 2 hours later with shampoo, conditioner and fresh towels. She was very nice. We spent a few hours at the pool which was nice and clean but we abruptly left the pool area because a few perverted men watched us from the outside patio/​billiards room at the sports bar (The Lucky Pirate). The bar is just a few yards from the pool/​motel. The two businesses share a parking lot – that’s how close they are together – and it’s just not a safe environment.
We left on the fourth day as planned. The manager was nowhere in sight when we checked out.

I’m gonna give it 2 stars because it was cheap. Our wifi didn’t work and I complained several times. They never fixed it. Room was ok. Carpet was gross. The bed was ok. The shower heads are gross and full of mold

My experience here was horrible to say the least. I drove around for over an hour looking for a pet friendly hotel. This was our only real option. My dog doesn’t bark, or go to the bathroom in the house ever. I understand that hotels can’t pick and choose which animals are allowed to stay and which aren’t. So it was on to Drifters Reef. After the pet fee the hotel was $ 102 on a non-​holiday Wednesday. As soon as I walked in I wanted to walk right back out. There was a horrid smell coming off on of the beds. I calmed myself down, and decided to hit the pool with my boyfriend. As I attempted to enter the pool I was then informed that was pool was closed for maintenance and repairs (that would have been nice to know prior to paying). At this point I was furious and went to the office (keep in mind, I’d only been at the hotel about 20 minutes.) I was told there are absolutely NO refunds. They didn’t even offer to give me a discount.
So all in all
Smelly rooms
No towels, only wash cloths
No WiFi. However they give u the option of paying for internet
Rude employees
Extremely itchy bedspreads and sheets
The same exact picture on 2 different walls.
Non-​working pool.
About a 13 inch tv
The credit card machine was out of order so my boyfriend had to go to the atm and pay a $ 3 fee there and didn’t get it reimbursed.
I would never recommend this place. I would rather stay in central Wilmington to find a dog friendly place than come here again. If I could I would give them ZERO stars.

On a much-​needed couple of vacation days, I wanted to take my new convertible to the beach and didn’t want to spend a whole lot on lodging. I found Drifters Reef by surfing a popular online reservation site. I never made a reservation online, but it was a good thing: I called Drifters Reef directly in advance and found out about another room type for one person (didn’t appear on the third-​party online site), and at a much better rate. Score!
They are easy to find in Carolina Beach, and close to everything. The place is colorful, making it difficult to miss. The entrance area and lobby are colorful, and the staff super nice. Although the pool is a bit small, it’s the right size for this 57-​room property and it’s clean. The beach is within walking distance, as well as a variety of eating options, shopping, a theater, and the town’s «Brew Thru» (alcohol drive-​thru), although it’s so close I wonder if they’ll let you «Walk Thru»?
My room, a Single, wasn’t fancy but it was all I needed: clean, fridge, microwave, table and two chairs, TV with cable and remote, and clean bathroom. Their own sports bar, The Lazy Pirate, is a short walk across the parking lot and was very nice. The only things I’d change — but for $ 55/​night I wasn’t complaining — would be to replace the carpet, have better-​fitting sheets on the bed and an extra blanket, and larger and softer bath towels. The girl at the front desk had issues with the credit card machine, so I wasn’t able to get a receipt… I’m hoping I only got charged what I was supposed to.
I’ll definitely stay here again.
Tips: bring your own shampoo, conditioner and shower soap.

Ok for a budget hotel. No night stand lamps so you can read. Cigarette smoke from next door and balcony extensive. After all how much time do you actually spend in your room anyway???

I’m going to be optimistic here, giving them 3 stars as I teeter on the edge of thinking they may only deserve two.
Deciding at the last minute to extend our Memorial Day Weekend trip to the Wilmington area, we reserved a Sunday night room at Drifter’s Reef. It was the only affordable place that showed a vacancy online, and after our roach spotting at the Econo Lodge we figured it wouldn’t be that bad.
And it wasn’t. Not technically speaking. Here’s the deal:
Colorful, clean, kitschy registration/​lobby area. The super friendly woman, Shorty, at the front desk was awesome, speedy and clearly busy. Well, it was M-​day weekend. Small but nice enough pool for a budget motel by the beach. 5 blocks to the beach, btw, but that’s fine for the price.
Clean room — newly tiled floors, decent shower, clean bathroom, and relatively comfortable bed. Again, for a budget hotel. AC that worked, and a fridge that worked even more. TV — still no remote — what is it with my reserving hotels that don’t have remotes for tvs? — and some cable. Free movie rentals in hotel lobby. Pet friendly.
But wait — in our tidy little bathroom we found three sad little washcloths and no towels. They apparently were out at the time, and we had to keep checking back in until some clean ones were ejected from the dryer. Ok, maybe you should ensure you have more than enough towels prior to the inaugural summer weekend.
Seeing as it was a budget motel, there was an odd assortment of guests. Like the rednecks that sat outside our first-​floor room, parked in handicapped parking, grilling in the parking lot with their car stereo blasting. I mean BLASTING. But it was only 7 pm and we were headed to mini-​golf and dinner. Not our problem… then…
We had a good enough time until we tried to go to sleep. That’s when the rednecks kicked into full gear. I don’t know what they were doing, or where, but I do know that the noises emenating from the floor above ours would have given a gigantic herd of buffalo a run for their money. Short of holding an entire NCAA tournament that night in the room above ours, I’m not sure how they managed to make that amount of noise.
Sidenote: as I hover on the verge of changing my review to two stars, my bf comments that I should blame the hotel for the sh*tty floors in the new construction of this hastily– built new wing of the motel. And perhaps I am. But for now I’ll stick with the three stars, because they really did seem to put effort into making it a nice place on a budget.
If you want to be guaranteed a quieter night, ask for a room close to the office, or on the third floor. That way the herd of buffalo will have to pass under you.