Elizabethan Inn

I stayed over the July 4 holiday weekend. I have to say I really enjoyed the brand new renovated room they put me in. I was extremely happy that every time I asked housekeeping for additional towels they had no problem bringing them up to me and cleaned my room whenever I asked. I also really enjoyed the movie nights that were offered Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. It gave us an opportunity to enjoy the little town during the day and have a Patriotic movie To match the holiday theme The large screen made it feel a drive-in theater. On days we we didn’t feel like exploring the town we were able to enjoy their beautiful outdoor pool.

The Hotel Manteo is the new name of the refurbished Elizabethian Inn in downtown Manteo, NC. (SAGA, a notorious land dealing company in the Eastern NC Coast area, is the new owner.) I have stayed in this establishment both before and after the renovation. Here’s my 2 cents worth: The Elizabethan Inn was, frankly, a dump. You only stayed here if you were deep sea fishing and needed a cheap one night stay. There were holes in the walls, rust in the sinks and toilets and rank carpeting from dirt and pets. (Pets are still allowed). Now, the renovations make it less disgusting, but they are the kind of renovations you do for a rental home- floors that aren’t correctly adhered, paint lines that aren’t crisp, good quality fixtures, but cheap plumbing and wiring. The electric touch point vanity mirror was puzzling, as was the beautiful shower stall and rotting bathroom door. The bedding was cloud perfect, the mattress was wonderful and I enjoyed my stay- but this was not in any way a luxury room worth $185/night. I was in town for the Wings Over Water Festival, and spent most of my stay in kayaks, on hiking trails and in wildlife preserves. The hotel is centrally located for OBX activities. The only true complaints I have are that the maid/cleaning staff are prone to forget that there are people in rooms during cleaning hours, and the amount of profanity (particularly the F-bomb) that came out of their mouths while speaking to each other or their friends on speakerphone while they worked was alarming- and I’m a retired middle school principal. The second- completely minor complaint was that the channel changing button on the tv remote was broken. (I left a note.) Bottom line- it was acceptable- but overpriced. I slept well, and was comfortable. There was a fridge, microwave, coffee maker, hair dryer and sound machine available for use. The texts from the main office made check in a breeze. Will I return? Not if I can book a nice bed and breakfast at the same price point.

1. Higher than most hotels on pet fee of $50. 2. The room was NOT clean! When we went to the office to complain, we were handed a broom and dustpan. A maid unable to speak English was later sent, but she didn't do much other than yell at me calling me "Mama", talking over my attempts to show her what needed to be done. a. The floor was not swept or mopped. See photo of what I swept up in just a portion of the room. More dirt was swept to the outside through the door. b. The room was very dusty on furniture, microwave and bathroom counter. The maid that came, did quickly do that job. c. The toilet was very filthy. The maid did swipe clean the poop splattered inside of the toilet, but left the seat, rim, and base of toilet for me to clean. See photos. It is my guess that the construction workers were using this toilet. 3. We had no wifi access in the room, only in the lobby 4. Just frustrating querks: a.The outside light made the room light all night because there are no curtains. The blinds weren't light blocking. b. The toilet room section is poorly designed where you can't shut the door once seated. The space is very tight. Also, the very loud fan is automatically connected to the one light switch. If you don't like the noise, go in the dark. c. We only had one coffee cup for 3 guests. 5. There was no management available on site. When written after stay, no response from Manager. Would you like to pay $180 (with pet fee) for a one-night stay on a Thursday and have to clean your room? Any compensation would be appreciated.

Suffice it to say I was impressed! It wasn't just "one thing" that was wrong with the hotel but a laundry list. 1) Upon check in I was directed to building 3. I attempted to follow their directions but couldn't find building 3. I was told I should have followed a tiny little road which was hard to find. I had no idea that the "hotel" was comprised of three distinct buildings. 2) After attempting to find #3 I asked if they could provide a room with an inside entrance. They agreed and placed me in a room 2 doors down from reception. Don't know why they didn't provide that room at the outset. 3) Entered room 117 to me meet with a extremely strong odor...as if someone had gone overboard with disinfected 4) Needed to contact the front desk for directions on the blinds and the remote. Successful instructions were given for the blinds but even after an employee came to my room, none were given for the tv remote 5) They indicated they had room service yet no QR code or menu was in the room. 6) Wanting room service I attempted to contact the restaurant via the room's phone...it didn't work. 7) Contacted the front desk who gave me the number of the restaurant. I dialed it and it rang for over 5 minutes until I was disconnect. 8) Contact the front desk who said they would have the restaurant contact me which they did. I asked about what they had regarding a burger. Was informed they had a "mash burger" but the restaurant staff member was unable to tell me its ingredients. I then asked about the size of pizza's they had. The response I received was a listing of pizza types...mind you, I didn't want ingredients but sizes. They had only one size (10"). I ordered a cheese pizza that arrived pretty quickly but was edible but nothing worth writing home about. 9) On my last night I wanted to fill my water bottle with ice. Not being able to find an ice machine I visited the front desk for directions. I was informed that THE ice machine was in building 3...not ion a different floor in the building but in a totally different building...the same building I couldn't find upon my arrival. 10) Upon check out yesterday morning (~6AM) I had to walk through cigarette smoke to enter the lobby. The source of the smoke was the person managing the front desk who asked if I wanted to check out. At 6AM I just want to check out and be on my way. The desk person wanted to engage me in an endless conversation about my backpack and then talked me through everything she was doing to generate a receipt. 11) A couple parting thoughts...the phone that wouldn't work was attached to a wall away from the beds. Not a huge deal but what were they thinking when they put it there. Another thing I found strange was the fact that my room had two doors...one exiting to the parking lot and another to an interior corridor. Never saw anyone associated with housekeeper during my stay and had no housekeepers come to service my room. I was at this facility 8/21 through 8/

This hotel accommodated our group of over 50 guests during 4th of July weekend and provided a wonderful experience. The rooms themselves were very comfortable and clean, air conditioning worked great, and the water pressure in the showers was fantastic. The restaurants located on the premises was very nice. The hotel arranged for an outdoor movie screening with pizza available from the restaurant while we were there and this was really enjoyed by all. Staff are friendly and flexible. Plus the rates are very reasonable given the location. Highly recommend this hotel!

I absolutely love the Hotel Manteo! The updates are incredible and the staff is just the sweetest!! The location is ideal for exploring Manteo and it’s a quick drive to the beach. I also love that there is a restaurant on site. The food is soo good and the atmosphere has a great vibe. We had an amazing time and will be back next Summer!