Carolina Beach NC – Golden Sands Motel

When I researched the possibilities for our stay along the North Carolina coastline near Wilmington, I chose an area a little off the mainstream with some separation from the city itself.  I’d looked at Wrightsville Beach but it was just a bit too city like for my taste.

So I settled on the town of Carolina Beach for our 3 night stay.  The next goal was to find a hotel or motel that was on the water but wouldn’t do too much damage to our wallets. (I’d much rather spend our money on a great meal or an attraction than on a fancy room to sleep in!) It helped of course that our visit was during the end of September.

 

I chose the Golden Sands Motel for our stay.  This motel is on the water and it only cost $119.00 per day plus taxes.  The rooms were clean and functional with no negative issues to report.

But one thing that no one can control is the weather!  Every day was more ominous than the previous one… This was the view from our balcony on the day we arrived.  The surf was pounding but at least it wasn’t raining.

The Golden Sands Motel has a decent sized outdoor swimming pool, a restaurant and a pier complete with a Tiki Bar.  As you can see by the pilings out in the ocean, the pier used to be much longer than it is now!  A storm came through some time ago and wiped out the original pier…  

These 2 photos are the views to the north and to the south as seen from the Golden Sands Motel’s pier.  Despite the weather and lack of sunshine a few folks were walking or relaxing on the beach…

This view is from the Tiki Bar looking back at the Golden Sands Motel.  The wind was howling but it was coming from the north so the bar was open on the south side and it provided a windbreak as well as an opportunity for an adult beverage.

Here’s the specialty cocktail menu from the Golden Sand’s Tiki Bar… We mostly stuck to the beer options…

Then we got off the pier and walked up and down the beach.  Bonnie, Bill and Laurie doffed their shoes and got a little wet.  At one point a couple of para-surfers demonstrated their skills in the high winds and matching surf.

Yup…you’re right.  Laurie took this photo of Bill, Bonnie and me on the beach.  Given the weather, it wasn’t worth it to me to take off my tennis shoes and get sand everywhere… I walked the beach too, above the surf line!

Later that night after we returned from a drive around the area and our evening meal, we took this photo of the Tiki Bar at night.  It was all lit up and looking very festive.  Someone was having a party!  The bad news is that the weather continued to go downhill, so our afternoon visit to the Tiki Bar was our one and only chance to relax by the ocean…

We liked the Golden Sands Motel… We’d booked rooms for 3 nights but as you will see, the weather got much worse and we decided to head back to East Tennessee a day earlier than planned.  We had no problem checking out early but I’m sure that the motel’s business took a serious dive due to cancellations…

The Golden Sands Motel is located at 1211 South Lake Park Boulevard in Carolina Beach North Carolina.  Phone: 910-458-8334.  Website: http://www.goldensandscarolinabeach.com/.  

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit to the beach!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave