Blue Heron Motel, Nags Head

The Blue Heron Motel -- it was the "motel" part that scared me. My wife and I went for Memorial Day -- just hitting peak season rates. $133 for a King bed room, with fridge AND microwave was worth it though. The motel is right ON the beach -- or as close as you can get without climbing on the sand dunes! It's centrally located on 12, a stone's throw from restaurants (like Sam & Omie's -- great seafood!) and fun. We were worried about the smell of smoke but the room was totally clean. The only thing about motels is that they don't change the sheets each night! The rooms might be a bit outdated, but it's a BEACH MOTEL. Everything was clean, the cleaning and front desk staff were friendly, and we had a blast. We didn't swim at any of the 3 pools, but others did. We were fixated on the beach! They had an ice maker (handy for a small cooler for the beach) at the ready and soda machines too. Food Lion was about 2 miles down the road. Each room has their own private balcony, which is great! Be sure to close your door and curtains in the morning if you don't want the sun rising, literally in your face. We slept with the back door open and woke up to grand sunrises each morning! It did tend to get a bit noisy, but nothing that was the Heron's fault! I would ask for a room on the 2nd or 3rd floors (we were in room 15). If you are bringing bikes, like we did, it might be worth it to stay on the first floor so as not to have to haul them up 3 flights! Overall, you can't beat the location, or the price!