The Winds Resort Beach Club, Ocean Isle Beach

Its not a resort. Its a bunch of old run down beach houses connected by a garden walkway. Location: Ocean Isle has to be one of the most redneck areas between Myrtle and Wilmington. All the places to eat were horrible with the exception of Causway Gourmet. The only people who get suckered into this area are from Canada or England. Thats only because the marketing and photos are very very good. They suckered us. Hotel: There is a reason all the pics are of the pool. The facility is a bunch of beach houses from the 70's in dire need of upgrade and repair. EVERYTHING is run down, rusty and rotted. No ATM and Nothing in walking distance. parking is terrible. Rooms: Like stepping back in time. Old school TV, plastic sheets on the bed that make you sweat when you sleep, Bathroom mirror sets back so far behind the sink you can't barely reach it, and don't expect to shave in the shower girls, there is not enough room to even bend over. I could have stayed at the Marriott or Hilton for what they charge for these rooms. Positive: It is close to the beach if you have kids. Though I was not cool with people fishing where the kids swim. Staff at check in were very nice, but so are hungry panda bears :-) Google earth this place!!

This was our families first trip to the beach and to Ocean Isle,NC. We were very disappointed with the accomodations which is explained below. When we arrived at the Winds , I was not impressed, the gardens, which I am sure were once very beautiful, were overgrown, unattended, and the water fountains were not functioning and contained dirty water, which is a wonderful breeding ground for mosquitoes. The entire area did not smell like the ocean but like sewar.The service was great, the staff were friendly,and housekeeping did an excellent job cleaning our rooms each day, but this is not resort quality and not worth the money we spent. The kitchenete was OK, moderately stocked with cooking and eating utensils, but very dated. The bathrooms were very tiny and cramped and the lighting in the small bathroom was very poor. The public breakfast area was tight and the tables in the outdoor dining area were dirty and it didn't look like anyone took the time to wipe the tables or arrange the tables and chairs in a manner that looked inviting. The pictures were deceiving, probably taken many years ago after the resort was built or newly updated. The Winds needs updated and maintained, some of the maintenance would be very simple and very low cost.. At night, there were huge cockroaches running everywhere outside - I did not see any inside the rooms but it was repulsive and my girls were petrified. I have never seen a cockroach of that size in my entire life - very disgusting. The air conditioners and circulation fans were so loud in the room that you could hardly think or sleep. Our linens and sheets were satisfactory, but I would not let my girls walk on the carpet without their flip flops. It felt dirty/greasy on my feet, probably would do better with ceramic tile in a beach area. The room also had a musty odor that was really noticeable each time you entered and the continual running of the dehumidifier added to the noise of the room. We were on the upper level so we did have a nice view of the beach but the windows needed cleaning and were smeared with many handprints, etc.I can't believe that we saved our money for our first beach vacation and the resort was very dated, unkept, and poorly maintained. If we had been closer to home or knew the area, we would have left and looked elsewhere. We just wanted our family to enjoy the beach for their first time. I would rather make reservations at the Hilton and drive to the beach than to stay on the beach for an ocean front view and have this type of accomodations. My family and I would not return to this resort or rather should be called a vacation place. It is not by any means of resort quality.

We checked out and stayed elsewhere...Place used to be very good but not anymore. needs lot of maintenance and update of room furnishing. Beds are old, Furniture is worn out. Be careful with ocean view You may have to look around palm trees to see ocean. This is not a Resort. You will find cheap towels, sheets,Bedding and paper plate for breakfast. Staff is very nice and courteous but not efficient like resort. We found big mold above Shower and Air condition had creepy stuff inside vent...we decided to leave and stayed at another place. Garden was beautiful but not kept well... Breakfast was OK but not worth what you spend here $wise.

Ocean Isle is known to be a pricey place to stay. We just returned from The Winds, and as others stated the online photos inhance what you are getting for your money. The breakfast was the best thing, and pretty much things went downhill from there. This hotel needs alot of updates. Breakfast, free bikes are the positives. Reminded me of some of the older hotels I stayed in at Myrtle beach years ago as far as the wicker headboards, old table & chairs, and the view was of some shrubbery and trees, not of the island. Check around, we stayed in a 4 br villa in May that was great on Ocean Isle!!!!!!!!

I would not book this hotel for anyone. It was a dump! Please remember that the computer can make pictures look wonderful when really they aren't. The stove in our place was a fire hazard. The sheets were stained with body fluids. Very disgusting! The room was tiny and for a cheaper prize we rented a condo much larger and nicer. I'd say this is the way to go. There are plenty of realtors in this area. We found a place on July 4th weekend. Much better than the Winds Resort Beach Club. We've stayed in many places, but this one tops the worst.

We decided at the last minute to stay in a different place for my birthday weekend. So I went online and booked The Winds, not knowing anything about the place. We were not disappointed at all. The place is so peaceful and the staff was great. The pool area is just beautiful. I hated to leave but will definitely stay again.

We found this hotel googling online and made a reservation just half a day before our 4 day vacation started on the 15-th of September, 2007. Our overall experience was very positive and we would recommend this hotel for those who want to get some quiet rest and enjoy the life near the ocean. Many thanks to all the hotel personnel for making this happen. I am not sure that $250 per night is the right price for the 2 bedroom suit we rented: especially we did not like the noisy air conditioner units in the rooms. Fortunately the nights at this time of the year were quite cool so we turned off the AC and enjoyed our time there very much: friendly and helpful staff, tasty food, quiet rooms with ocean view - and all this is just 10 driving hours away from our intense life of software programmers in Princeton, NJ. We were swimming in the ocean almost all the time. The water was warm and quiet - all what we needed. To our surprise all the rooms in our hotel were occupied. At the same time the most of other houses around were available for rent: they looked dark and empty in the night.

I loved my stay at The Winds. We planned to get married on the beach right behind the hotel, but the weather had other things in mind. The hotel staff was very helpful though, and oferred us a full service kitchen/living/patio area for the day so we were able to get hitched without any more hitches! Granted, it was before the busy season & they may not have been able to save the day if they were booked up, but for me, they were everything I needed and more than I expected.

We stayed at the The Winds Resort Beach Club the last week of June 2007 and were deeply disappointed. We rented a three bedroom “ocean front” unit on the second floor of the East building. What we actually rented was a two-bedroom and a one-bedroom that were connected with a doorway. True, our unit faced the ocean, but there was a very limited view through a hedge. This is not a resort in the true sense of the word. In fact, management should remove the word “resort” from its name in that it is misleading. We were new to North Carolina and came upon this place doing an internet search using the terms “North Carolina” “beach” “vacation” “resorts”. We wanted a full service resort with all the amenities and were prepared to pay for it. In fact, we forked over about $3,800 for the week. That seemed steep, but based on the portrayal on the thewinds.com, website we were convinced this was a luxurious resort with all the amenities. It was far from it. The Rooms According to the brochure in the room The Winds originally opened in the late 1960’s and it shows. The rooms are motel/efficiency style with loud, noisy air conditioning wall units. The rooms are so dank and moldy that management has placed portable dehumidifiers in each room. (We had to empty these ourselves.) The furnishings are soiled and worn. Housekeeping needs improvement. Our first day we had to call about the cleanliness of the room. There was literally a box of Chex Mix spilled by a previous guest between the sofa cushions. The head of housekeeping was apologetic and took care of it. However, what appeared to be a smashed Skittle candy remained attached to an end table throughout our stay. We believe a resort should change the linens each day. Our beds were simply “made” each day. At night, while sitting outside our room, we noted large cockroaches entering the Housekeeping closet. This happened twice and totally grossed out my son. While I was outside the room attempting to get wireless internet access, a cockroach ran up my leg. I nearly dropped my laptop off the railing. The Pool The website depicts three pools. The main pool is small and quite dirty. There are no lifeguards and apparently no one in charge. While swimming with my son on our second day at The Winds, I watched as a boy urinated in the pool. His mother asked him if he was done and he replied “not yet”. We watched as the water turned visibly yellow and the pungent smell of urine wafted from the water. We exited the pool rapidly never to return. The Beach The beach should be entered in to the Guinness Book of Records as the “World’s Largest Ashtray”. Everyone here smokes cigarettes and they use the beach liberally to extinguish them. We did not see any kind of beach maintenance and walked by the same discarded bottles for days. The Staff We found the staff to be indifferent; not what you would expect at a resort. On two occasions we asked about restaurants and local shopping. Two different employees at the front desk seemed a bit annoyed by our questions. When we inquired about directions to a food market the employee seemed bothered. The Restaurant The hotel offered a complimentary breakfast buffet. However, no other meals were offered except for bar fare at the Tiki Hut. Again, this is supposed to be a resort? Other There were no water activities and no tennis. Again, very strange for a place that bills itself as a resort.

We stayed in 414 East Winds and had a relaxing time. This oceanside room has great views. Had one cloud free morning and the sunrise was spectacular. Very comfortable bed and pillows; towels were thick. Their free breakfast is better than most hotels I've stayed at. There is no elevator - wish we packed smaller suitcases to carry up the stairs. Quiet resort and beach - great for shelling and walks. There are loads of shells on the beach. Definitely NOT a place for college students looking to party. Tiki bar had great fruity drinks but they were $6 each, which I thought a little expensive. Would visit again.