I've owned a unit at the Whaler Inn for four years. I bought it sight unseen and have been absolutely delighted. It is an older property, with well kept rooms and furnishing. My balcony overlooks the ocean, and is a marvelous place for coffee in the morning and cocktails in the afternoon. It is literally steps to the water. The pool and jacuzzi are nice, the staff friendly. The property is far enough away from Emerald Isle and Atlantic Beach to be quiet and peaceful, but close enough to jump on a bike or get in the car for dining or shopping. The parking lot is a bit tight during busy weeks.
This is not the place to go if you're looking for glamour or excitement. But if you're looking for a comfortable, quiet, relaxing time at the beach, this is your place!

My family and I spent a week at the Whaler Inn and loved it! The staff was really friendly and helpful, our room was immaculately clean, and it was always very quiet there, even though the place was at capacity. We stayed in a cozy efficiency room and the staff provided absolutely everything we needed to relax and enjoy our stay, except clothes and food, of course. They even had a nice stash of rainy day stuff -- books, magazines, puzzles, games, etc. My son, who is 12, enjoyed the pool and game room, as well as the ocean. My husband and I enjoyed many hours just relaxing on the beach or on our balcony. It's a great place for families to stay!

The only real drawback we saw the entire week was the parking lot. It's very small and really can't be expanded. It was obviously designed for the smaller cars of the past, but with everyone driving huge SUVs today, it made for really tight parking and at times, it was tricky to maneuver our way in and out. But all the great things about this place well outweigh this minor inconvenience.

I'd highly recommend the Whaler Inn to anyone!

My family just returned from a long Easter weekend at the Whaler Inn Beach Club. Upon arrival, the property looked to be dated. However, when we entered our unit, we were pleasantly surprised. Our one bedroom, side unit had two double beds, a sleeper sofa, and two complete bathrooms (a nice addition for our family of five). The unit was quite spacious compared to others we've stayed in, and it also contained fairly new furnishings and kitchen appliances. No it's not the Hilton, but considering we only paid $112 a night to be right on the beach (our side unit was just a few steps away from the beach), it was a real bargain for most oceanfront properties. Another nice feature was the indoor pool and jacuzzi. We found the staff to be friendly and accommodating, especially when I left my key inside the unit and needed to be left in. They were prompt and asked no questions. The beach was uncrowed for this holiday weekend and was clean. We also liked the fact that we weren't right in the hustle and bustle of Atlantic Beach, but were close enough to drive there for shopping, traveling to the fort (this is a must), or visiting the towns on the mainland. We enjoyed our stay here and will return.

It is a nice place to stay and is more for people who like to own into a place. As I have been an owner of one unit for the past few years. The biggest problem that I have had was checking in. My unit was never ready for me when it was check in time. I waited this year for over 2 hours waiting and I did notice that all the house cleaning people did was stand around smoke, talk and it took 5 people to change a bag in a vacuum cleaner. And of course not the Inns fault but parents and their children, they were running up and down the halls knocking on doors. Parking very little and tight. More people not being courtesy and parking their larger vehicles where the designitated parking is. Otherwise its a nice quiet place to stay and I have enjoyed every bit of it after the initial check in.