If you are a little wary of mom and pops motels at a beach you don't know then stay here. It is so nice. All rooms face the ocean, The staff is wonderful. Buy the package and attend the aquarium and have a free breakfast. Great place, good pool, good beach and they did not pay me to say this.

We stayed here for 2 nights on our way back from Savannah. Wished we would have booked the whole week. Room are ocean view and very nice. The had fireworks the second night right in front of our room. Again very nice.

My husband and 2 girls (12 & 13 yrs old) had a great 2 night 3 day stay at the Carolina Beach Courtyard by Marriot. We have stayed here in the past but this time we noticed that some things have changed. When we checked in there were fresh baked cookies and lemonade for guests - nice! My 2 girls took advantage of those treats. Saturday morning I went down to get a cup of coffee and was told it was now complimentary 24-7, where before I paid ~1.50 per cup and the daily newspapers at the front desk were free (if you got up early enough to get a copy) - Nice. Saturday morning I noticed some younger kids (7 to 10) yrs old coming out of one the ballrooms with some freshly made crafts but what a surprise it was at 3:00 when we saw the staff had organized an ice cream social with all the trimmings - NICE. I know for certain none of these things occured during the last trip to this hotel. I am not sure if it was just for the holiday weekend but it was a pleasant surprise.

Good Points: Great location, beautiful beach, very clean, schedule family events, chair and umbrella rentals available, complimentary coffee, indoor and outdoor pool, efficient elevators, security, helpful staff, close to a small boardwalk and other attractions, free daily newspapers (except Sunday), enough clean pool towels each time I needed them, and the room had a small refrigerator.

Not so good points: there is no sign to direct you into the hotel, the restaurant in the hotel does not have a big selection and when we did eat there for lunch it was almost an hour to get our food even though only 2 other families were eating, and the room did not have a microwave.

We ate at both Kates Pancake house (across the street) and Franks Pizza (on the boardwalk). They both had wonderful food that were reasonably priced. If you have the chance - try some of the donuts across from Franks's pizza, they are SO GOOD!

My husband and I went on a sightseeing trip to Wilmington May 13-16 but decided to stay in Carolina Beach and we were very glad we did. We are Marriott Rewards members and always try to stay at a Marriott when we travel.
Carolina Beach is about a 25 minute drive from downtown Wilmington. Maybe Carolina Beach peps up a little more in the summer but it was really kind of dead when we were there. However the Courtyard is a real value and the rooms are great! For three nights there we spent what we've spent on one night some other places we've stayed. Possibly the rates go up in the summer? All rooms are oceanfront with a nice-sized balcony with 2 chairs and a small table. The surf was really loud but the sliding door is very soundproof so you can barely hear the ocean with it shut.
Each room has a mini-refrigerator. We had a king bed room which also had a sofa, chair and the work table and swivel chair. There was plenty of room. The bathroom was also large.
The hotel itself has an indoor pool, an outside pool and a small fitness center. The hotel is right on the beach if you'd rather swim in the ocean then in the pool. We noticed the hotel set up umbrellas and chairs on the beach but we don't know if use of these was free or not.
There is also a restaurant that serves lunch and dinner and the typical Courtyard breakfast buffet. The hotel also seems to be a busy conference/meeting center.
I don't know if we'll ever get to that area again but we would definitely stay at the Carolina Beach Courtyard again. The area does have palm trees - evidently that's the furthest north you will see them.