Wild Horse Inn

Everything about this place is amazing! We loved the family atmosphere, the beautiful grounds, spacious room, cafe, food, drinks, coffee shop! I can't say enough about how much we enjoyed our stay! The family that owns the place makes you feel like a part of their family! I wouldn't go anywhere else!

To sum it up, this was a disappointing stay. I had high hopes for the Wild Horse after reading rave reviews and hearing local praise for what they describe as the “new kid in town”. I think the owners are trying - sort of - but in our case it just didn’t work out. Location: Depends on what you’re looking for. The Inn is very conveniently located near the 4x4 beach, historic Corolla Park, and public beach access. We walked to the Kind Cup, Whalehead, Currituck Lighthouse, the Maritime Museum, the local bookstore, and more or less across the road to the beach. These are easy walks for folks with good mobility, and all highly recommended. Within a 10 minute drive of other local restaurants and sights. It is located directly on a busy road and next to a gas station/post office, so not the most picturesque setting. However, walk around the corner or across to the public access and you’re in a different world. Room: We were told by a local that this building was supposed to be much needed dorm-style housing for local workers, but that permit got denied by the town so the pivot was to make it an inn. After staying in this room, that rapid shift rings true. This hotel looks like it’s made of cinderblocks, but has the thinnest walls I’ve ever encountered. We could hear *everything* going on in the adjacent room/bathroom, from the smallest cough, every word spoken, each movement - and I live in a large high rise so I’m accustomed to close, noisy neighbors. This is next level. I will say this noise came only from the adjacent room and not from above, but I’m not sure if that’s because the room upstairs was empty? This also made me paranoid about watching TV or even talking for fear of disturbing the neighbors, with whom we were essentially sharing a room. I was forced into my neighbor’s 8 AM Zoom meeting one morning, and you become overly familiar with their bladder and bowel habits. It’s horrific. Our room was very bunker-like, with one small window and no other light. Midges and flies are a problem in OBX, but the window has no screen. The decor is simple Home Goods-y beach themed, with an odd clunky furniture arrangement and a tiny closet whose door hits the front door upper hinge when opened. AC is good, also has a ceiling fan that is noisy at higher speeds. The bathroom has a barn door, not a true door, so if privacy is important there is almost none. This barn door still had the assembly stickers on it (“B3” “C2”). There are NO HOOKS anywhere in the room or bathroom so there is no way to hang towels to dry, very odd for a self-proclaimed beach hotel. I noticed a drying rack in the tiny closet, so I’m not sure if that’s the reason for the hook shortage but it drove me up a wall. I will say the shower is nice, with great water pressure. There is no way to wash your sandy feet off outside so everything gets coated in fine sandy grit, even though we were meticulous about removing our shoes and wiping our feet. Bed is OK, sheets are not