We left Ohio and headed for North Carolina July 30th and after a 14 hour car ride (that includes all of our stops to feed baby G), we arrived at my brother-in-law’s house! After spending a couple of days with them, we were on our way to Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach.
Summer Sands Suites is located in Wrightsville Beach, and a 2 or 3 MINUTE WALK to the beach. This could not have been more perfect for us since taking two kids to the beach requires lots of bags and towels and toys! Our GPS had no problem taking us right there. After we checked in and secured our keys, we headed up to unload quickly so we could go see the ocean for B, G, and I’s first time (Hubs has already been).
Being on the first floor we didn’t have a spectacular view (which would have been awesome for the evenings and early mornings) but the close proximity to the beach and to shopping and restaurants made up for it. We planned to check everything out during our 3 night/4 day stay!
When we opened the door to our room, we entered a sleeping area with PLENTY of room for the pack ‘n’ play and even our stroller (unfolded) at one point. Down the hall was the bathroom, and then the hallway emptied into the ‘living room’ area, complete with a small kitchen area, dining table, seating, TV, and a Murphy Bed.
The kitchen was fantastic! Full-size fridge and freezer (with an ice maker, and overflowing with ice when we arrived!), dishwasher, 2-burner cooktop, coffeepot, and a microwave oven that not only reheated food, but could actually BAKE. I had opened one of the drawers to find a casserole dish and a cake pan and didn’t think much of it until one night I was reheating some of our leftovers and saw just what the microwave oven could do. All this place needed was a slow cooker, and I could have moved right in!
The kitchen had glasses, plates, bowls, silverwear, pots, pans, and cooking utensils. For anyone who doesn’t want to spend big bucks on eating out their entire vacation, you could easily stop at a grocery store (there’s a small market down the street from Summer Sands!) and get all of the essentials. I liked that we were able to bring home our leftovers and reheat them when we wanted, and that the freezer was large enough for the ice packs we had brought for our small cooler.
The decor was calm and beachy and absolutely perfect. I LOVED the white cabinet there by the balcony, that’s where the TV was! Out of sight and out of mind because you really don’t need it when there’s so much to do and see! (Say hi to baby G in his car seat! We certainly did just plop him down and explore, didn’t we?! LOL)
The balcony overlooked the pool, and just beyond those building in the distance? The ocean! Between those trees and those buildings is a small one-way street, then you take a sidewalk in between the building, and it leads right to the beach!
See, there’s the ocean! As you get closer, the sidewalk turns into sand so you know it’s time to kick off the shoes and sink your toes in!
We absolutely LOVED our stay at Summer Sands Suites. Our room was clean, there was little noise from the pool (which was great!), and the closeness to the beach is FAN-FRIGGIN-TASTIC! We plan to go back, and I highly doubt we will stay anywhere else. Down the street is a Rita’s Italian Ice shop, the perfect cold treat (and dairy-free!) for the 90-some degree weather we had the entire week! Summer Sands Suites offers bike rentals, so if you want to cruise around and check out the sites, visit the front desk to learn more!
I’ll share more pictures of our vacation in another post. If you’re planning a visit to Wrightsville Beach and want to be close to the ocean, then check out Summer Sands Suites! You can also follow them on Facebook!
Our stay was made possible by Summer Sands Suites in exchange for a review. All photos and opinions are 100% mine (husband’s and children’s too!).