Shell Island Resort

Can’t beat the setting — oceanfront, minutes walk to beach, convenient parking, clean and quiet beach. Price was typical of other places in the area. Sunset over the salt marshes, sunrise over the beach. easy drive to restaurants

this is probably my favorite hotel in Wilmington/​Wrightsville beach. the pools are nice and it’s right on the beach! the staff is extremely nice and cracks jokes! the houses around the resort are very nice. I like how you can rent bikes right at the resort! oh and the parking garage is very helpful! I didn’t like the fitness room though. it was very very small and had 2 exercise machines.

I was here a few years ago and really enjoyed my stay. I was eager to return so was willing to pay the $ 260 a night plus resort fees. Sad to say I was very disappointed. There is a general feeling of uncleanliness. Start with the large windows in the hall that are there to enjoy the lovely beach or surrounding marshes. However they are too dirty to really do so. I was traveling with friends both of whom talked about how dirty their bathrooms were. Every day I had to request housekeeping because they did not visit the room until late afternoon. But on my last day the front desk called me right away when I was 15 minutes late checking out because «housekeeping needed to clean the room right away.» The only reason the hotel gets two stars instead of only one is the excellent friendly staff.

Had a top floor view of the ocean and a very clean room. Friendly staff and other words a good hotel and Resort visit as far as location and staff.
Cleanliness however was lacking. The glass on the upper floors was obviously not cared for as often as needed and caked in layers of salt and spray that need washing. It makes it difficult to appreciate a view is its through hazy glass.
Wait staff in the restraunt café were friendly but service did take a few minutes longer than expected for 2 tables in the evening.
My biggest issue however was the Internet service. I was on a working vacation and limits of 4mbps are unacceptable. If someone from time warner cable can reach out and assist this complex in boosting their capabilities from 4mbps to something more respectable for the day and age in sure I would give a 4 here.

Dirty rooms & rude staff!!! Horrible experience!

We had our wedding at Shell Island this past Monday and it was absolutely gorgeous! Alex was our wedding coordinator and she was wonderful, extremely helpful, and always there to answer my thousands of questions. The rooms are spacious with a view to die for. The Oceanview Ballroom is spectacular. The food was awesome and the service from James and George was even better. The prices were also extremely reasonable. We searched every beach from NC and the way down to GA and Shell Island had the best prices that was actually on the beach.
I highly recommend Shell Island for any ladies looking for wedding venues, or even for anyone looking for a good vacation spot!

Long waiting time our room wasn’t ready until a two hours after check in. Check in was at 3 and didn’t get room util 5. Was given 2 drink vouchers but from a limited list. Not a resort just another slimy hotel.

The best thing about our room was the view. We did not get a resort vibe at all.

I don’t recommend staying at this hotel, it is very disappointing.
Pros:
Beautiful view from the top floors. Free WiFi (although somewhat slow). Indoor and outdoor pools (a bit small) and a spa tub (very small).
Cons:
–Construction all over building. We changed rooms and were will awakened by noise from construction work in hotel both mornings we stayed.
— First room’s shower head had extremely high pressure, so that it hurt to shower. Second room’s shower head pressure was extremely lower than normal.
— When we ran faucets in bathrooms and kitchen, it reeked of sulfur. Showering was almost unbearable due to the stench.
–Food from hotel restaurant was not good. The meat in my toasted sandwich (ham and bacon wrap) was cold and the meat in my husband’s sandwich was hard and dry (Philly cheese steak).
–Cleanliness was questionable. There was a dead mosquito left on ceiling in second room in which we stayed.
–Spa tub broken and could not be used. It also looked very small, as did the pools.
–When we asked to speak to manager both days, we were told manager was not in and could not be reached at that time and were given the managers business card and told to call to speak with the manager at a later time (convenient for them since most of their business is traveling and will not be staying in the area for very long).
–We were also told that are stay could not be discounted due to us having booked the reservation online (even though we chose the «pay later» option during checkout online and payed cash at the hotel). The only compensation we could have received was a discount if we wanted to stay an extra night.
–The price would have been quite reasonable if I hadn’t had such a negative experience, but considering everything, I feel like I paid way too much for the quality of the stay at this hotel.
I will never stay at this hotel ever again. The only thing good about the hotel is the ocean view, but it’s not worth all of the other negative experiences that I had at this hotel.
Unfortunately, we can’t post reviews that include room rates, insults or profanity, personal details, website addresses or phone numbers.
My husband and I stayed a total of 2 nights during the beginning of January 2016 (checked in early on Thursday and out on Saturday). Both rooms we had were on the 9^th floor.

Views are amazing. Staff very friendly. Room not so clean. Soap dishes not clean in bathrooms. Coffee maker doesn’t work. Extra blanket in closet covered in hair. Dirty dishes in cabinets in kitchenette. Not worth the money paid. Can’t log into WiFi.

You want wifi? don’t come here
You want a door that opens when you slide the key card without fail? Then don’t come here (we have seen multiple people with this problem)
You want a stove top that works so you can cook? Don’t come here
Views are great, rooms are clean enough.

My husband surprised me with a night away for our anniversary but we did not get anything near what we expected for the price.
Shell Island calls itself a «resort» but nothing about the place felt resort-​like, including the motel type entrance from outside. It’s nice that every room is ocean facing and the views of the ocean are always beautiful, however it was not pleasant to sit on the balcony to enjoy because of the overwhelming smell of fried food coming from the restaurant. Even in the morning I tried to enjoy the sunrise, however being on the second floor all I heard were the two staff members walking around complaining about their job.
Little things really lowered my opinion of the place. When coming off the beach, for example, Shell Island offers you only a garden hose (leaking, with a hole in it) to rinse the sand away.
Our room itself was sub-​par. Although it looked nice at first arrival, the toilet had towels in it (presumably from the cleaning crew) and when I went to shower the curtain rod fell down on me.
With other nearby options such as Blockade Runner right down the street, I will never stay at this place again.

We were OVERCHARGED. I was quoted one price then at checkout, I was forced to pay another price. When I tried to resolve the issue and provided documentation, the manager made my 9 month old daughter and my wife cry. Avoided Expedia calls for 4 days straight then flat refused to resolve the issue with an Expedia manager. STAY AWAY!!!

Really enjoyed our stay here. Great for a family beach retreat. Stayed on 9^th Floor– clean and fabulous view of Atlantic Ocean. Indoor pool was a hit. There is also an outdoor pool and they rent beach chairs, umbrellas and bikes! Ate breakfast here and one dinner. Made to order waffles and omelette. Food and service were great!

We really enjoyed our 2 night stay at Shell Island. You cannot beat the oceanfront views; when the weather wasn’t the best, the kids enjoyed watching dolphins swim by! We loved the indoor pool as well.
Our suite was newly carpeted and had beautiful décor. The sofa bed was comfy… the mattress came with an inflatable topper that made for a great night of rest. We had a full size fridge and all new appliances. The TVs were LARGE and great for watching the NCAA tournament.
Staff were friendly and helpful at every turn. We’ll be back!

Great place to stay and relax. We had two wonderful nights here with my boyfriend; I would strongly recommend it as a romantic or family weekend gateway. The beach was extremely clean, the location is great (at the end of the Island, which offers a great and clean view). The suite we had (504) was exceptional! Great view, furniture… lots of space and very relaxing. The pool was OK, a little small in high seasons i’m assuming, but we did not have this problem since we it is still low season. The people at the reception are every helpful, the housekeeping staff is very friendly and smiling too. The price was very reasonable for what we got. Unfortunately, we did not try their restaurant or bar.
The only drawback is that there are no food shops nearby nor a bar, you will need to drive but the area is absolutely gorgeous, great options 10 – 15 minutes away. Also, try the Bridge Tender for restaurant, the best we have seen there!

Rooms are dated but clean. Service was slow at best. The food at the attached bar and grill was good, but the service was slow there as well. Definitely not my top choice of places to stay when I come back to this town.

First of all, I honestly don’t know why this place is considered 3 ½ stars on the booking sites, as compared to 3 stars for the Holiday Inn or Blockade Runner (both of which are nicer imho).
That being said, this is a perfectly okay 3 star (albeit an expensive one!) At half the price it would have been quite good. At over $ 200 a night, it was very over-​priced for this gal. They can get the high rates due to location and the fact that there are very few hotels on Wrightsville.
Important part: Our room was like a small apartment! Fully-​equipped kitchen, living room, deck, king-​size bedroom with TWO bathrooms. One with a tub/​shower, and one without. By far, my favorite part of it… his and hers reading rooms! Seriously, you could move in here if you could afford it! View… fabulous! How nice to be right on the beach. (again, you’re paying for it!)
Less favorable: The public areas… well-​worn, not too clean. When we checked in on a Friday night there was a good puddle by the front desk. I know, it’s the beach, there’s WATER, but this was a considerable amount and it was not inviting.
Also not favorable: It’s a motel, not a hotel in that rooms are accessed from the outside. Not quite what I expected from what was considered to be 3 ½ stars. Parking is free in a less than desirable deck. There didn’t appear to be any way out of it other than to walk down. (stairs? elevator?) Certainly don’t mind walking it, but it’s not the safest thing to do if you’re alone at night or concerned about cars seeing you. We even heard a woman in the lobby that night yelling at a man about never touching anyone in a parking deck.
There are two elevators. Fairly old, fairly slow. Pools looked okay, nothing special. We didn’t have time to check them out.
Beach is, of course, beautiful and it’s awesome that all the rooms are ocean-​front.
Check-​in and check-​out were cumbersome and felt like they were struggling with the computers or not liking what they were seeing. Couldn’t tell for sure.
Restaurant was okay (I reviewed that separately). Thumbs up for bar service both inside and out.
Overall for a «resort» it lacked a resort feel imho.

I did not even know this resort existed until I attended a wedding in Wilmington in May. The wedding was on the beach, and the reception was held here so I went ahead and booked a room so I didn’t have to drive too far after the ceremony.
Unfortunately for the wedding, there was a HUGE soccer tournament happening in Wilmington the same weekend so most of the other hotels filled up fast — I didn’t see anyone in the resort staying for the tournament, but it did affect part of the bookings I think (just people panicking and getting rooms last minute wasn’t a good idea).
It was a two night minimum stay which wasn’t bad (since it’s the beach). Checked in Friday… afternoon… ceremony was Friday followed by the reception.
Overall the room we stayed in was just newly redone. New furniture, fresh paint… super nice. The only complaint I had was the water… sulfur water… pretty nasty in itself. Don’t forgot the bottled water here! Especially after a night of drinking and you forget about the tap water being the way it was. Also, after taking a shower, you kinda smelled like rotten eggs… but whatever, it was the beach!
The resort is located at the end of the drag so it was super private… just a pain to get to when there was traffic. Took a run on the beach the day after the wedding down to the pier and back was about 4 miles…

We have stayed at the resort on three separate occasions. This location is one of my families favorite places to visit and we just love the beach area! The resort is well maintained and we have always been impressed by the friendliness and willingness of the staff to make sure you have a pleasurable stay.
In each of our stays we have had beach front rooms and each room had a great view of the beach area. The layout of the rooms that we have stayed in had 2 double beds in the main bedroom with the main the living area having a pullout couch and kitchen. The kitchen has a stove, refrigerator and microwave. The rooms have both a full and half bath but the rooms could be bigger for the cost. Not sure I would recommend more than a family of four to stay in the rooms we have been in.
The fitness room leaves much to be desired. The room contains a treadmill, stationary bike and elliptical machine. For those into fitness, plan to cycle or run outside though Wrightsville Beach. They have a great area for both activities.
Check-​in is not until 3:00 pm. When we arrived prior to 3:00 pm, the staff took down our cell number, gave us a parking pass and called us when the room was ready.