The Wilmingtonian

Quaint, cute downtown hotel that’s clean and a good deal!
I was looking for a good hotel in downtown Wilmington and was not disappointed. Most of the other hotels cost twice as much per night in the area. The hotel itself is within walking distance of everything downtown, they even have their own parking lot across the street so you don’t have to worry about waking up to a meter ticket.
As soon as we arrived the staff was ready to check me in, I even used a third party booking app and had no issues with the reservations. I loved the fact that they have actual keys for the rooms, I’ve often had issues with past hotels with their key cards. We stayed in the Lighthouse Suite on the second floor. The room itself was bigger than expected, instead of the usual one giant room floor plan, this hotel has the bedroom, bathroom, and living/​dining room separated. There was a couch in the living/​dining room with a table and chairs, a microwave, a mini fridge, a sink, a toaster and various plates/​utensils/​cups. The bed was comfortable and clean with several pillows. The bathroom was spotless and included several nice big towels (unlike the napkins they try to pass off as towels in other hotels). Our room overlooked the garden and it also had a great view of the road. I loved the two rocking chairs on the porch, but unfortunately it was too cold and windy to enjoy them this visit. Thankfully our room stayed nice and warm all night.
The next morning the breakfast/​food bar had muffins, coffee, milk, water, fruit, sodas and more (wish I could remember the rest but I was too excited to see the blueberry muffins).
Overall this was a great visit and I will definitely be coming back to this hotel in the future.

We had no idea what to expect from downtown Wilmington, but it sure looked cool online! So we took at shot at this hotel not knowing a single thing about how good the location might be, etc.
First things first — the location is AWESOME! There are only 3 parking spaces at the hotel, but there’s ample parking available across the street. We were lucky enough to get one of the 3 spaces during pretty much our entire stay (12÷9−16÷15). But this hotel is right in the heart of EVERYTHING downtown! Once we parked, we walked EVERYWHERE, and no matter what direction we walked in, there was always some really cool historic house to look at, eclectic shops and a fabulous and incredibly varied array of restaurants, bars and pubs.
Some people have complained that there really isn’t a «breakfast.» This is true, but I don’t know why they’re whining because coffee, juices, sodas, water, fruit, yogurt, muffins and snacks are available pretty much all day long in the lobby and is included in the rate. This is certainly every bit as good as a standard continental breakfast — but better because it’s always available!
This is not some bright, shiny new Hilton. It’s rustic, and in the historic district so you really need to have an open mind. The room won’t have all the bells and whistles and fancy finishes of a chain hotel, but it was perfectly clean and relatively quiet, considering downtown Wilmington can get a bit noisy. We stayed in the Country French room (it’s room #6) which has a full kitchen stocked with necessities (cups, flatware, etc). The sofa was comfortable, the wifi reliable, and the water pressure in the shower was very good. By far, the biggest plus was a washer/​dryer in the unit, so I didn’t have to bring home a week’s worth of dirty laundry!
The only negative (and really, it isn’t even a negative, it’s just a personal preference which is why 4 stars instead of 5) is that at my age (57 year old woman) I am always too warm and I had a tough time figuring out how to adjust the thermostat. Because we happened to visit when it was unseasonably warm, it just made more sense to turn off the unit, but I would have been delighted with ceiling fans in both rooms, or the ability to open the windows (not sure if they can’t open, or we couldn’t figure out how, but we gave up when it didn’t happen easily). But everybody we talked to at the front desk was always so accommodating, if it had occurred to me to just ask for an electric fan, they probably would have provided one. Also, I’m in relatively good shape, but this room is on the second floor of a walkup, and it kind of tuckered me out every time I walked up those steps!
We absolutely fell in love with the entire Wilmington area and will definitely be back! And when we return, I have no doubt we will stay at the Wilmingtonian again!

This is my second time staying in Wilmington. Of those two trips, this has been my favorite place to stay by a long shot.
Situated right downtown, it’s close to everything and the staff is super accommodating. Easy to check in/​check out, they have a room full of complimentary treats (fresh fruits, soda, coffee, water, etc…), free wifi, and the dual rocking chairs on the front porch are a nice touch. A good reminder that you’ve left your city life behind and you’re currently spending time in the south.
Price wise it’s a steal too. Considering I spent over $ 300 to stay in a B&B two blocks north the first time, Wilmingtonian rang in at about half of that. Score!

Great location, friendly staff, clean.
The room was clean and included a kitchen and washer and dryer. They offer yogurts, water and a number of snacks in the office. Self parking is across the street and they have enough spaces. The location is premium, walking distance to the Riverwalk, shops and Front street.
The room was not very updated and didn’t have that Wilmington charm. The room was like a 1991 motel. Old furniture, appliances etc and sheets and blankets were definitely old (clean) but comforter was busted. The path behind the cinema building is a drunk person highway for some reason. They do have a nice courtyard in the center.
Overall nice place but not anything unique and definitely dated. We enjoyed our stay.

This is a fantastic place. Great location in downtown, within walking distance of everything. The hotel is lovely, with a pretty garden. Lots of rocking chairs scattered about, so you can enjoy being outside. My room was nice: I entered through a sitting room, with comfy couch, chairs and a wide screen tv. You go through a hall, which has a nice sink, microwave and refrigerator. The bathroom is good sized, and at last a hotel that gives you a bath towel that is large enough to actually serve the purpose. The bed was also very comfy. The place is also well staffed ²⁴⁄₇ by really lovely people who actually do care about you. And, there was a really cute long– haired dachshund named Biscuit who was just as sweet as his owner. They also provide a nice free snack service with soft drinks, fruit and other snacks. My room was a great value, 50 dollars less than the bland Courtyard a few blocks away. This was my first stay, but it will not be the last stay. I travel to Wilmington quite often, and I am glad to have found the perfect place to stay.

Friendly staff. We were in unit 5 on second floor. Place was clean and rustic. Good blinds in all windows. Light blocking drapes in bedroom were great for sleeping in. Comfortable couch. Water pressure great, sufficient hot water and quality towels. The only drawback was the noisy bed. Slept well though. And although everything is old and rustic there were plenty of plugs, two TVs, etc. Able to walk everywhere we wanted. We’d come back.

Alright, This is going to be long as there are some things that need to be addressed. It’s a great place, but it could be made better with the attitude adjustment of one person.
I looked online at rates and it said $ 99/​night for a pet suite but additional charges would apply. I called a week ago, trying to get reservations. I spoke to someone (Rob or Roy… not quite sure). He quoted me $ 109 a night, plus the pet deposit of $ 25 and $ 5/​night for a pet. I called back after looking around at places and spoke to Valerie. Valerie is a BREATH OF FRESH AIR! She quoted me $ 99 per night plus the same pet charges and said she would try and do lower, but for some reason they were booked that week and couldn’t offer a further discount.
Valerie seemed willing to work with me from the get go, where as the other gentleman just wanted off the phone.
I’m rambling a bit, so onto the important bits.
Anyways, we go and check into our pet friendly suite, #4 which is located right on the main street. First off, it looks great! It’s a huge room with a washer/​dryer, full kitchen, and upstairs/​downstairs. Everything is great about the room. Zero complaints! Much more for the dollar than you would get at an average hotel.
The location is great. We were well within walking distance to anywhere in downtown, which was a huge plus.
The free snack bar was awesome. I wasn’t expecting a sit down breakfast, but being able to go in the lobby at any hour and grab a granola bar, some coffee, or a bottled water was a nice plus! Normally you have to spend a few dollars on a bottled water at any other hotel!
The parking was excellent. They have 3 spots right in front of the hotel, and then many more located right across from it.
For the negatives:
For our room right on the street, the walls/​windows were thin enough that every night at ²⁄₃ AM when the bars closed, we would wake up to drunken people walking by the room. Quite annoying. Also, Sleepy Hollow was being filmed the first night we were there and the trailers were all lined up along our street that night. The dogs were protective of us, to be sure, and were barking quite a bit at the noise outside.
Rob/​Roy (Again, can’t remember his exact name, but it was the gentleman at the front desk with a goatee) was completely devoid of being helpful/​pleasant to us our entire stay. My wife and I love Wilmington so much, that on our second day there, I walked in and asked him if our room was available for another night as I wanted to extend our vacation. He quickly looked at the computer, said ‘no’ and that was it! No offer of another room or anything! Not even a ‘sorry’. That was completely ridiculous in my opinion. Later, when I checked out the next day, he asked how everything was. I told him it was great besides the fact of being woken up at night from the drunks closing down the bars. Again, ZERO apology-​just ‘yeah, that’s the downside of staying in that room.‘
SERIOUSLY? You are the representative of the hotel, Sir, and you are basically just telling me to deal with it and not apologize for Anything? Inexcusable.
If we are visiting Wilmington again, the Wilmingtonian will be a possibility. However, I will make sure that man is not employed there first.

After my first night I originally said they were more of a 3.5 and the lovely staff bumped to a 4 star. I dropped it back down after the total visit.
Pro’s: staff is wonderful. It’s in a great area of town, walking distance to everything fun, great restaurants, etc. It’s a mini-​suite with average sized rooms, private entrances, and real (the metal kind!!) keys. It is SO YELLOW. Pet friendly with extremely reasonable pet fees ($ 25 the first night, $ 5 each after.) It definitely has that antique, beachy feel. Plus a little patio with rocking chairs!
SNACKS! That is if you don’t have to leave super early, before they open at 7:30am (probably closer to 7:30 based on my experienced)
Cons: BED. The bedroom door almost didn’t close because the bed is SO HUGE compared to the room size. It’s squeaky, and hands down the hardest bed I’ve ever slept in.
I was here for business during sept, which means the office is NOT open ²⁴⁄₇. This would not have bothered me at all if I was vacationing, as the hours are 7a-​11p. Except when they say 7am they mean someone will probably show up around 7:15 and they’ll be able to print receipts for checkout somewhere around 7:30. Seeing as I needed to check out at 6:45 and waited (ever so patiently) until 7am I was a little frustrated.
All in all, if I were coming to visit and vacation and enjoy some quiet time I would definitely consider staying here again, but not for business purposes.

One, this is a boutique hotel, and we stayed here to be close to the ‘church’ next door, where my sister-​in-​law was getting married. Two, it’s fairly expensive, even for downtown Wilmington. Three, they don’t have anyone that works there 24 hours, so if you’re locked out, or otherwise need something, you need to call a hotline, leave a message, and wait an hour or more before getting a response. Four, there’s a decent courtyard, and ample outdoors chairs, so if you’ve got a big group staying there (we did), you can hang outside and enjoy, as the rooms are pretty tiny, and don’t cater well to gathering. Five, don’t get locked out while there’s no one working the front desk. Six, our room smelled of mold and was generally pretty crappy, while my father-in-law’s room, three doors down, had a couch that was more stained than a dress at a Clinton White House dinner. Seven, you’re right down the street from the Duck & Dive, as well as the rest of the Wilmington ‘hot spots,’ so on a Friday or Saturday night, it’s going to be seriously loud outside your room. Eight, they leave a good amount of cold food and beverages in the lobby, so you can grab breakfast in the morning. Nine, they refunded us our last night, as we were locked out and after calling for some time, received no response. Ten, don’t lock yourself out after hours.

Eh…
I totally own the fact that I’m a Hilton girl — I just need ²⁴⁄₇ concierge, and towels, and a cuddle if I require it. This is not the place for that.
The front desk staff is SO NICE. The lobby has soda, water, juice, fruit, granola bars, yogurt, etc.
The room… ehhh. It had that musty smell to it, the front door was a workout to open because it was stuck. The bed was the most uncomfortable thing I have ever slept on outside of college. The dresser had one drawer that was broken. The night stands had no drawers. The TV in the bedroom was like a 16′ old school one. There was a flat screen in the living room, but the couch wasn’t very comfortable so that ended that. The bathroom is tiny, tiny, tiny.
If anything happens after hours, you’re SOL and just have to pray someone answers the service phone. There are, indeed, cockroaches on the balconies.
Not my speed, but you go ahead.

So what’s an older, slightly quirky, smallish all-​suites hotel doing in the middle of Wilmington’s downtown restored area, down among the town’s beautifully maintained 19^th and early 20^th century homes and commercial buildings? Judging from the fact that the hotel was sold out and very busy during our visit in chilly mid-​November, very well, thank you. We arrived for our two-​day visit quite late on a Friday night, but still received a warm welcome and cups of hot coffee to help soothe the road wrinkles. A complementary fruit basket also awaited us in our one-​bedroom suite on the 2^nd floor of Dram Tree House, one of three different «houses» that comprise the hotel. Dram Tree is the oldest (built in 1904, but completely updated and very comfortable) of the buildings, and only contains 7 rooms, all being one bedroom suites. Our 2^nd floor room also had a small balcony overlooking the town and river, and was just lovely. The second of the hotel’s Houses, the eight suite Maritime House, was initially built in the 1950’s as a convent for nuns at a nearby church. The only House that looks anything at all like a normal hotel is their Cinema House, built in the 1990’s and, I’m told, containing 11 suites. And again, all the hotel’s rooms are suites, and are outfitted with everything one would need for an extended stay. And in amongst these three very different buildings are several patios and nicely maintained small gardens, which helps to tie the buildings together and gives the facility a distinctly Southern charm.
An older, but very unique and comfortable hotel, populated with warm and friendly employees who seem to have a genuine interest in making your stay — in their city, as well as at their hotel — as enjoyable as possible. We enjoy Wilmington very much, and will definitely be back to the Wilmingtonian for our next visit.

The rooms are nice and big. More like an apartment than a hotel room. Lots of amenities. Even a washer and drier in the bathroom. One draw back! If you hang out on the patio at night be prepared for roaches and rats.

The good:
— Service was very friendly at the check in counter. We checked in late and she helped navigate us to where all the bars /​restaurants were (all within walking distance).
— For what we paid, we got a mini suite with living room, kitchenette and bedroom and a cute little porch with 2 rocking chairs.
— Free wifi which we were able to connect to without any issues.
— The main office offered snacks and free beverages. Small breakfast (yogurt, costco muffins, breakfast bars) — better than nothing!
— Great water pressure
The meh:
— They didn’t come to clean our room (was that policy?).
— The rooms smell very musty… which you eventually get used to — but it hits you when you first walk in.
— The bed was lumpy and squeaky — so every time I rolled over, the bed would squeak — waking me up.

We stayed here over July 4^th and it was A-​OK.
The location is great and the place has a bit of history to it, though I did not look into it. We stayed in the Casablanca Suite, which has photo stills from that movie and The African Queen on the walls. Not sure why the theme was necessary but whatever…
The place was clean and comfortable but not at all fancy. The kitchen was basic and serviceable with a fridge that actually made ice! Small living room, stacked washer/​dryer in the bathroom.
Everything was okay. The staff was friendly and there were some free breakfast goodies and a computer with internet service in the office.
The only drawback was that the family above us was pretty loud and the floor/​ceiling seemed to carry sound easily. The cost per night averaged about $ 130.
*The hotel has several buildings and additions so the rooms probably vary quite a bit in style and quality. Certain rooms are also pet friendly. Keep that in mind when you are booking.

This hotel is overpriced. The room was dirty, furnished with sticky garage sale furniture. The bed was very very uncomfortable. I agree with the gas station breakfast mentioned by another guest. Maltodextrin yogurt, sugar loaded energy bars, OJ from concentrate, 400 cals convenience store muffins. If I pay this kind of price and you advertise breakfast… I want breakfast not trailer trash food.

This place is an overpriced dump! The ONLY good thing is the location! Our «suite» was so small, no TV in the bedroom (no room for one anyway). A tiny tube TV in the living room (hello, Wilmingtonian? It’s 2011). A pedestal sink in the bathroom with no counter space and 3 small, thin, ripped bath towels. You couldn’t get in the closet without closing the bedroom door and it was too small anyway. We had to keep our suitcases in the living room. That was fun. A mini fridge, clogged sink and no counter space there either.
To add insult to injury, no one came to clean our room or even replace those POS towels. That was fun getting ready for a wedding using the mornings wet used towels. All this can be yours for the low nightly rate of $ 145 + taxes and fees nightly (their «special» group rate). If you are thinking of staying here I implore you to go somewhere else! You will thank me later, seriously. There’s no amenities, it’s an overpriced beat up motel!

I am giving the Wilmingtonian 5 stars, specifically for the AMAZING rooms at the de Rosset house. I have also stayed in their «normal» rooms on two other occasions. The Dram Tree house has great rooms that are pet friendly (beware the tiny tvs). After my husband and I eloped on the beach, we stayed at the de Rosset house — the rooms are beautiful and ornate and look like mini apartments. The jacuzzi tub is quite opulent as well. To top of a wonderful night, there is the private City Club dining room where you can dine if you stay at the de Rosset or the normal Wilmingtonian. I was particularly pleased with the wreckfish I ate last time for dinner. A note of warning-​I do not recommend the Charlie Chaplin room at the Wilmingtonian-it’s creepy!
But I will continue to return here for the de Rosset house for many years to come. Who doesn’t love a beautifully restored mansion from 1841?

Nice hotel for a weekend stay. The suites are quaint and they are all designed differently. We stayed with a wedding party, and were up quite late. Probably a little loud to the other guests, but no one complained. The common area is nice to lounge around and have a few drinks. Very close to shops, bars, restaurants, churches and the waterfront.
I might add, a bit pricey for what it was worth… but oh well, nice to spend time with family and friends.