Beach Motels in the Northeast

Ala Kai Motel

Wildwood Crest, NJ

Six decades of summer and the 1963 Polynesian Doo-Wop bones still intact, with ocean-view verandas and two pools. Towel sculptures appear in the room. Someone here still does that.

Aqualina Inn Montauk

Montauk, NY

A block off Montauk's Main Street with the Atlantic just sixty-five steps away, cool coastal rooms wrap a pebbled courtyard around a heated saltwater pool. Beach chairs wait by the door, so a summer day here can pass without ever touching the car.

Daunt's Albatross

Montauk, NY

Three generations of the Daunt family have held this downtown Montauk landmark, reworked in 2021 by Brooklyn's Home Studios into something rooted rather than rebranded. Days run from the saltwater pool to the fireside courtyard, and dinner is a stroll across the street to the family's own restaurant.

Ocean Resort Inn

Montauk, NY

Sixty-five steps from the Atlantic in downtown Montauk, bright rooms with hardwood floors and local ocean art open onto a heated saltwater pool. Beach chairs wait by the door, making the short walk to the surf the easiest part of the day.

Rye Motor Inn & Swim Shop

Rye, NH

Adults-only apartment-style units on the oceanfront with quality refrigerators, a heated pool, and an on-site Swim Shop stocked for the water outside. A renovated 1950s frame done with specific intention.

The Hideaway

Beach Haven, NJ

A tiny 1950s survivor at the quiet south tip of Long Beach Island, close enough that the ocean is 44 steps out one door and the bay a short walk the other way. Days drift between two shorelines and end on a rooftop deck with water on three sides, run by hands-on hosts who remember your name.

The Nevada

York Beach, ME

Completely restored in 2024, with every room having a private wraparound terrace and direct ocean views. Art Deco interiors, pop-art murals, and Lulu's tiki bar on site.

AWOL Provincetown

Provincetown, MA

A vintage motor lodge at the wild West End of Provincetown, remade in spare maritime modernism where dune grass and open moors do the decorating. Every door opens to a private patio or balcony, and the evenings belong to the pool, the fire pits, and the sunset over the marsh.

Periwinkle Inn

Cape May, NJ

A family-run oceanfront basecamp on Cape May's Beach Avenue, where a landscaped pool courtyard with a fire pit, grills, and lawn games sits a few steps from the sand and the promenade. Housekeeping is a point of pride and the staff learn your name, the kind of tidy, warmly run beach inn families return to year after year.

The Anchor Motel

Narragansett, RI

A spotless, family-run beach motel set directly across Ocean Road from Scarborough State Beach, where every exterior-door room opens onto a covered porch and an ocean view. Warm hosts and a wall of repeat guests make it feel less like a motel and more like a place people keep coming home to.