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Surf City · Hotel shortlist

High end hotels in the business district, Surf City

Daniel Kovac

Daniel Kovac Central Europe

Updated 1 September 2026 · 6 Surf City hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Surf City, out of the 6 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.8 down to 4.5740743.

Oceanfront 1BR Condo - First Floor, Sleeps 4, Unbeatable Views & Location! is the one I would book myself.

Oceanfront 1BR Condo - First Floor, Sleeps 4, Unbeatable Views & Location!

Highest rated of the five

Oceanfront 1BR Condo - First Floor, Sleeps 4, Unbeatable Views & Location!

★★★★★4.8 from 342 reviews

Oceanfront 1BR Condo - First Floor, Sleeps 4, Unbeatable Views & Location! comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.8 from 342 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is found under the business district and around $291 a night on the dates we checked.

6 hotels in Surf City qualified for this list and five made it. Saltwater Resort & Suites is the one I would book if the first is full.

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All five, ranked

  1. Oceanfront 1BR Condo - First Floor, Sleeps 4, Unbeatable Views & Location!1

    Oceanfront 1BR Condo - First Floor, Sleeps 4, Unbeatable Views & Location!

    ★★★★★4.8 from 342 reviews

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    • Saltwater Resort & Suites2

      Saltwater Resort & Suites

      ★★★★★4.7 from 246 reviews

      • Parking
      • Kitchen
      • Pet friendly
      • Kid friendly
      • Air conditioning
      • Accessible

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    • Ocean Front Jewel - North Topsail Beach3

      Ocean Front Jewel - North Topsail Beach

      ★★★★★4.74375 from 96 reviews

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      • Saltwater Resort4

        Saltwater Resort

        ★★★★★4.8 from 44 reviews

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        • OCEANFRONT 2 BEDROOM 2 BATH CONDO5

          OCEANFRONT 2 BEDROOM 2 BATH CONDO

          ★★★★★4.5740743 from 108 reviews

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          How this list was put together

          6 Surf City hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.

          Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

          The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

          What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

          Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

          Daniel Kovac

          Daniel Kovac Central Europe

          Takes the same two weeks every August and drives somewhere far with his wife and daughter. Twelve countries, all by road, all in one battered estate car. Plans routes on paper maps.

          Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.