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Bald Head Island Resort

Exterior

At a Glance

    Pros

  • friendly small-town feel
  • secluded and quiet
  • lots of natural areas
  • children's programs

    Cons

  • island is accessible only by ferry
  • no cars allowed on the island
  • activities at the island's recreation clubs are not available to all accommodations
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Bald Head Island Resort Review

Reached by ferry from Southport, this entire island bills itself as a resort though it's actually a self-contained, carless community, complete with a grocery store, restaurants, an inn, and ample rental properties from shingled cottages to luxury homes. You can explore the semitropical island on foot, by bicycle, or in a golf cart. Climb to the top of the quaint "Old Baldy" lighthouse, visit the neighboring Smith Island Museum of History to learn about Bald Head's history, watch the loggerhead turtles, or take a guided ghost walk. The 20-minute ferry ride costs $24.75 per person round-trip; for most of the year, it leaves Southport on the hour and BHI on the half hour. Discounted tickets are available for same-day trips originating on the island. Advance reservations are necessary for the ferry and resort.

    Contact Information

  • Address: Bald Head Island, NC, 28461 | Map It
  • Phone: 910/457-5000; 800/432-7368; 910/457-5003 for ferry reservations
  • Website: www.baldheadisland.com
  • Location: Southport

    Hotel Details

  • 195 condos, villas, and cottages; 16 rooms in 1 inn.
  • Credit cards accepted.
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Fodorite Reviews

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    Amazing place!

    We recently spent a week on Bald Head Island in a three bedroom house. The house was great, well equipped, and well maintained. But the island itself is quite something! Every scenic vista is better than the next, and I felt like I was living in a country club! Next year we plan to rent a place there for a month that's how much we fell in love with Bald Head Island!

    by LouC, 9/9/12
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    Bald Head Island Resort Review

    "my daughter just got married this weekend (may 15, 2010) on bald head island.

    i warn you now...DO NOT GET MARRIED THERE.

    we hosted the reception at the shoals club. please be warned that the service and food was HORRIFYING. we visited the island 3 times to help plan my daughter's wedding. we taste tested the food well in advance. we ordered prime rib and crab cakes because they were excellent at the taste test. sadly, at the reception, the shoals club did NOT deliver what we taste tested. the prime rib had to have been shaved on a deli meat slicer. it was not prime rib. it was a junky piece of thin-shaved roast beef like you could buy in a store. and the crab cake was small and stale.

    worse, the service was terrible.

    we rented 5 homes and had alot of family in for the wedding. we hosted some of the family and friends to our home for brunch. they fraudulently charged $1,000 to our credit card for having a party in a house. that's just INSANE.

    we had the bridal party reception at the bald head club and they didn't even serve the menu we ordered. they served terrible sandwiches on stale bread.
    the bald head island representative that was supposed to help us coordinate the wedding reception did NOT show up until 2 hours before the wedding to assist in overseeing the set up. everyone was way too stressed out because of her lack of caring and promptness.

    i am so angry, words cannot fairly sum up my feelings. we invested alot of money in my daughter having an amazing wedding. sadly the shoals club and bald head island folks ROBBED my daughter of the day she deserved and the experience we paid ALOT of money for.

    bald head island is a beautiful place. but they have you as a captive audience...and after you sign tne contract...they have NO KNOWLEDGE OF CUSTOMER CARE OR ETHICS. I WARN YOU...DO NOT GET MARRIED THERE."

    by greg_muzzillo, 5/20/10

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