beachbride

Going to visit family in the Outer Banks for a week this summer and would like to have a night or two alone on our drive back to Philadelphia. We will be staying over on a Monday and Tuesday night. Prefer a clean beach and nice hotel right on beach. We are 2 adults in low 30's, just looking to relax alone, and maybe have a really nice dinner, and maybe spend a few hours having cocktails somewhere. Not looking for party town. Any recommendations?

MikeT

Rehoboth, Delaware. The most sophisticated of the Delmarva Beach towns. Nice restaurants, good shopping, enough Boardwalk cheesiness to make it feel like summer.

chasechow

I would've suggested Virginia Beach in that you have a better selection of hotels and price ranges right on the beach than you do in Rehoboth. You also would have a wider selection of restaurants and places to spend a few hours having cocktails.

The flip side to that though is that it is definitely more crowded which can give it a party feel, although it's also a family oriented place.

Rehoboth is definitely more laid back and quaint. The only drawback for me is that there isn't a lot of hotel selections, particularly right on the beach. Most, with the exception of 1, maybe 2 are locally owned places and the nicer ones right on the beach can get pretty pricey in the summer time. I'd recommend the Boardwalk Plaza (Can definitely get pricey). Has a great restaurant (Victoria's) and outside area to sit and enjoy the view and relax over drinks.

SuCo27

I'd recommend Rehoboth as well. If you can't find a hotel, try VRBO.com for some condos and cottages that are on the beach or very close to the beach. If you're open-minded enough, Cape Henlopen State Park's beach (it's called North Shore, I think)is a short drive from the main beach/boardwalk and is considered the "gay beach". It's usually much less crowded than the boardwalk area with few/no kids and very quiet. Don't follow the signs off Rt. 1 tho. You have to go through a neighborhood (I think called Henlopen Acres) and make a few turns. Just go in one of the shops with a rainbow flag/sticker outside and ask how to get to the gay beach.
Also, for nice restaurants with fewer crowds, one block over from Rehoboth Ave (I think it's Wilmington Ave) has some great restaurants that don't get as busy as the ones on Rehoboth. Most of them have better food too.

Ruff

Another option is Bethany Beach, which is quieter than Rehoboth, but has the Addy Sea B&B (wwww.addysea.com) right on the beach. I haven't stayed there, but have always wanted to...

MikeT

"Just go in one of the shops with a rainbow flag/sticker outside and ask how to get to the gay beach."

While will land her on the main beach. There are two "gay beach" areas. One at the very very end of the Boardwalk to the south, and one at the state park. The one off the Boardwalk is actually much more popular. The locals call it "Poodle Beach."

Ruff

MikeT: Thanks for reminding me of Poodle Beach! My late, great friend used to call it Poodle Point, and I hadn't thought of that in years! It is a good memory of him.

mike105

Here's a nice map of the hotels in the Outer Banks:
http://www.visitob.com/outer_banks/tostay/hotel_map.htm