The Sea Ranch Hotel is one of the few places on the Outer Banks that has the weathered, weathered historic charm of a waterfront hotel.

Right on the Atlantic Ocean in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, the facility is one of the oldest beachfront hotels on the Outer Banks, having opened in the 1960s.

Like many older Outer Banks landmarks, the Sea Ranch Hotel has survived its share of hurricanes and storms.

The hotel was originally located a few miles north of its current location in Southern Shores, but the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 destroyed the waterfront hotel. Owner Alice Sykes then moved the hotel to its current location on the beach in Kill Devil Hills, a more central area on the Outer Banks. She ran the resort’s hotel/restaurant until her later years and then handed over day-to-day operations to a close family member.

The disaster struck again in September 2003 when Hurricane Isabel hit the Outer Banks, devastating many local homes and businesses. The Sea Ranch Hotel sustained significant damage causing the business to close for 7 months while the property was renovated. The hotel reopened in the spring of 2004 with a fresh new look.

Over the years, the Sea Ranch Hotel has hosted celebrities like Willie Nelson, Peter Graves, Pernell Roberts, and Waylon Jennings, among others.

With the French restaurant, The Pearl, embedded in the ocean side of the Sea Ranch Hotel, the facility offers a unique French dining experience on the beach, as well as a dinner theater venue for local and national talent.

Artists, who have performed at the waterfront hotel, include jazz greats Houston Person, Nicki Parrott, Rossano Sportiello, Chuck Redd and Mickey Roker with concerts by The Bittersweets, pianist David Nevue, blues guitarist John Hammond and acoustic guitarist Peppino D’. Agostino.

In addition, the Sea Ranch Hotel has an oceanfront conference center that can accommodate up to 200 guests for a beach wedding, family reunion, or mission-critical business conference.