Bath Hotels: Where to Stay in North Carolina

Hotels in Bath, North Carolina are few. Bath is North Carolina’s first town, and about 245 people live there. The town has one confirmed bed and breakfast, one waterfront marina motel we could only partly confirm, and a handful of vacation rentals. Larger hotels sit in nearby Washington. This guide lists what we could verify, flags every gap, and shows how to pick a base for Historic Bath. We do not quote rates, because rates change daily.

Compare Bath, North Carolina hotels on Expedia

Where to Stay in Bath, NC: Hotels, Inns and Motels

The Inn on Bath Creek Bed and Breakfast

The Inn on Bath Creek is the one lodging in Bath we could confirm from several sources. The inn stands at 116 South Main Street, Bath, NC 27808. The VisitNC tourism listing places the inn across from Bath Creek and among some of the oldest buildings in the state.

The inn has four guest rooms. The inn website names them the Ocracoke Room, the Calabash Room, the Pamlico Room, and the Chesapeake Room. The site showed the Ocracoke Room as temporarily unavailable when we looked. Our State magazine describes the Chesapeake Room with Georgian windows and mahogany fixtures. The magazine describes the Pamlico Room with harbor views and the Calabash Room as a romantic, private setting.

Guests get a freshly cooked three course breakfast. The inn also offers a library of books, DVDs, and board games. Equipment rental covers bicycles, kayaks, and boats according to the inn website. A travel listing adds free Wi-Fi, free parking, a terrace, a garden, and a picnic area.

A travel listing states check-in runs from 3 PM to 9 PM and check-out ends at 11 AM. The same listing says no front desk exists, so the host greets you on arrival. The listing also gives a minimum check-in age of 21. We could not find these times on the inn website, so confirm them before you travel.

The listing says children under 17 are not permitted and pets are not allowed. Treat both rules as unconfirmed until you ask the inn. Families and pet owners should read the Washington section below.

The inn website lists a phone number with a 603 area code, which is unusual for coastal North Carolina. We do not print the number. Use the contact form or email address on the inn website, then confirm your booking in writing.

Pick this inn if you want to walk to the historic buildings, eat a cooked breakfast, and stay in a quiet home with a host on site.

Bath Harbor Marina and Motel

Bath Harbor Marina and Motel sits at 101 Carteret Street, Bath, NC 27808. Two directory listings give the phone number 252-923-5711. Marinas.com says a motel operates on site. City-Data describes a waterfront motel with views of Bath Harbor, queen beds, and kitchenettes.

Marinas.com lists 43 slips, water hookups, Wi-Fi, restrooms, showers, laundry, ice, and a swimming pool for marina guests. The same page says boaters praise the helpful staff and the affordable pricing. Some boaters note aging facilities in need of maintenance.

The City-Data entry carries a last-updated note from July 2009, and the marina listing gives no date. We could not reach the official website and could not confirm whether the motel rooms still take guests. Call 252-923-5711 before you plan a trip around this property.

Pick this property if you travel by boat, want a simple room on the water, and accept a phone call to confirm the details first.

Vacation Rentals and Cabins Near Bath

Several vacation rentals appear on Orbitz for the Bath area. The listings include a waterfront cabin with a private dock and a porch, a cottage with a boat dock and a fire pit, a marina getaway, and a large waterfront home with a saltwater pool. The cabin and cottage sit under one mile from the town center according to Orbitz.

Rentals vary by owner. Hosts set their own rules for pets, cleaning, and cancellations. Read the full listing, check the exact location on a map, and message the host before you pay. We did not verify any single rental, so we do not name hosts or print rules here.

Rentals suit groups, anglers, and anyone who wants a kitchen. Guests who want a daily breakfast and a front desk should choose a hotel in Washington.

Hotels in Washington, NC Near Bath

Washington is the nearest town with a full range of hotels. Expedia places the Washington area properties about 15 to 16 miles from Bath. Check a map for the current drive time before you book.

Expedia lists these Washington area properties. The Hampton Inn Washington, the Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott Washington, the Quality Inn Washington, the Red Roof Inn Washington, the Days Inn by Wyndham Washington, the Washington Motel by OYO, and the Little Inn on Main. The list also includes the Cypress Inn and Suites in Chocowinity. We did not check every property, so confirm details with each one.

The Hampton Inn Washington stands at 2085 West 15th Street, Washington, NC 27889. A meetings directory lists the phone as 252-940-4556 and the toll-free line as 800-426-7866. The same directory lists 85 rooms, check-in at 3 PM, check-out at 11 AM, free parking, Wi-Fi, laundry, pet-friendly rooms, and some kitchenette rooms. Expedia lists a free breakfast and a fitness center.

The Fairfield Inn and Suites lists a free breakfast, Wi-Fi, and a fitness center on Expedia. The Days Inn is listed as a pet-friendly and family-friendly motel. We found only one source for each of these, so treat the details as unconfirmed.

Little Inn on Main opened in September 2023 on Main Street in downtown Washington. WITN reports the boutique inn has 10 rooms, Charleston-style porches, room names drawn from creeks of the Pamlico River, and pet-friendly accommodations. Owner Felicia Huggins built the inn after renting short-term homes in the area. Expedia lists the property as Little Inn on Main.

What Is Open and What Is Not: Old Bath Listings We Dropped

Older guides to hotels in Bath list several properties we could not verify. We removed them rather than guess.

The Pirate’s Cove Marina and Lodge appears in no tourism listing, marina directory, or booking page we reviewed. We dropped the property.

Harbor Lights Marina and Cottages and Pamlico River Cabin Rentals also failed our search. We found no listing, address, or phone number for either. We dropped both.

The 1767 Treehouse at Bath did not appear in our sources as a named lodging. Some Bath area rentals do exist, as the section above explains. We could not tie any rental to the old treehouse name, so we dropped the entry.

An older version of this guide also described The Provision Company, Bath Country Store, and Bath Brewing Company. We could not verify them. The Our State guide to Bath names two food stops instead, listed in the dining section below.

If you see any of the dropped names on a booking site, check the address and the reviews first. Ask the owner to confirm a room before you pay.

Near Historic Bath: Attractions to Plan Around

Bath was founded in 1705. North Carolina Historic Sites calls the town the state’s first, and says Bath served as the colony’s first port. Blackbeard briefly settled in Bath in 1718, according to Wikipedia. Wikipedia also says the town inspired Edna Ferber’s novel Show Boat.

Historic Bath stands at 100 South Harding Street. The site lists hours of 9 AM to 5 PM, Tuesday to Saturday. The site is closed Sunday, Monday, and state holidays. Call 252-741-6030 to confirm hours before your visit. General admission is free. Guided house tours carry a fee, so check the current fee on the official page.

Three historic homes anchor the site. Captain Michael Coutanche built the Palmer-Marsh House in 1751, and Historic Bath calls the home the oldest in Bath. Hourly tours run from 10 AM to 3 PM, Tuesday to Saturday. Joseph Bonner built the Bonner House in 1830. Half-hourly tours run from 10:30 AM to 3:30 PM, Tuesday to Saturday. The Van der Veer House dates to 1790 and features Bath’s oldest exhibit on early local history. Self-guided visits run from 9 AM to 4:30 PM, Tuesday to Saturday.

St. Thomas Episcopal Church dates to 1734, and several sources call the building the oldest surviving church in North Carolina. Our State reports the church holds an original Queen Anne bell cast in 1732. Lawson’s Walk is a nature path one block north of the Exhibit Center. The State Dock was under repair when Historic Bath published its page.

Our State also lists the Historic Bath Exhibit Center, which offers free permanent exhibits on colonial history and free walking tour maps. Water activities include kayaking on Bath Creek and the Pamlico River. Goose Creek State Park, which Our State credits with 9.5 miles of trails, cypress swamp boardwalks, and paddling, lies nearby.

Plan lodging around the Tuesday to Saturday house tour schedule. A Sunday or Monday arrival leaves the houses closed, though you can still walk the town and see the church exterior.

Where to Eat in Bath

Our State names two food stops on Main Street. The Thirsty Mermaid is a coffee shop serving specialty drinks, smoothies, milkshakes, and pastries. Old Town Country Kitchen, known locally as The Grill, has served the town since 1991 and opens at 7 AM with breakfast and lunch. We could not confirm current hours for either place, so call ahead.

Bath has few restaurants, so many guests drive to Washington for dinner. The Inn on Bath Creek serves a cooked breakfast, which covers the first meal of the day.

How to Choose a Hotel or Inn Near Bath

Couples and history fans do best at the Inn on Bath Creek. You can walk to the historic buildings and eat breakfast at the inn. Confirm the age limit before you book.

Boaters should call Bath Harbor Marina and Motel. The marina serves transient boats, and a motel operates on site according to marina listings.

Families with children should look at Washington hotels. The Hampton Inn and the Fairfield Inn list free breakfast, and the Days Inn is listed as family-friendly. Check each property for current policies.

Pet owners should start in Washington too. The Hampton Inn lists pet-friendly rooms, the Days Inn is listed as pet-friendly, and Little Inn on Main accepts pets. The Inn on Bath Creek reportedly bars pets. Always ask about pet fees and limits before you arrive.

Groups and anglers should compare vacation rentals. Rentals give you kitchens and docks, but the rules vary by host.

Before you pay, confirm the property name, the address, the cancellation terms, the parking, and the check-in hours. Ask for the total with taxes and fees. Compare the total on two booking sites and by phone. Small towns have few rooms, so book early for spring and fall weekends.

Getting to Bath

Bath lies in Beaufort County on the Pamlico River in eastern North Carolina. Plan to drive. The town covers under one square mile, and Wikipedia says water makes up about 60 percent of the area.

Washington is the nearest larger town. A meetings directory places the Hampton Inn Washington 18.25 miles from Pitt-Greenville Airport. We did not confirm the drive from the airport to Bath, so check a map for current times and road conditions.

What We Checked and What We Could Not

We checked the Inn on Bath Creek against the VisitNC listing, the inn website, a travel listing, and Our State. We checked Historic Bath hours and tours against the North Carolina Historic Sites pages. We checked town history against Wikipedia and Our State. We took Washington hotel details from Expedia, a meetings directory, and WITN.

We could not confirm the status of the Bath Harbor motel, the phone number for the Inn on Bath Creek, the check-in rules for the inn, or any rental in Bath. We could not confirm current rates for any property. Phone numbers and policies change. Confirm each detail with the property before you travel.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Hotels in Bath, North Carolina are few, and the honest list is short. The Inn on Bath Creek is the one lodging we could confirm in town. Bath Harbor Marina and Motel needs a phone call. Washington offers the widest choice of hotels and motels nearby. Confirm the details, book early, and plan your trip around the Tuesday to Saturday hours at Historic Bath.