A big thanks to Anna for writing a guest blog post. I hope you enjoy it!
Two weeks ago I visited the Outer Banks for the first time and spent a long weekend there. It’s a far drive from Charlotte, but well worth it and so beautiful.
We stayed on Ocracoke Island, which can only be accessed by ferry, and to get to the ferry we drove through all the little towns on Hatteras Island. One of these towns is Rodanthe, of Nights in Rodanthe fame.
The 2008 movie starring Diane Lane and Richard Gere (based on the Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name) filmed in both Rodanthe and Wilmington, NC. The gorgeous beach house where the on-screen couple meets is an actual rental property called Serendipity. Here it is in the movie as The Inn at Rodanthe:
Unfortunately, in reality Serendipity was facing very hard times. The beachfront had eroded to almost nothing and the home had been declared a public nuisance by the county. The property had been for sale for two years and because of its state there was no rental income for repairs. Serendipity was in danger of being condemned.
The only option to save Serendipity was for it be moved. Just when it seemed as though all hope was lost, a buyer came forward. Ben and Debra Huss from Newton, NC closed on the home this past January and also bought a coordinating lot less than a mile south on Hwy 12. On January 18, 2010, Serendipity was moved to its new home. To see the You Tube move of the home click here.
I’d heard that a couple had rescued this beautiful home and I was so excited to drive through the town of Rodanthe on our way to Ocracoke. I kept my eyes peeled for the famous house but never expected to actually find it. Imagine my excitement when I spotted its blue shutters from the road!
Ben and Debra have done a tremendous job renovating and restoring Serendipity to its movie-exterior glory. They have added the famed blue shutters, decks and gazebos, and have decided to call it The Inn at Rodanthe. I was so happy to see that it has been so lovingly cared for, and even more thrilled when I found out that it is currently open for business!
I jumped out of the car and grabbed a brochure from the info box. The Inn can be rented by the week and rates vary depending on the season. It has six bedrooms, four and a half baths, a hot tub, wood fireplace, dishwasher, gas grill, wet bar and WI-FI. All of the rental information is available through Vacation Traditions.Ben and Debra had the movie in mind when designing the interiors as well. Replica doors from the movie
In the film
Richard Gere’s blue bedroom re-created
In the film
The view from the Inn
I think this story is absolutely enchanting and I hope that the next time I visit the Outer Banks, it will be to stay in The Inn at Rodanthe! Have any of you seen the movie or visited the area?
Read more about Serendipity’s journey at Island Free Press
Photo Credits: IMDB (3,4 ) Hampton Roads (5,6) Outer Banks Vacations (7) IMDB (10,11) IMDB (12,13) All other photos taken by Anna Clayton-Hall.
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
very interesting! my mom is from the outer banks….
LOVE IT ! It is nice to see someone swoop in and save the day!
sunny
Good Move!!!!!
Fabulous building!
Maryruth
Beautiful! smiles….
I am so glad for this post and for this information! I haven’t seen this movie yet but always wanted to, and now I have a whole new reason to watch! Continued good things!
No, but now I would love to go. We love to go to Block Island. Have you ever been there?
pve
Now that just made my day. It was almost like a movie itself. Good things happen in the end! I just went for the first time to the Outer Banks in May. My daughter was in a wedding in Kill Devil Hills. We loved exploring the area, wish it wasn’t so far!
I went to the Outer Banks as a child so this post brings back great memories. I will have to check out the movie!
I am so glad someone rescued this beautiful old home and what a gorgeous setting. I ma going to NC, Emerald Isle in two weeks, I have never been to a East Coast Beach before. I am a Calif born and bred gal. I can hardly wait to experience the beach on the East Coast, thankyou for sharing this great story,Kathysue
I adored the movie and the renovation is wonderful. Thank goodness for people who care enough to save these treasures!
Karena
Art by Karena
Ah, written like a true fellow house stalker! Loved the movie, love your story, and love the Outer Banks. Sounds like a great trip, Laura. We just visited the coast of Oregon to compare it to the other coastal places we love. It was spectacular and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves the ocean. Great post – makes me want to watch the movie again.
Great find. Thanks for the update.
Wow! Makes for a good family story! Our a story for the whole community! “So we decided to move the house”.
Thank you for sharing. Very fun post!
ox, Mon
I’m so glad that this house was saved! It was certainly a labor of love. That picture of the house being taken to its new home is great. It must have been wild to see it on the road!
Great post.
xo
Brooke
The breathtaking seascape and vistas will live on with the restoration of the home. It was wonderful to receive an update, since I have vacationed in OBX for almost 30 years and have seen the movie.
I love the movie! And would love to stay in the Inn sometime. We never made it to the Outer Banks when we lived in Charlotte — think we might have to detour South one of these days and open up those blue shutters! Great detective work and great post!
I’ve always wanted to visit the outer banks. I love your post and had no idea that the house was almost a goner. It is beautiful and looks so happy there in it’s safe, new location.
T
I have not visited the outer banks before, but I definetly want to after reading this wonderfully written article!!!!
I’m so glad to hear that the house not only was saved, but restored as well! Thanks so much for the story, photos, and links!!
Love that they saved the house! Would love to go there sometime too! Thanks for the great post.
We’ve been to the outer banks a few times and stayed in Corolla. I love this story of what someone was willing to do to save this house….good movie too even though the ending made me cry!
Beautiful photos. I have been in the that area, but not since I read Nights in Rodanthe. Probably even more captivating now!
Great blog
I am so glad the house was saved and open for business.
Yeah! I grew up there! Glad you loved the Outer Banks!
We were on Hatteras for the Veteran’s Day weekend (we have a little place in Hatteras Village), when the storm came through. Rodanthe seemed hardest hit and as you can see from the photos, the road was totally washed out in the Mirlo Beach area. We were stranded on the island (no better place in the world to be stranded) for four more days! We finally got off the island from a ferry running out of Rodanthe to the mainland! This summer, we got some pictures of the Inn at its new location. I finally saw the movie this summer (Janice had already seen it), and wasn’t totally surprised how they made the surrounding area look like the Inn is the only building on the beach!
I have always loved Seredipity House. Way before the movie, it was a landmark I always looked for when we went to the Outer Banks. How can you get info about the Inn now if someone wanted to stay there, since it is a B&B? Great article & pictures. Thanks.
I was at the Outer Banks last week and when we left this past Saturday we visited the new home for the house. We were also there last October before it was moved and retrieved a piece of the concrete that had broken off under the house. When we saw it Saturday it took my breath away. Someone had it rented for a wedding and they had greenery and flowers all across the front of the house and white benches & chairs placed in the sand out front at the bottom of the steps where the wedding was to take place. I was able to get alot of pictures. There was alot of frenzy going on in preparation of the wedding. It was very exciting. I would love to spend a week there if I could afford it.