The Sanderling Resort

The only full-scale resort on the Outer Banks, which tells you something about how carefully this stretch of North Carolina has stayed out of the brochures. Miles of stark, wide beach, sand-swept two-lane roads, and a faint Southern accent define the surroundings. The Sanderling sits in Duck, a quiet town where the competition is mostly homey seafood shacks, making this the outlier, and for some guests, the whole point.