FAQ

All of the houseboats permitted for the Port City Marina have already been purchased. If you're interested in exploring the purchase of a houseboat for another location, feel free to reach out to the Atlantic Houseboats team at info@atlantichouseboats.com

With the exception of our exclusive 1-bedroom villa, Delight, all other houseboats share an identical layout and nearly identical amenities. The primary distinctions among our 2-bedroom villas include their location on the dock, pet-friendly status, the presence of a desk and chair in the second-floor living room, and the availability of a pullout sofabed in the upstairs living space.

Absolutely! We currently have all of our villas listed on either Airbnb and VRBO, and will have the option to book directly through us available very soon. Go to our Villas page to find your way to each individual listing on Airbnb, and don't hesitate to email us at info@thecovewilmington.com if you need any help.

Each reservation includes one free parking spot in the gravel lot at 1 Hanover Street, just one block up from the marina. Additional cars can be parked in the parking garage attached to the Wilmington Convention Center located next-door for an hourly/daily rate.

Our standard check-in time is 4pm, and check-out time is 10am. We also offer the option of arriving early (guaranteed by 2pm, offered earlier when availble) and/or extending your check-out time to 12pm for an additional 50.00. This request must be made prior to the morning of your check-in. 

We have four dog friendly villas and love to have our guests bring their pups along. Inspiration, Lookout, Haven & Santorini are our four villas available for those traveling with their furry friends, and include water and food bowls, pet waste bags, pet wipes, black towels for wet paws, and covers for couches and beds.

Guests tend to describe them at "surprisingly spacious" and often comment on the layout providing a great use of space. Our two bedroom houseboats offer just over 1,200 square feet of living space and including two bedrooms, two bathrooms, two living rooms, and a full kitchen. To see the layout of our two bedroom villas, click here

The Cove is ideally located on the Northern end of the Downtown, right along the Riverwalk. A 15 minute stroll will bring you to the heart of Downtown, where you'll find a wide variety of restaurants, craft breweries, local shops and more.

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Many guests have no problem walking into the heart of Downtown to find a wide variety of restaurant options. For guests who want to stay close by, Marina Grill and Tequilas Cantina are located right in our Marina, and Embassy Suites' restaurant Steam is right nextdoor as well, all offering gorgeous views of the river.

While our dock is specifically designed for houseboats, the Port City Marina does have several docks with slips for rent and they would be happy to rent you one for your stay. You can contact them directly at taylor@portcitymarina.com

The Cove is the closest rental accommodation  to the Live Oak Bank Pavilion Amphitheater, and is located .4 miles away, making it the perfect place to stay when you're in town for a concert.

Click here for Live Oak Bank Pavilion's 2024 concert lineup 

All of the houseboats on our dock, as well as the custom built dock itself, were the brainchild of the Atlantic Houseboats team. Based out of Wilmington, Atlantic Houseboats constructed all of the houseboats, from scratch at their construction site right across the river.  

For more information about them, visit www.atlantichouseboats.com

With the exception of our one one-bedroom houseboat, Delight, all of the other houseboats at The Cove have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, two living rooms and a private second floor patio. Some of the houseboats also have pullout sofa beds, so 4-6 guests can sleep comfortably overnight. See the guest counts on our Villas page for more details about each individual houseboat's overnight capacity.

Absolutely! Our team would be happy to assist with identifying which houseboats are available for your dates that are closest together on the dock. Feel free to reach out to us at info@thecovewilmington and let us know what dates and how many houseboats you'd like, and we will get back to you as quickly as we can.