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Dream On

Stephanie Bodmer has revived Boiling Spring Lakes Motel with a ’70s rock and roll vibe.

BY BETH A. KLAHRE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY MEGAN DEITZ

After two years of After two years of renovations, Boiling renovations, Boiling Spring Lakes Motel Spring Lakes Motel owner Stephanie owner Stephanie Bodmer personally Bodmer personally welcomes each guest. welcomes each guest.

t first glance, Boiling Spring Lakes Motel appears to be just a quaint, unassuming roadside inn. But there is much more to this motel than first meets the eye. Without doubt, Boiling Spring Lakes Motel is a very special place, and that starts with making a reservation. Sole owner and proprietor Stephanie Bodmer says, “I am the only one who answers the phone. It’s A just me! You can’t book online, so I personally speak to every guest. It’s my way of making sure my motel is a good fit.” Bodmer moved to Boiling Spring Lakes in 2015 from Maryland, where she worked in nursing administration for more than 20 years. While she enjoyed nursing work and made many friends, the area’s congestion got to be too much. For Bodmer, who was born in peaceful suburban Sanford, North

Carolina, moving to Boiling Spring Lakes was coming back to her roots.

Bodmer’s father, Darrell Gunter, often visited her in Boiling Spring Lakes. He always talked about buying the motel.

“I would ask him what he would do with a motel in Boiling Spring Lakes when he lived in Sanford! And he always replied that it would be very lucrative,” says Bodmer.

Bodmer never got the thought of buying the motel out of her mind, especially after her father passed. In December 2018, she purchased the motel despite significant damage caused by Hurricane Florence in September. It took her two years to renovate the motel.

“I basically tore it down and rebuilt everything,” she says. “I

The spacious backyard contains many surprises that kids love.

All of the rooms in the motel have been upgraded with a blend of modern and retro touches.

discovered that it was very well made, the framing was excellent and it was a very sturdy building. Besides the framing, the only thing that remains from the original building is some brick veneer and little copper lamps that are in the back of the motel.”

The motel reopened in November 2020.

Some of the allure of the motel is its history. According to Bodmer, it was built to provide housing for people who were building new homes in Boiling Spring Lakes when the town was being developed, and it was one of the first businesses in town.

“I have newsletters under glass on the front desk from Reeves Communications, who owned the land,” Bodmer says. “The newsletters were marketed to people in New York and New Jersey, enticing them to come to the sunny South, away from the snow and close to the beach. Reeves Communications sold hundreds of lots and developed Boiling Spring Lakes.”

The first owners of the motel, which was built in 1962, were Doc and Velma Stevenson, who to this day are a bit of a mystery. “They just disappeared,” Bodmer says.

Bill Stevenson, no relation to Doc and Velma, was the second owner from 1980 until the early 1990s, when his daughter, Dale Siegfreid, inherited it at his death. Back then, most guests were weekly renters. Siegfried almost sold the hotel prior to Hurricane Florence, but when the lake drained due to breached dams during the hurricane, the buyer who was planning to make the motel into offices pulled out of the contract. The motel also had a damaged roof and other problems from flooding. Siegfreid sold it to Bodmer, saying she liked Bodmer’s vision to bring the motel back to life.

And Bodmer did just that.

Bodmer describes the ambiance in her six-room motel as “kind of a cool, groovy, retro ’60s and ’70s vibe with a splash of rock and roll.” She researched millennials’ preferences as inspiration for the decor.

“This generation likes different, not corporate, not cookie cutter,” she says.

Each rock and roll-themed room has a lava lamp and phones replicating those from the ’70s. One room has posters

of John Fogerty. Cream is on the wall in another, and Aerosmith in another. Bodmer’s research paid off.

“Millennials love it,” she says. “They think it’s the coolest place because they hear their parents talk about the era.”

In-room amenities include a mini fridge with freezer, microwave and coffee pot with complimentary coffee.

The furnishings in the rooms, including the floating dressers and nightstands, were custom made by local craftsman Eric Helton. All the beds have Beautyrest mattresses.

“No hard mattresses in my motel,” Bodmer says. “Even though hard mattresses last longer, I chose comfortable beds for my guests.”

She also notes that one room has a wheelchair-accessible shower and a handicap-compliant sink.

Bodmer wants everyone to feel like they are at home when staying in her motel for a night or a week or even longer.

“I wanted the rooms to feel as homey as possible, not corporate,” she says. “There are no signs anywhere. I don’t want to bog down a vacation with rules.”

Other than a note about how to use the TV and Internet passwords, the only written rule is to respect fellow guests.

“I have a nice, quiet little place,” she adds.

The motel sits on one and one-half acres. There is wicker furniture out back for lounging nestled among fun, kid-friendly statues of Bigfoot and a dinosaur, soon to be painted lime green with pink polka dots, and an alligator. There are grills and a picnic table and a fire pit. Bodmer said that the most fun day at the motel is every day. “The most fun is meeting awesome people,” she says. “I have this bench and red and white metal gliders from the ‘60s out front. Guests come and sit and chit chat. Or we visit on the back porch. We just sit and talk.”

The metal glider out front is where Bodmer likes to sit and talk with the new friends she makes at the motel.

For one person running all facets of the motel, there are some challenges. “Keeping up with laundry,” Bodmer says, laughing. She sends out linens to be laundered and has some housekeeping help.

“I wash each and every blanket between every guest myself,” she says. “It’s one thing that sets my motel apart.” And it’s noticed. Most frequent guest comments include “spacious and very clean.”

In the fall of 2020 Bodmer had planned to host a grand-opening celebration for the motel. But COVID-19 changed those plans. Instead, Bodmer used the money earmarked for the event to purchase toys for disadvantaged kids in Boiling Spring Lakes.

“It’s now a tradition and I do it every year at Christmas,” she says. She makes connections through local churches and school guidance counselors. “The community of Boiling Spring Lakes is the nicest little community. It’s been so good to me and my business, so now I give back.”

Bodmer dreams big about the future of her motel. In fact, she will soon be offering golf stay-and-play packages with the Lakes Country Club in Boiling Spring Lakes. She would eventually like to build a couple of cabins with a few bedrooms and little porches. “I’m not into bigger or better. And it’s not even so much about money,” she says. “It’s really about treating every guest like family.”

For now, Bodmer’s hope for her guests is that they leave the motel with an experience that makes them want to return.

“I just want my guests to have remarkable, happy memories of their vacation,” she says. 

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Boiling Spring Lakes Motel 2 N. Shore Drive, Southport (910) 845-2893 Facebook: Boiling Spring Lakes Motel