Ed Ruffin News Today

 

 

VIRGINIA BEACH — Among the piles of paperwork rising from Andy Vakos’ desk behind the lobby of The Oceanfront Inn, there are two offers to buy his hotel. It seems hardly a day goes by he doesn’t get a call from investors asking if he wants to sell. His seven-story beachfront property spans a full city block, with 147 rooms, just south of the King Neptune statue. “They’re very aggressive,” said ...

Motor lodges bought or developed by local families, who devoted their summers to the business, once dominated the Oceanfront. Of approximately 75 hotels within walking distance of the beach today, only a handful of mom-and-pop hotels that once prevailed in the Virginia Beach resort area remain.