Overview & History
When we say we’re your hometown family hotel, we mean it.
We are not only an independent hotel, but this is truly a family hotel. Andy Vakos and his family have been welcoming guests to The Oceanfront Inn for years.
The Vakos family’s history in America started when Andy’s grandfather arrived from Greece. He sold bananas in New York and later moved to Norfolk, Virginia where he went into the restaurant business, eventually buying restaurants and bowling alleys in the ’40s and ’50s. He had eleven children. Two of the boys, Andy’s father and uncle, acquired the 29th Street, Virginia Beach property in the 1960s. At the time, it had been a popular nightclub called “The Top Hat,” hosting Chubby Checker and Fats Domino in their heyday. In the early ’70s, it became a restaurant and finally, in the construction boom of the ’80s, The Oceanfront Inn was born. Andy has been the General Manager since 1990.
Loyal. Dependable. Trustworthy.
Andrew Dwight Penny, chief mantenance engineer, has been with the Vakos family since he was 16. He helped dig the foundation and pour the concrete when The Oceanfront Inn was built in 1980.
Ken Knight, front desk manager, has worked with the Vakos family since 1984.
Danita Marks, head housekeeper, has been with the family at the hotel since 1988.
“It’s not just the property; it’s the people within the property that make it special.”
Andy Vakos, General Manager, The Oceanfront Inn
Virginia Green Lodging Member
The Oceanfront Inn is proud to be a participating Virginia Green Lodging member.
Virginia Green is a partnership program among DEQ, the Virginia Tourism Corporation and the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association. The program seeks to reduce the environmental effects of the tourism industry and raise environmental awareness through recycling and other conservation efforts.
Learn more about our Virginia Green certification.