Last year I conducted an interview in Frank Sinatra’s old house in Las Vegas, the very place where the Rat Pack used to hang out while carousing in the hedonism capital of the world. There was a big home cinema upstairs and a swimming pool in the living room. But I remember being intensely disappointed by the bar, a small affair tucked away in a corner.

It was like something that Del Boy might have stuck in his council flat in Peckham. And this is what I’m thinking as my new best friend, Harry, opens the door to the Sunset Suite at the Silver Lake Motel and Inn on Ocracoke, a sleepy island a million miles south of Hedonism on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

“I’ll give you a special price because you’re English,” Harry whispers. “But don’t tell anyone. This place sometimes goes for $295 a night.”

And, as he lets me in, I can see why. The Sunset Suite boasts a vast bedroom-cum-lounge with a polished wooden floor, and a spacious balcony overlooking the shallows of Pamlico Sound. But all I can see is the 20ft bar at the far end of the room. It is a bar that used to be a bar, a real bar where people bought drinks while the sun went down. And it’s in my bedroom!

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I immediately take the room and pour a glass of wine for my partner, Suzanne. I lean on the bar, spread my arms on it, pace from one end to the other and threaten to throw Suzanne out when she gets lippy. Then I think of America and how I love it.

I couldn’t be more relaxed. That’s the effect that the Outer Banks can have on you. The Banks are a strip of sometimes impossibly thin sand barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, stretching more than half the length of the state. When I first heard of them I thought of those other islands, the Florida Keys, and wondered why these had remained undiscovered by the British. The Undiscovered Keys? Almost.

Americans come here by the thousands, but they are relatively unknown to Brits. The Banks have it all: great weather, beautiful beaches, fabulous cuisine and a mix of rampant commercialism and unspoilt isolation.

Our eight-day trip began with a night in Raleigh, on the mainland. The state capital is a pleasant city with a lively centre and a welcoming line in Southern hospitality. The next day we were up early and set off along Route 64 through gorgeous countryside. Here driving isn’t so much a chore as a pleasant part of your trip. Within four hours we were on the Outer Banks, heading north to Corolla, where the road ends and gives way abruptly to beach.

This is the first thing that impresses you about the Outer Banks — the beaches. There are about 130 miles of them and, mostly, they are white, broad, pristine and empty. The second thing is the food, especially the seafood. In the north we feasted on local mahi-mahi, bluefish and tuna, scallops, oysters and shrimp.

On our second day we booked places on a safari looking for wild horses farther north. Our guide, Richard Brown, of Wild Horse Adventure Tours — an Englishman who settled here six years ago — explained that the area has about 120 horses descended from animals landed or shipwrecked here more than 400 years ago. They are shy and sometimes hard to find, but we see about 20 in several groups.

In the north there are fewer hotels and guest houses than in the middle and southern Outer Banks. Most people rent houses here — and there are thousands of them. Invariably they are built of wood and most are enormous. We persuaded Ross Twiddy, of the Twiddy property management company, to give us a peek inside a few houses, starting with The Grande Finnale, a $3.1 million (£1.9 million) eight-bedroom pile over three floors with its own pool next to the beach.

It has a home cinema, elevator, games room with pool table, Wii room for the kids and breathtaking views. In high season it will cost you a heart-stopping $15,000 a week, but in low season you could have it for $2,600.

The middle region of the Banks — Kitty Hawk (where the Wright Brothers made their first powered flight), Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head — is very busy, but once you head south beyond Rodanthe, the landscape becomes less cluttered. There are fewer fancy houses and much prettier scenery.

Farther south still are the protected shores of Cape Hatteras, where a visit to the tallest lighthouse in the US, at 208ft, is a must. There are even fewer buildings here, miles of empty beaches and immaculate seabird habitats. From Hatteras there is a free 40-minute ferry to Ocracoke; you will feel as though you have gone back 50 years to a leafy village with beautifully kept houses and some good restaurants.

Our favourite place to stay was The Inn on Pamlico Sound, in Buxton. Its owner, Steve Nelson, is passionate about food. We went horse riding on the beach and returned to enjoy a fabulous meal of lamb and locally caught tile fish cooked by Chris Setzer, the chef.

Back in the Sunset Suite, I’m already planning our last day: a ferry ride to Cedar Island, then on to Beaufort. But that’s for tomorrow. The sun is going down and I think I’ll just enjoy the view from the bar.

Need to know

Getting there American Airlines (020-7365 0777, www.aa.com) flies to Raleigh Durham Airport from £476.

Getting around Alamo (0870 4004596, www.alamo.co.uk) has car rental from £24 per day, or £131 per week, from Raleigh Durham Airport.

Tip: when renting a car in the US, it is customary for satnav systems and top up insurance (beyond third party) to be charged as extras. If you are a regular visitor to the US, it may work out cheaper to buy year-round top up insurance cover for rental cars. And hiring a satnav system in the UK to take with you can work out at up to 50 per cent cheaper than renting at the airport.

We used a Zintech satnav for eight days, total £38.99 compared with the £60 quoted by the car rental company. www.zintech.co.uk , 01202 741212, and used extra annual cover from www.insurance4hire.com, 0844 892 1770 at £109 for multiple trips.

Stay Hilton North Raleigh (001 919 872 2323, www.hilton.com, from $99).

Hampton Inn & Suites, Corolla (001 252 453 6565, www.hamptoninn-outerbanks.com, from $109).

Sanderling Resort and Spa, Duck (001 252 261 4111, www.thesanderling.com from $208).

The Inn on Pamlico Sound, Buxton (001 252 995 7030, www.innonpamlicosound.com from $120).

Silver Lake Motel and Inn, Ocracoke. (001 252 928 5721, www.silverlakemotelandinn.com from $175).

Twiddy house rental (001 252 457 1100, www.twiddy.com)

Activities Kitty Hawk Kites, www.kittyhawk.com , 001 252 441 1719, hang gliding lesson and five flights $99.

Horse riding near Buxton, www.equineadventures.com, 001 252 995 4897. Two hours on horseback through woods and along Frisco beach $95.

Wild horse safari, www.wildhorsetour.com, 001-252-489-2020, $44 adults, $34 children.

Further information North Carolina Tourism: 020-7367 0937, www.uk.visitnc.com; also www.outerbanks.org

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