I really wanted to like this hotel, especially given its price during the near off-season in late September. In fact, I'm still here. Will go over the good points first:
- The lobby, fire pits outside, and the pool/spa area are beautiful
- The food in the Mainland (restaurant inside hotel) was excellent and reasonably priced
- A standard king room is nice and spacious, with a separate desk area and chair/table, and the shower is great
Now, all the bad points. I booked this hotel because I'm a solo traveler here to film a movie nearby, and this was the closest hotel to the shoot. I was reticent at the hefty price, but the amenities won me over. But:
- The pool is only open from 9 to 9. I travel a LOT, and these are pretty restrictive hours. Par for the course is 8 am to 10 pm. I could live with this, but there are NO SEATS in the rpool area. It is half-outside, and you must place your valuables and towel well out of your eyeline, which made me very uncomfortable. Also, FREEZING during this time of year to go the whole way outside to get my towel. I'm sure it's lovely in July.
- DEALBREAKER #1: I was like OK, no biggie, I'll hit the gym. I'm avidly into fitness, and I love a good workout to start the day. NOPE. The gym opens at 9 am, too. (Usually, most places are 24 hours, if not then 6 am). WHO WORKS OUT AT 9 AM???????????????? I work out first thing after I get up (5 to 6 am), BEFORE I eat breakfast, to jumpstart the day. The fitness center is one of the reasons I choose hotels, and I may not be able to use this one. Even the hotels in AC aren't this restrictive!
- I won't complain about no free breakfast, I didn't expect it. But I also didn't expect breakfast to start at 8 am. Does no one get up early on the Jersey Shore? Great. Now I can eat RIGHT before I hit the gym. Who doesn't want to work out on a full stomach? (sarcasm)
- They have a gorgeous restaurant/ bar attached with fire pits outside, but.......... you can't sit outside and be waited on. I was told I could: Go to the bar, order food and drinks, and carryy it outside myself. No thanks, that's what I'm tipping you for.
- When you go to book this hotel through IHG, it is NOT labeled as a "family fun zone." I'm a parent, and I'm not allergic to kids of course, but it was a surprise that juast about everyone else staying here was a family. I would NOT recommend this for the quiet business traveler.
- DEALBREAKER #2: Bad key cards and exits. The key readers are not great at reading the cards. As a solo female, it's panic-inducing to be in the hallway putting your key in the slot over 20x to get in the door, and also inconvenient. As an occasional smoker, I go in and out, usually. However, there is also only ONE way in to this hotel. If you use the stairs on either side of the hallways, you can get outside but not back in, forcing you to walk to the circumference of the building and come back in through the lobby. They have smoking areas outside, but they are crowded with people, many of whom were inebriated and raucous last night, and I wanted no part of that.
^^ This part may not seem like a big deal to anyone else, but it's a safety and privacy issue. Even if I weren't a smoker, I wouldn't want to parade in and out of the lobby every time I'm coming and going. I have never seen a hotel that didn't have an additional entrance.
- The zipline, go-karts, and ACTUAL "family fun" is only open on the weekends. I am here from Monday to Wednesday. I figured, after I got here, I may as well make the best of it and try out the go-karts, but NOPE. The place is just swarming with kids who have nothing to do but go to the pool .... that opens at 9 am.
I've already been traveling 4 days by the time I got here, and I expected a LOT better for the high cost of this pace. .
If amenities with usable hours, having private entrances, and working key cards aren't dealbreakers for you, this probably would be a cool place to take the kids for the weekend. Other than that, not recommended, especially for solo travel.
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