We arrived at the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino a few hours after check-in. We had booked a room on their website, which was supposed to be a deluxe smoking room with ocean view. Since there was an air show in town the next day and all the rooms were booked, and we were not there earlier in the day, the front desk person said our room was dirty and we would have to wait two hours but he checked with the manager who said to give us another room. We got another room, which was a partial ocean view, but could not see anything deluxe about it, and it was a non smoking room. Seems all the smoking rooms fill up fast. (This happens everywhere--people are still smoking obviously, so a hotel which has more smoking rooms would make a bundle). We were told we could call up the front desk at 8:00 am the next day to see if we could change our room if we wanted but they could not guarantee it. Seeing they were turning away people left and right looking for a room, AND they were charging people 300.00 per night (we paid 189.00) we decided not to complain and just accept the room. The front desk person looked shocked at our registration information and even asked us where we got that rate. Obviously they were not informed of this air show when I booked the room online 3 weeks before our trip. Glad they didn't know!

Room was tiny and definitely in need of a remodel. I was disappointed as with Trump's name on the hotel, the room was kind of shoddy and plain and was actually decorated in a tacky way. Everything was done in shades of puke gold and money green. They tried breaking it up with some burgundy themed prints on the wall, but there was just too much of the pukey colors to make a difference. The carpeting needs to be ripped out and replaced. It was nasty with holes and some huge red stain on it. The bedspreads had holes/burn marks in them, as did the carpeting. While this was a non smoking room, the bellhop told us to smoke, as everyone does anyway. That was confirmed as two guests actually went into the elevator with lit cigarettes laughing, also telling us to smoke.

The climate control in the room was decent. It was never too hot or too cold.

The bathroom was a decent size. Tub was all chipped up though. Looked very old and dirty but not something that could be solved with a little scrubbing. The toilet looked like it was going to come off the floor and was not installed correctly. They had water savers on the shower and faucets, which I find annoying. The vanity was decent. Nice amenities of toiletries were left for us. Towels were plentiful and wonderfully big and thirsty. We received new towels daily. The phone that was in the bathroom was dead.

There was sufficient closet/drawer space. There was no microwave in the room but it did have a fridge and the room safe was nice. The table and desk were large enough to dine on. The room service was impeccable. The food was tremendous. We figured that it would be a small amount of food and we received a humongous spread and the waitress was extremely nice. We would have tipped more if we had known she was going to practically serve our meal. Really, if you order room service, be prepared for a real treat. Everything you may want will come with your meal, from small sealed bottles of ketchup, mayo, mustard to glasses filled with ice and wrapped up, for water. It was pricey but only 2.50 per person more for room service added on the regular menu prices and the food was good.

I did have a problem with the internet. The ethernet box would not work nor do they have Wifi. I had to use dial up and pay 80 cents per local call to connect.

They had a small but decent indoor pool that my son enjoyed, although we spent more time playing in the ocean. The hotel is right on the boardwalk so everything you may want is right outside your door practically. There is a Starbucks right next to the hotel, making it easy to get coffee and tea in the morning. As with other hotels, this one had a coffee maker and an intial supply of coffee, but after that one pack of coffee (plus decaf) and no tea bags, you are on your own to supply coffee, or go out for it. There are no convenience stores in the area either.

The TV menu offered pay movies, which were a decent selection, free HBO and pay Nintendo games with a controller attached.

Everything is expensive in the hotel. We paid 9.00 for a vodka and tonic and 7.00 for a cosmopolitan! We are not heavily into gambling but we do play the slots from time to time. Do not bother wasting your money on Trumps slots. They pay out the state's minimum, which is 87%. Other casinos advetise 95% payouts. We lost at Trump and at Caesers. Thankfully we had a small budget for slots anyway.

The restaurant had good food, as mentioned about the room service, but the waiters down there have a hard time with the English language. We could not understand our waiter or the host. They did mess up our meal, but it was late, I was hungry and settled for what I did not order.

Parking was valet or self park I believe, but we were agressively parked when we drove up, so we didn't have a choice. However, it was free parking. The sign said 20.00, but we were never charged for it. Beware though, it's almost impossible to get to your car if you valet park until you check out, according to the valet. Beware though, when checking out, if you have a bellhop get your bags, they will leave the bellcart loaded up with your luggage sitting unattended while you are checking out. Not too smart.

Overall, except for the security guards who never cracked a smile and were always grouchy, the staff were very friendly. Our maid, the front desk people, the bellhops, the restaurant staff were all friendly.

One annoyance was the security. We were given room keys that had to be shown to the guard upon entering the wing we were in as well as being barked at by grumpy security guards to swipe it in the card slot before the door would open. Then, once in the elevator, in order for it to work, you would have to swipe the card again in the slot in the elevator. It was a huge annoyance and nothing I have ever seen in other hotels. The second huge annoyance is that everything, and I mean everything, is bolted, screwed or tied down. the coffee maker is tethered to the desk. The iron is tethered to the ironing board, which made dumping the water from the iron after ironing some shirts a huge endeavor. We had to use the ice bucket and dump the water into that to empty it. Lamps were bolted down. It was ridiculous. We were surprised the towels were not tethered to the wall. Really, there is no trust there at all. We are not theives and if something is missing why not just charge it on the guest's credit card???

I'd say this was an okay hotel, but the rooms are certainly not remarkable. I suppose if you get a suite they would be something to brag about, but if you are getting a supposed "deluxe" room, it's nothing more than a Days Inn type place and that's disappointing when it has The Donald's name on it. I expected luxury and it wasn't very luxurious. I would certainly not pay any more than we did for the room, and was floored they could ask 300.00 for the room during peak times.