Holiday inns are pretty consistent as far as I'm concerned, clean rooms, decent beds, pretty good service, etc... but I feel like I missed something as far as location goes. You are parallel to the beach so it's not far to go across the street obviously but the main action of the boardwalk is far. This hotel is located near 126th street... yes, there are shops all around for miles down the main drag, lots of mini golf, different restaurants and stores near the hotel, it's not in the middle of nowhere by any means but we wanted to be at least closer to the action than we were. When we got there we had no idea just how far we were... we asked how far of a walk it was to the boardwalk and they just said to take the bus, which is what we did, but we got off too early, at around 25th street or so? We had to walk for SEVERAL more blocks to get to the main area and it was HOTTTTT!!!!!!!! so yeah that made for a miserable day.
Just keep in mind that the main area of the boardwalk starts at around 5th street and goes down to 1st then there's a few more blocks after that. We drove a lot after that 1st day and were able to find lots of free parking spots on the street (if you got there early enough - 10,11am) that didn't require too much walking. The closer you get to Ripleys Believe it or Not, the more you'll have to pay to park so I would recommend parking around 5th/6th/7th street for free and walking a bit. Or you can take the bus but the bus takes long and makes a lot of stops, esp when you're starting at 126th street!!!!!!!!!

THE PROS
1) Great Location -Restaurants, and stores are close by. Short driving distance to boardwalk.
2) North side park behind the hotel is wonderful. You can go jogging, fishing, crabbing etc.
3) Beach is a block away And it's very clean.
4) Clean Rooms
5) Free Wifi
6) Friendly Staff

The Cons
1)Beds and pilliows are not too comfortable.
2)Breakfast hrs 6:30-9:30am . Was not able to make it before 9:30am the first day.
Over all would stay here again.
James H
Brooklyn NY

I read a lot of reviews about this hotel.... I am not sure weather I had bad luck in this hotel or the reviews are just complements. We had booked this hotel before we went. First, we had given handicapped room, and we were told that this is the unique available room. The reciptionest was not so gentle and she asked us to decied weather we were going to stay in this room or we didn't like it, and in the last case we have to stay one night at the hotel. She left us 5 minutes to decied as that was a high season and there are lot of people waiting for an empty room.
We decieded to stay one night ,this is also because the hotel is not on the beach. You have to cross the road with your swimming suit to get there. Finally, we found other better hotel, of course with higher price as we were looking foor immediate booking. The other hotel was much better, first row one, and there were many rooms available there.
I think the hotel staff need to know how to deal with guests first. You will discover this easily when you go there. I truely describe what has happened with us there. And honestly, as I will never go there again, I don't recommend it to the reader. Again, I am not sure weather this was a bad luck, or that is their attitude, but I am sure that this is not a good hotel. Not only due to what happened to me, but also for the hotel staff, cleanness, food quality....and so many issues.... Better luck for others

I spent 4 weekday-nights here. It is a later-generation hotel, with fresh decor and very clean in room, hallway, and lobby/breakfast area. Located on the Bay side of the Coastal Highway on the northern fringe of Ocean City in an area where there are mostly private condos, upscale properties and only a few other hotels;it is several miles from the boardwalk (an asset if you prefer a quieter area) but it's on the "beach bus" route if you want to make a trip downtown. You have to cross the highway to reach the beach but the intersection has a traffic light and working crosswalk buttons. Just behind the hotel is the very nice Northside Park. There are sit-down restaurants (seafood, Italian, steak) and cheap eats (subs, wings, pizza) all within a block on the same side of the highway as the hotel, plus a dollar store, groceries, etc.

The room was very clean including corners, linens, and bathroom. The bath was a modern one-piece type (no grout to get icky) with a safety-handhold bar, and it was sparkling clean except for a bit of hard water build-up underneath the whirlpool jets. Room a comfortable size, nice flat screen TV and all appliances (hairdryer, fridge, microwave) clean and in working order. Bed comfortable with a variety of pillow "firmnesses" but I always bring my own for my neck problems. No sign of vermin.They did a good job of cleaning up the inevitable tracked-in sand with one exception: the elevator carpeting needed attention. The room was quiet and so were the guests when I was there. It is family friendly.

I spent my time at the beach, but the outdoor pool looked nice; staff kept it cleared of sand. Service was friendly. The complimentary breakfast had enough variety so that you could try different things on different mornings. It included cereals, yogurts, muffins/pastries/bagels/toast, scrambled eggs, meat (sausage patties or bacon on different days), biscuits and sausage gravy (a Southern dish), and a pancake-making machine (the pancakes are so-so but fun to make.) Plus surprisingly decent coffee/decaf and the usual breakfast juices. As noted by other reviewers it is best to get to the breakfast early (before 8:30) to avoid the rush.

Not a cheap hotel but probably worth what you pay. Call hotel direct and compare price to any online service quotes you get.