My husband & I have been going to Cape May for our anniversary for 10 years. This was our first time staying at Carroll Villa. We did have a great weekend! The weather was terrific! The Mad Batter is excellent for breakfast and dinner! But our room was disappointing. It was tired and old; definitely in need of refurbishing. I knew it would be small, but was surprised that the ceiling was peeling and marked up, carpet was extremely worn and bathroom was rusty. The room and bathroom were clean, just not as nice as we're used to.
My biggest problem with the Caroll Villa and my motiviation for writing this review.....our reservations were for Nov 9-11. Just after Hurricane Sandy. My husband and I live in northwest NJ and our area was without power for almost 2 weeks. The children missed 2 weeks of school. There had hours long gas lines and then odd-even days at gas stations. As recovery from the storm dragged on, my husband & I realized we felt unsettled having our anniversary weekend in the midst of all the turmoil.
We called and spoke to the magager, Kathy, at Carroll Villa. The hotel's cancellation policy is 10 days advanced notice for a refund. We called 9 days in advance of our scheduled trip. Kathy was incredibly unsympathetic and inconsiderate. We explained that we had several issues that might prevent us from keeping our reservation. All due to Hurricane Sandy. We had problems getting gas, our babysitting situation was up in the air because the kids were supposed to be off from school but now looked like they might be in school, we didn't want to leave our home and kids if the power was still out.
Kathy's initial reaction was cold and matter of fact. She said the hotel strictly follows their cancellation policy and it wouldn't be possible to refund our deposit. We asked to speak to the owner. If a refund wasn't possible we asked for a credit to use for a future stay. Several phone calls later......we did not speak to the owner and Kathy became harsh and rude. She said to my husband that no one else is trying to cancel. The Cape May area was fine and had no damage from the storm so we don't need to cancel. And finally, she grew impatient with talking to my husband, who was shocked at the conversation he was having, she said my husband was creating the problem! She said they are running a business and we have 'two choices. To keep our reservation or stay home and lose our money.' They did offer us a credit, but we would have had to use it by February! Not reasonable in our opinion!!
We worked everything out at home and went to Cape May for the weekend; not sure what kind of reception we'd get when we checked in. We didn't meet Kathy. And the gentleman at the desk was very nice. But that wasn't the way we should have had to celebrate our anniversary. What a poor example of how to treat people in a time of crisis! For this reason alone, I would never stay there again or recommend it to anyone else. Even if the room was gorgeous, I would not give Carroll Villa our business again.

We had a wonderful overnight stay at Carrroll Villa Hotel. The staff was great, very accomodating, helpful and eager to please. Although we are summer residents of the Cape May area this was a bit different from the summer hustle and bustle. We will definitely do it again.

My husband and I stayed here while using a Travelzoo voucher. The items included were great - trolley tour, tastings at 2 wineries, free breakfast with mimosa/bloody mary, bottle of wine in the room. The inn and room were a bit dated and musty. Our room (#18) was on the 3rd floor, which you do have to walk up to, however, when I made the reservation, they did advise me of that fact so we knew in advance. The room was fairly small and just seemed dated - the wallpaper, furnishings, etc. I understand it is a Victorian B&B, however, the room just seemed old instead of antique. The bed was comfortable and the bathroom was nice. I will say that the downstairs bar has a great happy hour, and the breakfast was excellent!

I can't wait to return to Cape May, but would likely stay elsewhere in the future.

Nice place, was as described would definately go there again. Staff was very friendly and accomodating. Restaurant and bar were nice as well. No need to go anywhere else. Short walk to the beach about half block.