Having grown up visiting Seaside Heights every summer since the 1970's, I've seen it morph numerous times. My most recent trip this past July 2012, I must say the boardwalk has once again emerged as a powerful summer vacation destination. Two things I noticed in particular was the cleanliness of the boardwalk and the presence of police/security. On the topic of cleanliness, there was not one piece of trash, not one cup, paper plate, napkin, nothing on the boardwalk or the beach. To compliment the boardwalk even more, not one garbage receptacle was full or overflowing. On the topic of safety, the presence of police and security was felt everywhere but not intrusive. Due to this, there was no routyness or roughness going on anywhere. This, by no means, amounted to lack of excitement or fun. There were all ages walking about, from teenagers hanging out with friends, to 20 and 30 something year old couples and friends, all the way up to seniors walking hand and hand.

The familiar sound of the games, the rides, the music, all remain. The endless array of seafood shacks, souvenir shops and arcades still abides. Of course finding a cold beer or cocktail, amazing..and I mean AMAZING pizza, sausage and pepper or steak sandwiches, the best french fries I've had in years and of course salt water taffy are as easy as walking from block to block.

That being said, I'll move on to our stay at The Aztec. I remember this motel from my childhood (I am 47yo), and I must say this was the cat's meow back in the day. Today however, well, it is a convenient place to rest one's head. Located right on the boardwalk, the motel does feature a pool, bar and a restaurant. The motel is old, outdated, in desperate need of a major overhaul, however for the most part, it was clean. I use the phrase "most part" very liberally. Our room was free of bugs, mold or any other smelly, crawly nouns, however when walking on our tile floor barefoot, we noticed the bottoms of our feet were black. I don't mean dusty or brown, I mean black. The floor obviously hadn't been mopped in a very long time. This motel is definitely geared toward young adults in their late teens and early 20's. I can understand not wanting to put any money into the place because this is the clientele they strive for and make their living on. This clientele, with all due respect, seemed more interested in drinking and partying, than taking care of their surroundings. If I were an owner however, I would do a major revamp of this somewhat historical place, and market the establishment toward a more mature 20-60 yo demographic. Just what I would do. While staying at The Aztec, we laid by the pool, had fun with the young crowd, did a few shots with them, and basically just relaxed. The noise level was well controlled and had no issues past 10/11pm. Everyone, overall, seemed very respectful of the other guests around them.

We stayed in a balcony room (a must in my opinion), overlooking the pool and with a great view of the beach and ocean. Had an issue with the TV which took more than a day to resolve, and the bathroom was small and dingy to say the least. It was clean, but the sink was outside the bathroom so just a tub and toilet and barely enough room to stand is what the bathroom was comprised of. Water pressure however, very good. That is a major deal breaker for me. Give me a shower where the water is trickling out and I'm insisting on another room or walking.

That being said, would I stay at The Aztec again? Maybe..maybe not. It just depends if I were in the mood to be adventurous and try something new and different off the boardwalk or settle for the convenience of location, location, location. Just an FYI, there are beautiful new condos built just one block off the boardwalk (2, 3 and 4 bedrooms I believe) which rent for about 200-400 per night. If you are going with a group of friends or family, going this route could be very economical. Well that wraps up my review of my trip to Seaside Heights! Hope you found this informative. Billy D.

After reading all of the reviews here, we were skeptical about our upcoming trip to Aztec...but we were pleasantly surprised to see that some people exagerate ...the rooms were very clean, a little sand still on tile floor BUT it is a BEACH FRONT HOTEL.....The pool was crystal clear and both mornings I saw them vacumming it out. The bathroom was clean and functioning perfectly. Our only problem ( and we had a good laugh about it) was the fridge must have been set too high and our tomato ( for mozz and tomatoes) froze and was so hard it would have killed someone. the ladies at the desk were very friendly and let us check in early and helped me with a problem I had locating a lost friend. SO thankfully we did not cancel based on some of the reviews below...HAD A BLAST...Clown festival was a bit bizaar..clowns are a strange group...LOL

I would never stay at this place again even if they pay me. They did not have clean rooms and the place is disgusting. The beds are the worst, you will need to see a chiropractor afterwards. The bathroom are definitely disgusting and are not clean at all. The showers have chaulk allover the place like they just did a quick patch work. There is definitely molds all over the place like every other reviewers said. Please read carefully before booking.

Aztec is always a great weekend stay. From its great location right on the boardwalk, the amazing view of the beach from the VIP room to the parties right in the bar/club and especially the fact that it's very known for not only people 21 but a family resort also. Even with all these events the staff alwayssss conducts themselves as professionals and is helpful & kind to any customer.