As a first time visitor to Asbury Park this hotel was the perfect intro! Boutique-ey without trying too hard. I truly can't believe that in just an hour and half we were out of the city, laying by a pool, smelling the sea air. Most importantly we felt completely safe during our entire stay. All staff and guests wore masks and followed social distancing rules, even the pool felt like we were never too close to anyone (plus we could bring our dog!!!!). I was extra appreciative of the manager Tim. He took the time to check in on us, get to know us, and make sure we had everything we needed for a wonderful time. I saw him do this with many of the guests, which, as someone who's worked in hotels, tells me that they really care about their guests. I even saw Tim hand deliver a giant slice of rainbow cake to an older couple that was celebrating their birthday at the pool. That kind of extra attention to guest's experience is what keeps me going back to places. Already trying to plan our next visit!

We stayed in one of the quad rooms for three nights and while there are so many things to appreciate and we'd choose this hotel again, we hope they can overcome a few challenges. First, the good things: the hotel is just a block from the beach and boardwalk. The common spaces are great and the staff are friendly, knowledgeable, and laid back. The coffee and hot breakfast available were excellent, having a pool table and live music several nights that we were there was great; the big couches and little tables all over the lobby encourage hanging out. The pool area is also nice; we loved the swinging cabanas. The rooftop movie space is apparently closed for the summer due to issues with equipment and this should have been communicated prior to our stay (as even when there are movies, they're typically only shown on weekends and we stayed during the week. ) The room was as pictured, four wall mounted bunkbeds with a small seating area and separate shower, toilet, and double sink which made having four people in the room very sharable. Only one tv channel worked and only sporadically during our stay. The mini fridge would have benefited from being more incorporated into the design so that it wasn't in the middle of the room. Having a separate closet for each person with lots of wall hooks was a great idea but there should have been more thought about the need to dry swimsuits (with a clothesline, etc.) The biggest issue though and the reason that we subtracted a star is this: a note was left in the room indicating there would be no housekeeping services during our stay. Towels could be placed outside the room and you could text for replacements but that was it. An arrangement like this needs to be communicated before arrival, particularly at this price point, and things like brooms and trash disposal need to be made available for guests. We understand that everyone is emerging from Covid and understaffed but after three days, our trash was overflowing. We did ask for the floor to be swept when our towels were replaced (and we appreciated that they did sweep) but housekeeping just can't be optional. This really is a lovely hotel in a unique historic building with so much personality; I'm sure we'll be able to give five stars down the line when these issues are resolved!

We booked a last minute standard king for a spontaneous weekend trip to Asbury Park. The front desk matched the price on Booking.com after I emailed them a screen shot. There were two weddings that weekend so it was a little noisy at times. Our room overlooked Bradley Park. The room was small, squarish, almost dorm like, and they managed to use the space efficiently with cubby holes on the sides of the bed and blond wooden pegs on the wall to hang coats and jackets. The bed was comfortable. The bathroom was roomier than expected given the size of the hotel room, and it was clean with white subway tiling, modern fixtures and a window that opens. The shower looked new and worked well but the water temperature was uneven, sometimes getting too hot or turning cold. Daily self parking is $10 and is in a lot next to Asbury Lanes on 4th Avenue. I saw on my final bill that they took out a daily destination amenity charge of $29 a day, probably because it was too cold to use the pool. I assume that during the summer they would charge the daily destination amenity fee, which is just a daily resort fee. During the summer the rooms are more expensive. The wi-fi was slow at times. Despite some shortcomings, it is a good place to stay in Asbury Park within easy walking distance of the boardwalk.