The Carousel Beach Inn was right across the street from the Boardwalk entrance. The parking is in the middle of the motel which felt safer for our truck. There is a gate requiring a room key to open for access the rooms. All rooms have a balcony or patio, and all the front doors faced inward, toward each other instead of out toward the street so it felt safer than those facing streets which is a big deal when you have little kids. Although it is an older establishment it has been mostly updated. The smartest up date was the wood style floor (I wish more hotels did not have carpet, the idea of carpet is gross to me). Plus the "wood" floor is a much better choice near the beach, my family brought sand in every time. I also appreciated the broom they provided so I could quickly sweep the sand off the floor, I don't like sand on my feet after I bathe. Since our kids are little and fussy eaters I always bring them food and snacks so I really appreciated the fridge and microwave. I loved the pictures over the bed, it set the tone for the Boardwalk.The kids also liked the balcony and it gave us a little extra space. I loved the toiletries, they smell like Papaya. It's not a sound proof room, so light sleepers might need a sound machine if they choose this motel but we were all so tired from playing hard we slept pretty well. This is not a luxury hotel but cute with cheerful decorations. I felt it was a good value especially considering the location, free breakfast and free parking. The free breakfast was freshly cut fruit, fresh muffins, bagels, orange juice, coffee & tea. The coffee, tea and hot cocoa were available all the time, it was nice to have a warm drink after playing on the chilly beach. It was all kept tidy and nicely presented. The staff was nice and someone was always available when we needed them. They only have about 30(?) rooms so the rooms were cleaned in a timely manner and the staff wasn't overloaded with a ton of other customers. We typically only stay where there are pools but we didn't miss it because we played on the beach instead. We would be happy to stay here again.