Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel
Selected
Hotel Details
Location
Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel · Asbury Park, United States
Explore More Hotels
Key Highlights
- ✓Shoreline Social Club & Grille: A lively sports bar perfect for catching a game, enjoying delicious bites, and playing pool.
Expert Review: Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel
The Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel in Asbury Park, a Michelin Key Selected property, offers a blend of historic grandeur and modern amenities, appealing to guests looking for a beachside getaway with easy access to local attractions.
1. Overall Rating & Sentiment
The general sentiment for the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel is mixed but leans positive, with guests frequently praising its prime location and historical charm. While many appreciate the beautiful property, clean rooms, and friendly staff, some recurring criticisms highlight areas for improvement, particularly regarding service consistency and room maintenance. The Michelin Key selection suggests a recognition of its quality and unique offerings.
2. Key Highlights
Guests consistently laud the hotel's exceptional location, situated right on the Asbury Park Boardwalk and steps from the beach, offering breathtaking ocean views. Its Beaux-Arts design, by Whitney Warren (known for Grand Central Station), combines original Victorian architecture with modern luxuries, creating a "classic coastal sophistication".
Key amenities include a seasonal outdoor pool with private cabanas and a Tiki Bar, a 24-hour fitness center, and complimentary Wi-Fi. The hotel also boasts a stylish rooftop terrace and significant event spaces, including large ballrooms. Its pet-friendly policy is an added bonus for many travelers.
3. Room Quality
The rooms and suites at the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel are described as spacious and designed with classic coastal sophistication. They offer modern comforts such as soft cotton linens, premium bedding, in-room safes, and 50-inch flat-screen televisions with premium satellite channels and iPod docking stations. Guests can choose between ocean or city views. While many find the rooms clean and comfortable, some express concerns about dated decor, poorly laid-out rooms, small bathrooms, and issues like slow drains or malfunctioning TVs/heating in certain instances.
4. Dining Experience
The hotel offers a variety of dining options:
- Lilly & Lu's Café: This vibrant, artsy café by the beach provides a delightful start to the day with artisan coffee, homemade pastries, breakfast sandwiches, fresh salads, and gourmet sandwiches.
- Shoreline Social Club & Grille: A lively sports bar perfect for catching a game, enjoying delicious bites, and playing pool.
- Berkeley Backyard: A newer concept offering indoor and outdoor dining with fresh flavors, open for lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. It's noted for its pleasant ambiance and accommodating service, even being dog-friendly.
- AP Chophouse: Advertised as Asbury Park's premier steakhouse located within the hotel.
- Pool & Cabana Club: Offers poolside delights for those relaxing by the water. Breakfast is available, though some guests have noted limited options and understaffing in the cafe area.
5. Service & Staff
Feedback on service and staff is generally positive, with many guests commending the team for being friendly, attentive, courteous, knowledgeable, and accommodating. They are often highlighted for making stays enjoyable and assisting with needs. However, a few guests have reported dissatisfaction with inconsistent service or abrupt staff interactions.
6. Location & Accessibility
The Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel boasts an "excellent" and "prime" location, directly on the Asbury Park Boardwalk and just a 3-minute walk from Asbury Park Beach. It's also conveniently situated across the street from the famous Stone Pony music venue and within walking distance of many other local hotspots, restaurants, and shops. The hotel is approximately an hour's drive from both Philadelphia and New York City, making it an accessible escape.
7. Value & Pricing
The hotel is generally considered to offer good value, with room rates starting from approximately US$143-175, and an average price around $201 per room. Guests can often secure better value by booking directly through the hotel's official website, which also provides flexible policies and special promotions like discounts for longer stays or advance purchases. However, the high daily valet parking fees (ranging from $60 to $75) are a significant concern for some guests, impacting the overall perceived value.
8. Common Complaints
Recurring issues and criticisms include:
- High Parking Fees: Valet parking is expensive, with rates starting at $60-$75 per day, which many guests find excessive.
- Inconsistent Service: While often praised, some experiences with staff have been described as inconsistent or abrupt.
- Room Condition: Complaints of dated rooms, poor room layouts (e.g., lack of space around beds), small bathrooms, and minor maintenance issues like slow tub drains, non-functioning TVs, or heating problems have been reported.
- Noise: Some guests have noted noise issues, particularly in rooms potentially affected by events or street activity.
- Dining Limitations: Occasional feedback points to limited breakfast options or understaffing in the café.
Sources
Points to Consider
- •Recurring issues and criticisms include:
- •Noise: Some guests have noted noise issues, particularly in rooms potentially affected by events or street activity.
Google Reviews
2,058 reviews
Recent Guest Reviews
Holly AnRGirl Hutchison
This hotel is opulent yet not stuffy. The staff were very accommodating and welcoming. There are so many cozy, beautiful places through out the hotel common areas to chill with your partner, work on laptop, or read. They were all so kind to my pup 🐶 Ozzy Rockstar. We were there on business. The wedding banquet rooms look exquisite. We will be back again soon! Thank you Laura, Megan and Dan.
Joshua Riley
What a phenomenal trip. I was there volunteering on the staff for a symposium and the entire weekend was such a wonderful experience. Decent, moderately priced food inside the hotel itself, the staff were some of the kindest people I've ever met in hospitality, and their event team was completely on their game. There's also a Salon attached to the hotel and accessible through the lobby. I didn't n...
Courtney Gillette
I had high hopes for this resort but it was disappointing. This was our first time in Asbury Park. The hotel is convenient to the beach and boardwalk. We stayed in the off season for 2 weeknights and 2 weekend nights; the staff during the weekend were remarkably friendlier than the staff we first encountered. The room was surprisingly big and comfortable, but there was an issue with the room my mo...
Scott
Perfect Beachside Stay! I had a wonderful stay at the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel! The location truly can’t be beat — it’s just steps from the beach and the Asbury Park boardwalk, which made it super convenient to take morning walks along the ocean and enjoy the local restaurants and shops. The staff were exceptionally friendly and helpful from check-in to checkout. They made me feel very welcome an...
Ben Brown
This could be a lovely, charming historic hotel. Instead it was a grimy price gouge with none of the amenities of nearby places. Location is great, but there is no way the cost of the room could be justified. The room itself was fine, a little dirty and smelly but it worked. No house keeping either. We were charged a resort fee with no pool (out of season?), breakfast, parking, or any other amenit...
Deb Tokarz
Front desk folks were great! Hotel is pet friendly. Lots of issues though hence I won’t go back. For the price one would expect a descent coffee bar in the am and not with coffee Mate. Breakfast before 10 am would’ve been nice to know before making the reservation. Thank goodness for the coffee cafe in the paramount bldg across the street. Elevator creaked. The room was ok however didn’t have 3...
