Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel

V Jagiello

My friend and I decided to spend a night at the Berkeley over Memorial day weekend. We were able to get an early check-in at 11:30 am which was great. Everyone was super helpful from the valet to the front desk. The rooms are large, there are very little amenities (no fridge, no coffee pot) and you could hear a pin drop in the hallways. We decided to spend a relaxing afternoon at the pool however It was anything but! They had a DJ blasting club music all afternoon. It was so loud that I asked nicely if they could just turn it down a breath. I got some attitude from the pool manager who said they stop at 4 pm. At 4 pm the DJ left so we had peace for 5 minutes. The music starting again from a speaker coming from another source. Overall, it was a pleasant stay but, they obviously cater to a much younger crowd. I probably won't stay there again.

Melissa Szmania

The room was very humid due to a gap between the window and the wall where air was pouring in. No washcloths, and water marks that I thought were dirt on the bedside tables. The room was semi cleaned, with dated furniture all nicked up and clearly in need of a deep cleaning on the furniture. And you can definitely hear the other doors on the floor slamming closed and waking you up. The only good thing about my stay with the two wonderful girls at the desk when I check in. I did get lost while going in because there are no signs directing you to the desk. And the partial ocean view was more of the convention center the park across the street and the boardwalk, barely a glimpse of the beach. Not worth the $388 that I paid for the night.

Mary Donnelly Allegretta

Like other reviews before mine have said, it’s evident that the hotel management is struggling with staffing, and that’s clear based on how much general maintenance work needs to be done to address some boarded up windows and peeling wallpaper… and also how the entire building appears to need a proper cleaning. My husband and I were in town for a wedding and checked in on a busy Saturday afternoon (busy in that there was some kind of family convention in progress and hoards of people were milling about the lobby and mezzanine). Those same folks must have been fairly sloppy, as the following morning there were empty glasses, dishes, discarded toys and other trash items left all over the place. One of the elevators had globs of ketchup on the floor, and boxes and trash piles were heaped in corners. The good news is that street parking was relatively easy to find and navigate with the Asbury PARK app. Parking was free overnight and during the day on Sunday. I’m glad we did this instead of opting to pay for parking at the hotel because those prices are straight up ridiculous given that parking is in a surface lot behind the hotel and not a covered garage. There also did not appear to be a valet. It’s a shame that the hotel is not more ship shape given its history and natural beauty. I’m not sure if it’s problems are due mostly because of the pandemic or because of poor management. The staff seems nice but doesn’t appear to have the same hospitality training that you would expect from a property like this. The television in our room didn’t work (poor antenna signal was the message…). There was no clear spot for coffee in the morning, so we went to a coffee shop in the convention center arcade and were happy enough with that. I guess the bug issue was the cleanliness… There were oily fingerprints on some of the surfaces of the room, but thankfully the bathroom and linens were clean. The hallways were in need of a thorough trash pickup and vacuum. I’m not sure if it’s always like this, or if they were overwhelmed with the volume of folks staying for the convention. We would consider staying here again, but most likely in the off season. The fact that it’s pet friendly was a huge plus.

Danielle Divincent

We were married at the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel this past New Years Eve and we cannot say enough about the event and reception staff. They are professional, personable, thoughtful and attentive! They made sure that our wedding day was perfect! Our guests were so pleased with Princess and D in reception, Carly and the other bartenders at the wedding, and my husband and I loved working with Cory planning and executing the perfect wedding day. Although Cory had a wedding of his own to attend on NYE, he stayed with us as long as he could and made sure everything was set up and perfect before he left. I would also like to personally thank the Berkeley Chef who put together a beautiful and delicious display for lunch for my bridal party as we got ready! He was accommodating to allergies and food sensitivities, and exceeded any expectations I had for that special lunch. The only issue we had at the Berkeley was the quality and cleanliness of the rooms. Many of my guests had to call reception and/or switch rooms due to the room, bathroom and bedding not being clean upon check in. We were informed that the hotel was severely understaffed and were thankful for the prompt and accommodating response of the staff that was there, but it was difficult for my husband and I to hear guests complain of unclean rooms when many had to travel so far to join us. We also were disappointed to hear that guests had to pay for parking in addition to rooms. Our wedding was off-season for Asbury Park and a discount of $35 for parking for people already paying to stay in the hotel is unreasonable. Thankfully, Asbury Park had a free parking day on New Years Day, so many of our guests that we had told to park on the street saved on that. Otherwise, our experience at the hotel for our event was wonderful and we were very pleased with the staff that we interacted with. They made our day memorable!