Four Winds Motel

We booked three rooms for one night, but our supposed non-smoking room reeked of cigarettes. Later that evening, we found bugs on the sheets and our clothes. There was nobody at the front desk, so we couldn't get moved and had to sleep in our cars. The next morning we showed the manager photos, but he said bed bugs were impossible, denied they were there, blamed us for bringing them in, and refused a refund. We spent the entire next day packing our things in trash bags, throwing away our suitcases, doing laundry, and spraying our cars with Raid. We paid for all those precautions ourselves, since the manager wouldn't even give us more than two garbage bags. The customer service was embarrassing. Bed bugs are unacceptable, and the employees were some of the rudest I've dealt with. It's worth paying more or staying farther from the boardwalk to avoid this place.

We'd stayed in room 6 before and liked how updated it was, so the apartment we got this time was a big letdown. We arrived 15 minutes before the 2 p.m. check-in and were told unit 5 would be cleaned by then. We went to Acme for snacks and drinks, but when we came back at 2:50, it was still being cleaned. We waited. The mop bucket downstairs was filthy, and they hadn't gone down the stairs to wring it out. After we complained, they said they'd return with a clean bucket and mop again. We went in to put our bags on the bed before heading to the beach. The fridge was gross, the stove dirty, and there was dried food on the walls beside the beds. The floor was awful, with half the tiles shattered. The floor in the right bedroom felt soft, and we were afraid to walk on it. There was mildew or mold behind the bathroom door. We complained at the desk about the poor condition. Room 6 had just been rented and was supposedly their best. They showed us room 4, which was just as dismal. We looked elsewhere, but nowhere could take six adults, so we had to stay or drive 4.5 hours home. The desk guy gave us another parking pass free and said he'd talk to the general manager about the price. We saw him once more, dealing with other guests unhappy about their rooms. At checkout he wouldn't even come out to take the key. When we called today, we learned he was the general manager and owner. He wouldn't talk with us, repeating that if the room was so bad, we wouldn't have stayed.

For the price and how close it is to the beach, I'd stay again. The room had what we needed: beds, a bathroom, a fridge, and ice-cold AC. The pool was pretty good too. The manager was the best part. He was really nice, found me a parking spot even though I had to leave for a while in the middle of the night, and offered to keep the pool open longer if we'd like, so he could stay and supervise. Motels in seaside aren't super nice, but this one did the job.

For the location, this place was sufficient and I'd return. It's a block from the beach and boardwalk, with convenience stores and grocers nearby. The first room had hair from previous guests and crumbs in the bed, but the front desk guy moved us to a clean, ready room without hesitation. They cleaned the pool daily, and beach passes were included so we didn't have to pay each day. There was free coffee and muffins, too. The small lot made parking a bit rough. The front desk attendant was cool and relaxed, and there were no disturbances. Housekeeping comes when requested, which meant we weren't bothered. Checkout was a loose 10 a.m., with no rush to leave. The guy let us keep the beach passes after checkout so we could go to the beach before heading out, and park in the lot until we were ready to leave. Returning guests can get up to 10% off.