Rodeway Inn Seaside Heights-Toms River

For the price, this was exactly what I expected, and the room was clean. The staff were courteous and very nice, and I enjoyed the breakfast muffin. My complaint is that I didn't get fresh towels the next morning or any maid service, though I'm not sure whether they offer it. The air conditioner has no controls and runs full blast, so the room stayed at 65 degrees.

The manager was rude when we complained that the bathtub didn't work. He blamed it on six people sharing one bathroom, which makes no sense for a six-person suite when only one person had showered. He also said he deletes negative TripAdvisor posts, which may explain the fairly high rating there. The suite was close to the beach, but it was dirty, with bugs and hair in the beds, and the tub and most fixtures were broken or falling apart. I don't expect much from shore hotels, but this place was awful. Avoid it if cleanliness and comfort matter to you.

The breakfast was a joke, so plan to eat elsewhere. The pool was small and cold, though not terrible. My room seemed clean on arrival, the staff mostly left us alone, and both the AC and mini fridge got cold. The shower turned hot after running for a while. It's a short walk to the beach, and overall I was pleased with my stay at the Econo Lodge.

There was dried blood all over the balcony and the building siding when we went out the next day. It had clearly been there a while, and nobody had cleaned it. We only learned later, after someone in my party overheard the front desk man, that a fight had broken out the night before and two people were removed from the property. I wish I were kidding. Although the room seemed free of bugs, staying there felt unsafe and wasn't worth the money. At check-in, a full industrial-size garbage bag was lying in the middle of the lobby. The man said our room was ready, but its door was wide open, with sand and trash inside and outside. He let us move to another room, which had no trash but was still run-down and felt structurally unsound: ceiling tiles and the tub were chipping, the AC wouldn't turn off, the walls had dents and stains, and a large piece of molding was missing from the door frame. The halls and grounds looked dirty and neglected too.