Ocean View Inn

We were only on the property for about five minutes before we had to leave. I'd arrived around 9:30 with a friend who helped me get a room and paid for it before leaving. My friend had also said it was okay for my boyfriend's mother to stay that night, since she'd driven from South Carolina to help with a difficult situation. When she arrived, the owner came out and kicked all of us off the property, screaming, calling us names, and threatening us. He followed me into the room while I was alone, still acting threateningly. I'm a 5-foot-4, 105-pound woman, and he's a much bigger man, maybe 400 pounds and over six feet tall. I'm still shaking about how fast he started yelling. This didn't feel like a professional business. I hope your experience with the owner is better if you stay.

The room seemed fairly clean, but I was bitten all over by what my doctor confirmed were bedbug bites. My back, legs, butt, and the backs of my arms were covered. I stayed for two nights, and the itching started the day after I got home. Before bed, I'd noticed the mattress was wrapped in actual plastic wrap, like the kind for leftovers, which seemed odd. I brushed it off, thinking maybe they were trying to be proactive, and I was too tired to think much about it. Thankfully, I'd kept my bags in the car, parked just a few steps from the room, so I could get my clothes without bringing them inside. The office guy, whose role I couldn't identify, also made creepy comments about me traveling alone and not having a man to spend the evening with. I ignored him and carried on. I came to Tom's River for a conference, and with other things happening that weekend, this was one of the few hotels or motels with vacancies. I wish I'd stayed somewhere else. Please skip this hotel.

We'd read a lot of worrying one-star reviews after my wife booked a room without checking them, so here are my honest impressions from two nights with my wife and two kids on a beach weekend. For an affordable couple of nights, we thought the motel met our expectations, and we'd stay again. It isn't a fancy hotel with big TVs, jacuzzi tubs, or high-end amenities, and people looking for those things should book somewhere more expensive. You get what you pay for, in my view. The one-star reviews seemed to me mostly like inflated expectations. The man who checked us in and out was respectful and even chatted with our kids. If some guests had a bad interaction, maybe they were being rude or a nuisance too. People should treat each other how they'd like to be treated. We took off two stars. One issue is thin walls. Between guests above us and a busy highway nearby, nights were noisy. Our box fan drowned out most of it, but anyone who needs total quiet might not sleep well. That's common at budget motels, though, and would take major renovations to fix. The other star was for several smaller problems. Towels had visible stains, though they didn't necessarily seem dirty, and we bring our own anyway. There was a sticky spill in the fridge that housekeeping seemed to have missed. The blinds were filthy with thick dust and crud, so they need a deep clean or replacement. Also, even a budget motel near the beach should have an ice machine. There's a WAWA within walking distance, but having one on site would be a basic convenience. Vending machines with drinks and snacks would be useful too, especially for late arrivals or after a long drive. The room wasn't impressive, but it seemed like a place used by hundreds of guests over many years. A few changes could bring my rating up to four out of five.

The room was small, noisy, and had awful beds and pillows. There was no phone or ice machine, and even though the rooms are nonsmoking, buckets of cigarette butts outside each door let the smell drift in. The other guests seemed shady. The staff were nice, but I wouldn't spend money here again. I stayed two days only because nothing else was available. I couldn't sleep the first night, so I bought an air mattress, pillows, and sheets just to get some rest on night two. Worst sleep of my life.