Crystal Beach Motor Inn

Sue at the front desk was great, very personable, and clearly cared about making sure we had a good stay. The maintenance staff were kind, and room service was friendly and organized. Since we came in the off-season, they immediately offered us a room with a better view at no extra charge. We’d book again!

The location is the best thing about the Crystal Beach Motor Inn. We could walk to the beach, boardwalk, and restaurants, and the hotel is centrally located. We were in room 302 with five people, but the kitchen had only the bare minimum and not enough utensils for everyone. We made do with the room itself, but service was a serious problem. At check-in, we were told the elevator wasn’t working. In the morning we ran out of toilet paper and called the front desk. Sue said housekeeping should have left two rolls and that she’d send one up, but it never arrived. We called again and learned room service didn’t start until 8:30. Family staying in the same hotel finally gave us a roll. Housekeeping had also missed washcloths, dish towels, and dishcloths, but we let that go. On our last night, we called again for toilet paper. Sue said housekeeping had left for the day and asked us to wait until morning, then said she’d get us some in about 30 minutes. We were getting ready to see the fireworks, so offered to have her leave it on a chair by the door. She said a medical condition meant she couldn’t climb the stairs, and told us we could come to the office in about 30 minutes. While we were talking, she hung up. We went to a neighboring hotel for toilet paper. Someone there said they sometimes help Sue and that she’d left a roll in a closet, so we searched but couldn’t find it. Park Lane gave us the paper instead. There was nobody available when we left in the morning, and Sue’s number went to voicemail. We called with our number restricted, and she answered two seconds later with, “Hello, thank you for calling Crystal Beach motel,” which made us think she had blocked us. We said we were leaving; she told us where to put the keys, and we videoed ourselves putting them in the box. When we brought up her hanging up, she came out of the office and said her phone had cut out, that she hadn’t blocked us, and that we should leave and never come back. We said we wouldn’t and would write a review. She said she had us on video, which was fine because we hadn’t done anything wrong. I understand she has a medical condition, and I have compassion for people. I just feel there’s a way to treat guests, especially when running a business. If she’d explained that she couldn’t bring toilet paper upstairs and asked us to come down or wait, I’d have been fine with that. Hanging up and blocking us felt completely unacceptable and like bad business practice. Telling someone never to return when all we asked for was toilet paper was unprofessional. Word of mouth goes far. We had family and friends staying there, but this was our last visit. I’ll steer people away whenever they ask about our stay.

We had a great stay. The room was very clean, and the bathroom was beautiful. It was a little stuffy when we arrived, but the AC cooled it down quickly. The double bed was comfortable, and there was always a parking space. Sue, the owner, was cool and let us check in a couple of hours early. The room had two double beds and was small, but it was all my bestie and I needed for a weekend in the Crest. We also had a lovely ocean view. The area was quiet and peaceful, and there’s a nice pool, not huge but big enough, eight feet deep, and very clean. It’s just a few blocks from the start of the boardwalk and close to everything, so we walked everywhere. We booked The Weeknd at the last minute. Highly recommend!

Being so close to the beach with easy access made things easier for us. The management was really sweet and hospitable. Highly recommend.