The Diplomat Beach Club Suites

EDIT: I changed this from one star to four after a great conversation with the building owner. The building staff are very friendly, the property is under new management, and they're focused on keeping things clean and nice. You can see that in the pool deck and lobby. The issues below came from Island Reality's cleaning team, or the lack of one, and the condo owners. Inside, the room was absolutely filthy, with dust and dirt everywhere. The bathroom badly needed cleaning, the appliances weren't plugged in, the carpets looked old and ragged, and the whole place smelled of mildew and water damage. The rooms look as if they were last remodeled in the mid 80s and last cleaned months ago. I've seen roadside motels cleaner than this. Thankfully, the building owner seemed determined to fix the problems.

I spent two weeks at the Diplomat, and the location is great: a few blocks from the boardwalk, Wawa, and restaurants. The pool is a good size too. That's about where the positives end. The pool area was always dirty, tables and chairs weren't cleaned, and garbage was scattered around. Maintenance clearly wasn't doing the job. Unit 202 is completely outdated. Its old pullout sofa was awful to sit or sleep on, so I had to buy an inflatable mattress at Walmart for the two-week stay, a huge inconvenience. The refrigerator was extremely old and noisy, the bathroom was outdated, and the TV had about eight channels. The unit needs work, especially a new sofa. The location and pool are great, but that's all.

Our group of three found the room just the right size, though I can't say whether all the rooms are alike. There's a pool on a second-floor deck with a couple of grills. The boardwalk and beach are only a block and a half away, with lots of restaurants and nightlife nearby. Great place to stay in Wildwood, and I'd recommend it for a trip down the shore.

We had a lot of fun here and plan to come back next summer. The staff were kind, the room was clean and nice, and the balcony views were awesome. The pool goes down to about 9 feet. There's a barbecue area that's good for cookouts, and the beach and boardwalk are two blocks away. A great experience overall.