It was the first time we stayed at nthe Flagship oceanfront. The location is really good for the tram car, view is incredible and hotel has great amenities, including indoor and outdoor pools. My 4 year old nephew loved the courtyard with the sandbox and indoor kiddie pool.
Definitely would make this our yearly vacation choice.

Not a five star, and it is an older property, but the combination of location, amenities, price and nice staff make it a winner for our family. We've stayed here four times and plan on coming back. At the end of the boardwalk, nice beach and beach access, pools ( in & out), pool bar, hot tub, exercise room all bonuses for us! A true value!

There was an awful musty/moldy smell in our room (#220) from the first day we walked in. Supposably there were no other rooms available. We used a whole can of air freshener during our 3 day stay. The spray would only mask it for a while but each time we left the room and came back the smell was there again. Really didn't like staying at the at that end of the boardwalk either. The only good thing about it was the price. So that old saying "You get what you pay for" is true. Will never stay there again.

First, my husband and I were looking for a decent hotel within our budget for a short family trip for us and our 1 1/2 year old daughter (her first trip to the beach EVER). We didn't expect the Hilton but we did expect that since this hotel was priced barely below other nicer ones that it would be decent. The first big deception is that it's on the boardwalk. It is...but it is the VERY END and in September the tran doesn't run so you're either walking it or paying for the Inlet parking.

Let's begin with the good...for the most part the hotel staff was very helpful, friendly and informative. The woman who checked us in put us in a room before noon even though check-in wasn't until 3pm. The cleaning staff was very helpful in us getting our cart through the very narrow hallway (more info on that later). There was an incident where they deactivated our room cards a day before we were leaving and that lady could use a lesson in manors. She acted annoyed that I asked her to do anything and then after she fixed it, no explanation or anything, she looked at me expecting a "thank you" like she had done me a favor for fixing their mistake.

So...on to the bad...hope you're sitting down. The parking is definitely not good. The lot is so tight that you have to do a 3 point manuever to get out and if the cleaning staff is on duty and have the dumpsters pulled out into the parking area, you're trapped because there is not enough room to get out. The lobby doors are all the way on the other side from the parking so you look like an idiot looking around for a way in. The building is old and does not look like it's seen renovations ever. The elevator was so small that we struggled getting the cart and two adults into it. When we got out of the elevator and around the corner to the hallway our room was on the cleaning staff's carts took up almost the entire hall because they were so very narrow. Seriously, two people could not walk straight past each other.

We got to the room and I wanted to cry. This was my husband's first visit to OC ever so I was so disappointed to let him see the room we got for the money we paid for it. The bathroom made me want to vomit with green tile, tub and sink you could tell it had been at least 20 years since anyone had done anything to it. There was rust on the vents and some of the fixtures. The lighting was horrible and there was no exhaust fan in the bathroom at all. Good luck enjoying a nice long shower. The water never gets warm. It keeps running from scalding hot to freezing cold. My husband showered in the guest showers down on the foyer after being in the ocean and he said they were the same way. I would definitely not let a small child shower in there and would monitor bath water closely too.

The kitchenette was a wall with a microwave, stove, refrigerator and oven. It was just a wall deep enough for the appliances. There was no room to really do anything.

The room was freezing when we got there, which was much better than it being 90 in the room. However, we turned the air down and it got no warmer in the room. We finally had to start turning the air off and back on so that we didn't get frost bite. My daughter woke up the first morning with a runny nose it was so cold in our room. The sleeping arrangements were no good either. The beds were forever old, very uncomfortable and they were so worn down that you had no choice but to sleep in the very center because they just slumped down that badly. My husband and I ended up sleeping in two separate beds the entire stay. The sheets were very gritty and there was no soft blanket between the gritty sheet and the sandpaper called a beadspread. The pillows were lumpy and gross but fortunately my husband and I brought our own so that wasn't an issue.

The final problem was that the hotel was booked with a senior class of very immature, disrespectful and obnoxious high school students for the weekend. They were loud, playing music with a lot of cussing that my daughter didn't need to hear. They were constantly outside yelling from balcony to balcony or romping around in the hallway. At first, I thought maybe the staff wasn't aware of the stuff that was going on. I almost reported this because I had 3 boys rush me in the hallway while I was carrying my daughter. However when I got out to the front I realized that two of the staff members were discussing how they were tearing stuff up and being so bad. They really should have forced the parents/chapperones (if there even were any) to make the children behave just a little better.

All in all, this was a disappointing stay for me. I have never been to a 5 star hotel so it was not that I was looking for something grand. I just wanted a comfortable room in a decent location to enjoy some time with my family. I really wish I had read some of the bad reviews before going because most of them are very true.