My family and I have been staying at the Coral Seas for many, many years. What continues to bring us back are the following: excellent management, extremely CLEAN rooms, grounds, & pool, and ideal oceanfront location. I would recommend paying extra for the oceanfront rooms which have their own private back porches overlooking the ocean. The motel is VERY family friendly. Keep in mind, this is not the St. Regis or the Four Seasons...it is a traditional, somewhat dated, Jersey shore motel that is VERY comfortable, but not fancy. All regular rooms have a very nice size refrigerators and most have microwaves. Suites have a well-equipped kitchenette. The owners are a lovely couple (the husband's parents owned and ran the hotel many years prior to him) who definitely run a "tight ship." The pool is very well maintained and definitely larger than ones at motels nearby. The location affords you the opportunity to park your car and walk to shops and restaurants. Bike riding is also a pleasure in Beach Haven.

I've stayed several times at another motel in Beach Haven. It was OK but it wasn't right on the beach and it was on the outskirts of town. This time I wanted to be on the beach so despite a few negative reviews on "tripadvisor," I took a chance on Coral Seas and WASN'T DISAPPOINTED! We chose an oceanview room with a private little balcony and kept the door open throughout our 3-day stay. It was wonderful seeing, hearing and smelling the ocean! The room was modest but very clean. I've stayed at 4-star hotels where I had to call for clean towels, a new remote or lightbulb ...never the case here. The staff was great. The pool was immaculate. Yes, you can find less expensive places, but you're paying for LOCATION. My 11-year old daughter and I walked to breakfast and dinner restaurants, the amusement park, arcade, miniature golf, the supermarket and many wonderful shops. I don't think we used the car at all during our stay.
I chatted with the manager/owner and he is great. As for the negative reviews, I think some people will always find something to complain about. If you're looking for a Hilton or Hyatt, you won't find one in Beach Haven. If you want a great, clean motel right on the beach within walking distance of EVERYTHING, my daughter and I recommend Coral Seas. We look forward to our return.

Even though I saw no mention of it on their web site, the Coral Seas Motel is extremely aggressive about booking only 3 night minimums on weekends (even non-holiday weekends where a 2 night minimum would be logical). On a spur of the moment plan, I called the Coral Seas on a Wednesday and requested a 3 night stay beginning the next day from Thursday to Sunday. The manager told me that he was booked for Thursday night but had a cancellation beginning on Friday and that I could find a room at a hotel across the street for Thursday night. I went ahead and booked their Friday room and, as the manager suggested, found a room elsewhere for Thursday night. The problem occurred because the manager never mentioned to me that the Coral Seas Motel has a 3 night minimum policy, booked me from Friday to Monday ( instead of Sunday as I had requested), and never e-mailed me any confirmation so that I could see that an “error” had occurred. By chance, the next day I made an unrelated phone call to the Motel and discovered that my check out day was listed as Monday. When I tried to explain to the lady who answered the phone that my correct check out day was Sunday, she immediately became very defiant, adopted a take-it-or-leave it attitude, and began threatening to cancel the reservation. Later, when I spoke to the manager who made the booking, he too insisted that I had to pay for Sunday night (3rd night) and made no attempt to apologize for how his employee handled the situation. At this point, I told him that I was not happy but didn't feel like I had any other choice but to take the room through Monday since I was already committed to coming to Long Beach Island with my family. Shockingly, the manager then cancelled my reservation against my will, saying that I was going to be a problem and that the demand for their rooms was so high that they could choose with who they did business!

In the end, I feel lucky because I was able to find a nicer room, also on the beach, at a place that was happy to give me a room for 2 nights instead of three. The only reason I bother to write this review is because, in addition to being angry about being left in a bad position when the Coral Seas reneged on their reservation commitment to me, I feel somewhat conned by this experience and, given the actions of the booking staff, wouldn’t be surprised if this happens frequently to visitors to this establishment. I think it is important for travelers to be aware of this Motel’s strange way of doing business since the rooms are certainly not cheap.

The hotel was clean, staff was nice enough, rooms were ok but pretty much what we expected. The pool was very nice. My husband, 9 year old daughter and I stayed 2 nights. We did have to switch rooms because of availabilty but that worked out ok and they told us that in advance. We just had the standard room with 2 queen beds- rooms were paneled but bathrooms were updated. Things the room surprisingly did not have: a privacy sign, a clock!,, a blow dryer, a line to hang wet bathing suits. But the room had a small fridge. We did have some trouble working the TV- they shoud put a sign on it- apparently you have to hold the romote at the box plugged into the wall-not the TV! Parking is not guaranteed so a few times we were parked up to 2 blocks away but they told me that on the phone. Location was wonderful- 10 blocks from Fantasy Island and from any room you can hear the ocean. My only other "complaint" was the pool closing at 6 pm- why so early? Should be at least 8 or 9 - would be nice to have an after dinner swim.