We have been staying here for several years and we love the place. It was built in1927 by Joseph Kennedy and was a speakeasy during prohibition. The decor is Turn of the Century Art Deco and the place is kept very clean. It has an indoor pool in a greenhouse setting that makes it feel like you are outside in the shade. The beach is one of the best in Jersey for body-surfing and swimming. It is located in a very quiet residential neighborhood and is just 10 minutes from Atlantic City.

First off, I booked a week here though a time share exchange. The place was well reviewed on their site, so we took it. Just before we left, we checked here when I downloaded the Trip Advisor app for my Android - yikes!

Not expecting a great experience, we were actually quite happy how things worked out.

We ended up in the main (tower) building on the fifth floor overlooking the parking lot. This gave us a good view up the beach (to the north) as all the rooms face north or south, not east over the beach. The view was unobstructed whereas the south view towards AC might have the villa building in the way on the lower floors. The south facing rooms will be over the kitchen vents, so get a high floor on that side. The are no balconies in the main tower, but were there in late October.

Yes, the bar / restaurant is noisy. We just left the AC on during the weekend nights which did a good job of drowning it out (and not much noise gets in the three inches the windows open). The rest of the week, there was not a lot of noise.

And parking is crazy on the weekend nights as the hotel has seemingly one of the few restaurants in town. However, there was a valet and he only gave out spots to those staying at the hotel - however, I told him that I was staying at the hotel and he moved a cone to let me in. Be aware that you might get double parked if you park near the main doors and may need the valet to move some cars (park by the pool to avoid this).

It is an old hotel which provided the advantage of good sound proofing between the rooms. Sound from around the door was evident (people, put some trim around the doors!), but no issue at all. Actually, replace the entire door - it looked pretty used up. The rest of the unit was okay (painted and clean), but some water damage in the bathroom around the tub. The bathroom was cramped with no space to put stuff.

The kitchen was very functional with a good size fridge / freezer, but could benefit from some more utensils, oven mitts, etc. There was only a setting for four and we had to run the very compact dishwasher every day. There were no cleaning supplies or towels when we arrived, but that was an oversight the front desk corrected quickly. They also called a couple of days into the vacation to ensure all was well. They did not clean or make up the room during the stay (no big deal), but they might if you booked this as a hotel as opposed to a time share as we saw cleaning staff almost every day on our floor.

There was a safe in the room to store valuables, but there was no sign that anyone every came into the room.

We never used the pool. We did go to scout it at 8PM one night and it was closed even though it was supposed to be open until 10.

There is a liquor store, grocery store and take out / eat in / fresh fish place one block west (the main street) and north. I highly recommend them all. There is also a pharmacy another block farther north. There is not much else around here (other than the restaurant / bar) in the hotel.

This place is right on the beach (and sand fills the parking lot). I'm not sure the hotel would be so great in the summer given the lack of balcony and windows that fully open.

We come every year and every year we wonder why we come. The hotel is dated. I don't have a problem with that fact. It has changed hands a number of times and while the latest stream of renovations has helped, it still can't seem to shake this depressing, dark feel. It feels like a cross between being in an LA film noir set and the room after Morgan Freeman gets out in The Shawshank Redemption. There's just something sort of grey and a bit sad about the space. The lights are really brash, the paint is peeling, the windows are really small, it's dark even during the day, the bathrooms have no shelves or space for toiletries, the hallways have stains (our door looked like it was rubbed with soot), the front porch is filled with people night and day smoking and drinking. Having said ALL that, I actually would have still given it 3 stars because:
1) the beach is right there and it is a beautiful one at that...no crowds, even on the weekends (as a matter of fact, that's where The Borgata beach bus goes...).
2) the staff is super friendly, really helpful.
3) Brigantine is one of my favorite places. It's just really a simple beach, small town.

However, the 2 star is there because no matter how many things I can forgive about the hotel, the noise from the bar is quite loud (I live in Manhattan so it takes a lot of noise to make me say this...) on the weekend, which ruins the relaxation factor of being right on the beach. However, I could forgive the noise. The thing I can't forgive is THE PARKING. There is no parking whatsoever. Between the beach and the restaurant, they can't reserve any spaces for the guests of the hotel. No one wants to be in the middle of nowhere NJ and worry about leaving the hotel because they may not get a space when they return. On the weekends during the day it gets so out of control with people parking for the beach (claiming that they are going to the restaurant/bar) that makeshift valets hang out in the lot and are given cash in order to get a spot. Cars are back-to-back-to-back. It's ludicrous.

First impressions... An extra fee because of "amenities" - coffee in the lobby and access to a printer (no internet in the room). No number on the door of the room. The door looks like it's been forced open in the past. The closet door won't stay closed and is blocking the way in. The room looks OK for a two star motel. Awakened at 2AM by yelling outside of the closed fifth floor window. The place looks nicer in the morning with the ocean outside. Awakened the next night at 1AM by yelling. I complained to the front desk twice, also mentioning tje cars parked in the fire lane. It's 2:30. They're still yelling.