My Husband and I went away for our anniversary and I booked The Chalfonte thinking it would be quaint and romantic. It was during a heat wave so I made sure we had a room with air (the ground floor doesn't have air). Our room was sparse but the hard wood floors and bed were pretty and our bathroom was new (although the plumbing in the tub/shower didn't work well).
The hotel is definately a throw back in time. The hotel dates back to the 1870's, with not much updated. So if you want to feel 'old' Cape May this is the place. There's no tv, not even in the bar, but the bartender was very personable and there was a terrific spread of cheese and crackers. A local walked through and sold us a pint of blackberries that were delicious and everyone enjoyed. There's a wrap around porch with plenty of chairs to sit on and enjoy the sights and sounds of Cape May. The upside is....we didn't have a tv to fall back on so we walked the streets of Cape May, a great town to take in. The downside is, if it's a modern hotel with all the amenities you want, this is not the place for you.
There's a restaurant on the premises and we did have breakfast. There's a southern vibe to both the hotel and resturant and we enjoyed that but I haven't a clue about how the dinners are.
There really seemed to be no one in charge, the hotel was run by a lot of young people but when I asked for a blow dryer they scoured the place until they found one for me and everyone was very polite.
I noticed alot of families moving into their rooms and I thought that was cool. If you want an old fashoined 'down the shore' feel, meaning drinking cream sodas and playing cards or board games after a day at the beach...then this is the place.
Our room took forever to be cleaned (we were out all morning and afternoon on Saturday and came back to find the room still not clean) so we did it ourselves.
I'm ambivalent about The Chalfonte, it was really interesting but there could be so many ways to improve the stay. It is a place that could be great but is hovering between falling apart or reaching it's distinct potential.
I guess the big question is, would we stay again and I'd have to say 'yes'.

We used to go to this hotel for over 30 years. The new ownership got rid of all of the wonderful, relaxing part of this hotel. The rooms are now cheaply decorated, the food is AWFUL - no spoonbread - are you kidding me? Oatmeal for breakfast? WTF! And dinner was a fiasco. The scallops were so fishy smelling my husband said they were not edible. We left after 1 night. The prices have gone up, the service down, and they don't even give you coffee with dinner - even though the meal plan they talk you into is $40 plus tax plus gratituty, plus so much freaking nonsense we wished we would've gone elsewhere. Give this place a pass.

We stayed at the Chalfonte in July for 2 days and loved it. The staff is very friendly and attentive, the rooms are small but clean and the atmosphere within the hotel is great. They have a beautiful wrap-around porch to sit and relax and enjoy the night air and the hotel is just minutes (on foot) to the beach. They provided a great cheese/fruit/crackers buffet on Sunday night (free of charge) that was delicious. We highly recommend this hotel to anyone staying in Cape May.

First off all if you are the type of person that needs to have TV/pool/24 hr room service while on vacation in Cape May this is not the hotel for you. The Chalfonte Hotel does an excellent job of capturing the true historic feel of staying in an old Victorian Hotel in the center of Historic Cape May. Once you arrive at the Chalfonte you can sense the amount of history this old building holds. The new owners have done an absolute wonderful job of keeping the old Victorian charm all of us returning guests love so much while making the modern improvements that the building needed such as the central air, and private baths for guestrooms. I have been coming to the Chalfonte for many years and this past visit was one of my family's best yet. The food was delicious, the new cook does a fantastic job with keeping the old menu favorites such as the crab cakes and fried chicken while spicing it up with nightly specials for the other entrees (the grilled shrimp with cheddar bacon grits app was delicious!!). The staff was very friendly and helpful as always. Rachel who works at the front desk is always very cheerful and happy to help with whatever need you may have. My family and I had a wonderful weekend trip to one of our favorite spots in Cape May and can't wait for our annual trip next summer!