Garden State Inn — Hotel in Absecon

I really enjoyed this place, but looking through the reviews I almost didn't choose to stay here, so I decided to write my own review to hopefully clear up some of the other ones. I gave this hotel 5 stars based off of what it is - this is a budget hotel. 4 nights for under $300? Fantastic price. So in regards to some of the reviews - if you stayed at this budget hotel not anticipating it to be a budget hotel, I don't know what to tell you, because what you get here for the price is fantastic. Checking in is quiet and easy, I had no issues with the person behind the counter. He wasn't overly joyful and energetic, but he was smiling and kind and even cracked a joke, and that is all I need to start my trip in a good mood. If you have an injury or have limited mobility, there is no elevator and the second floor is 15 steps, all one straight stairwell (so no turning stairs). There are rooms on the first floor with handicap accessible entrances (the sidewalk ramps) from the parking lot though, so be sure to ask for a first floor room first if needed. The room itself was sizeable and very comfortable. It wasn't pristine or shiny, but it was clean and the sheets, towels, what-have-you all smelled clean, and that is the most important part! No critters either. The walls had a few scuff marks and there was some damage to the rug, but it was nothing offensive at all. The bed was incredibly comfortable, I had a hard time getting up in the morning! The AC also worked fabulously. It seems to be default on eco, so if you like white noise there is a button labelled 'constant fan' for the fan to be continuously moving, even if the ac is taking a break. My room never got warm despite the eco setting. The bathroom was very nice as well! The sink pressure was fine and the shower pressure was even better. The jacuzzi was also a nice touch, although I couldn't get the jets to work (which may have been a me-problem). The drain to the tub also slowly drained the bath water, but if you don't mind turning the water back on every few minutes then it was a great little addition to the room. The bathroom smelled very vaguely of weed, but that didn't bother me. The door felt very secure. All the locks worked great despite the sliver of light coming from the outside, it wasn't a sliver that could be seen through, so it was very private. The curtains also closed all the way so there was no crack to peek in either. The parking is right on the lot, and I never had an issue getting a spot. I did see children there, but personally I am not going to rate this kid-friendly for three reasons: The weed smell - which isn't too much of an issue, there's dispensaries and weed ALLLLL OVER the city here, so if this is a deal-breaker for you, perhaps consider picking somewhere other than Atlantic City. The pool remains closed and from prior reviews, it seems to have been closed for quite some time. Always a bummer. The drivers! This is the biggest one for me, and it is absolutely no fault of the hotel. The drivers in NJ are fast and really enjoy using their breaks only at the last second. The amount of cars I saw zoom right into the hotel parking lot without a second thought made me nervous for any adventurous kid who runs out just a foot too far. With those 3 points being said, you absolutely can bring your kid here, I just think there is probably better options. The breakfast was small and cute and standard - bagels, toast, fruit, yogurt, little muffins, and two types of cereal alongside coffee and oj that they allowed you to take back to your room if you desired (there was a place to sit though if you don't like to do that). If you are someone that likes daily room service, this is also not the place for you. I personally do NOT like people in my room daily, so that was actually a plus in my book that my room was only made up once for the 4 nights I stayed. Finally, the location is only 15 minutes from Atlantic City. Can't beat that at this price! I would definitely stay here again if I find myself...

Monday arrived at Hotel. Pool closed. Asked why... young man was on phone asked the person he was talking to why it was closed... said "it's on the website." It was NOT listed on website as closed. All hotels around this hotel had their pools open. Lobby was also blocked off with signs and furniture... Asked about the breakfast bar...that's closed too. Why?  "We have grab and go bags." Web site as of April had it listed as open.

Entered into hotel room. Only 3 towels.  Reservations made for 6 people.

7am on Tuesday kids all woke up due to construction taking place right in front of lobby. Concrete was being broken up and dumped into a truck. Needless to say several neighboring rooms came out to see what all the noise was. Not many happy campers this morning. Went down to lobby for "grab and go bags"  when I asked for 6 the guy asked what room I was in and checked then had to make up 2 additional bags because he didn't have enough.  No drinks included in bags.

Left at 830 for Wildwood. Came back at 5pm could not get into room. Had to go to front desk. Asked why I was "locked out" was told "other guy went off..."  Not sure what that meant so I asked again "why was I locked out of room... Was told "other guy went off."  Person wouldn't look at me just ask for ID and gave me another room key. Asked if I wanted two keys.

Got into room and room not made up. Bed not made, no trash emptied no fresh towels. Went back down to office for towels and toilet paper. Guy says "I'll bring it up."  Brings towels but no toilet paper. Asked my daughter to "walk me down to office for it."  Daughter tells him no due to fact we had preciously asked for it. He then goes into another room for it and brings it to room. Wednesday. Went down for breakfast at 8:58. Guy told me breakfast is from 6-9am only.  Also directed me to notice posted on door which says the same. Signage is new.  Gave me breakfast bags. Thursday. 89 degrees outside. Heat index 100. Climbed steps with kids (staying on 2nd floor) only to discover card key would not work for a second time. Sent Husband to office. Guy pulled out paperwork once again and said to him "you don't look like Kathleen."  Husband just looked at him and said activate the key.   Once again room not made up 2pm. Went out and asked for clean towels. Took 4 out she would only give me 3 back. Toilet backed up late at night. Had a hard time getting a plunger from office. Water all over the floor. Ants crawling everywhere inside and outside room. Table, counter, bureau, bathroom floor. Thursday same as above. Needless to say it didn't make for a pleasant vacation. Was actually glad to be going home. Would NOT recommend staying at this place. Amenities not as promoted on Web site. Unfortunately since I booked through. Third party I could not get refund and go elsewhere. Just want to Mention several other guests complained as well. Especially about the pool being closed and breakfast bar not being open. Added extra expense to stay. Some even went so far as to demand...

My Boyfriend and I booked this “inn” (more like motel) on Expedia since there was an 8+ rating on it. I should have known better than to trust this, but we were so desperate for a room due to some last minute bookings for the tattoo convention, because we are not located locally. I wish I had read the Google reviews and saved us from the most terrible experience.

When we arrived to the “inn” the front desk personnel on duty gave us keys to a room, where the key device to unlock the door was not working, when we told him that we could not get into the room, he came to the room and proceeded to try the key card 20+ times until the door finally unlocked and told us that “it should work now”. We weren’t very convinced that it would work for us, so he offered to give us another room, which was very nice, in the moment… we went into the room, I started to unpack (in hindsight I could have waited, but I was just so tired and it was almost 12am at this point) my partner started checking the mattress to make sure there were no bugs, and it was clean… upon checking the bed he kept saying that the mattress smelled awful and then he found the largest brownish black stain on the corner side of the mattress (photos are attached) … my partner went down stairs to notify the front desk, they came up and he offered to give us back the original room he gave us but with a working physical key instead of a keycard. My partner checked the mattress in the other room, and there were the same stains and smell! We decided to leave, and told the front desk that we would be down soon to refund our stay, the front desk personnel proceeded to extensively check in on us while we were packing our things back up, telling us that he had to clean the room for rebooking. I could not believe it. Please just see the photos of the mattresses below, and if you book here please check your mattress.

I attached a photo of the email of our booking, to show this really did happen at this specific “inn”.

I’d recommend that this location buy new mattresses, as this is a health...