Windward at the Beach — Hotel in Beach Haven

Visited with my 13 year old son and had the best time ever. This gem of a boutique hotel, located only one block from the beach, is run by David, his family and Michelle, the manager, who made for a memorable stay - Will definitely repeat again!

Having grown up in Northern Jersey, we spent many summers coming down to various beaches including Ocean City, Wildwood, Cape May, Ventnor City, and LBI. Since moving to West Coast, this is the first visit for my son at LBI, and is now our favorite spot to go.

Location: Windward is located about 4 miles from the bridge (Route 72) across the bay. It is conveniently located 1 block away from the beach, and near many restaurants, ice cream parlors, and breakfast options, which we tried many. There is a nice park in front of the the hotel which is perfect for Kite flying before bringing them onto the beach.

Amenities: There is a covered patio area with lots of books and games. I was able to do my Conference calls here with good solid WIFI and quiet. Lots of outside seating to enjoy the sun and shaded areas just to enjoy to fresh sea breeze. There are also some BBQ grills available which we used twice (Make sure to hit the Costco off the GS Parkway before crossing over to LBI). Outside showers / towels at the back of the hotel, and foot wash on the side/front. Beach chairs were located at the back. Bicycle racks at front where we parked our two electric scooters. Keurig K-cup coffee machine and ice machine near the front desk.

Room (#10): Our room was on the third floor, room #10, a deluxe studio. Extremely spacious, with a queen bed and a day bed with a trundle (I believe that's what they're called). There was a small fridge, microwave, glasses and a champagne bucket. It had a nice little table with two chairs, and an additional reading chair (all had cushions). There was a small dresser and in the closet was a fan, and a portable heater. The bedroom had a nice view of the park, and partial view of towards the beach. The large bathroom had angled nice view of the water. WiFi was solid on the 3rd floor since my son was streaming at night and not complaining. Text check-in was seamless and door had code to open.

• Secret: Visit during early pre-season, during the week for better rates and less people on the beaches. On this trip, we stayed Friday to Monday on the weekend after Memorial Day, and the windward was 90% capacity, but the beaches were nice and empty!!! They have complimentary beach badges during regular season, but we didn't have to use them since the beach was not crowded at all! Come early if you can! Also the two benches at the top of the dune is perfect spot to have your breakfast bagel.

Last thoughts: The Windward is a hidden gem in LBI. David, the owner is extremely friendly and greets all the guests by name and makes sure that your stay is perfect. David and his family (and Michelle) made our stay there perfect. We will be...

Windward at the Beach is a beautiful boutique hotel in a beautiful location! I love that it is a small, family-owned establishment which welcomes families with children. What drew me most to the Windward were the 5-star reviews stating its cleanliness, warm hospitality, and proximity to the ocean - they were all spot on! The Windward had everything we could possibly need for our stay! Seriously, I could have left half of the things we brought with us at home! We rented Room 9, which was a large suite and had a nice kitchen area with a good-sized refrigerator/freezer, microwave, 2-burner stovetop, breakfast bar, and sink. All you need to bring are the food and drinks! They provide the dish soap, dish cloths, drying towels, every cooking utensil you could possibly think of plus all the cookware, flatware and dinnerware you could need! The entire suite was clean and beautiful, and we were very comfortable there. Just off the lobby was the ice machine and a cute little coffee bar which had a nice selection of coffee. The beautifully beach themed porch had plenty of cozy seats to sink in and relax. At one end of the porch they had an area set up specifically for children. I thought this was a very nice touch and my four-year-old son thoroughly enjoyed it! It had a small child-size table with crayons, coloring books, and other activities to keep little ones occupied. The bookshelves nearby were stocked full of family board games and children's books, and outside they had two huge totes filled with all types of beach toys that my son loved selecting from! Even before we left, my son was talking about coming back next year for longer! This made my heart happy because it was his first time on a real vacation away from home and sleeping in a bed other than his own. We all had such an amazing time and hope to make this trip a yearly family tradition that includes a stay at...

Buyer Beware- unyielding cancellation policy I cannot comment on this locations amenities or services as I never made it there as scheduled but paid for the room. ...on May 28th I received news that a member of my household had a re-occurrence of a terminal illness.. I reached out to see what my options were for my upcoming stay the weekend of June 1st. and offered to provide medical proof. I was told sorry for my prognosis but they would be standing behind their corporate policy of no refunds..but I was asking for options not refund. after several email exchanges it was apparent that compassion for this situation was futile and was again being reminded of the decision they made to not use judgement and apply the policy no matter what the case and to let me know if I wished to cancel.. .. It was explained being a small location they might not be able to fill the room with such short notice.. the location was at full capacity for the days I would have been there . so my room would have been the only "empty" one.... In desperation I gave the room to a friend ,not asking them for reimbursement. I certainly didn't want Windward have the chance to re rent my already paid for room and make double the $$. I chalked up my loss to lesson learned.. you have gotten my money but will never get my business. Thank you for asking for my review as added...