Ocean Club Hotel — Hotel in Cape May

The view for the win…

We arrived at the OC Hotel on a rainy and fog ensconced night. The spacious parking lot and pre-season visit gave us a spot close to the rear entrance. Friendly staff checked us in with smooth efficiency. Truthfully, we were the only ones to show up at 8:30 at night, but it was easy to see they knew what they were doing. A quick trip up the elevator placed us only steps away from our center penthouse room. It was my partner’s birthday, so we splurged a bit.

Upon entering the sitting area of the room, the smell of stale smoke took us by surprise. For the area, this was a luxury hotel with a luxurious price tag. We were early in the season and the room may not have had guests for a while, but we were concerned enough to think about asking for another room. Once we opened the balcony door and let in the sea air, the scent dissipated to the point we didn’t think about it. Every concern vanished as the sound of the ocean rolled through the room.

The dense fog made the beach barely viewable. But knowing the beach and the ocean were just a few steps across the quiet street was why we were there.

The next morning, if we were at home, it would have been rainy and dreary. The fog hadn’t lifted a smidge, but we ventured out anyway. Could we have stayed in the room and been comfortable all day? Sure. The TV was large and could easily entertain us. I could even take an emergency work call and deal with it remotely over the fast-enough Wi-Fi. The king-sized bed was plush and, honestly, the pillows too much so. We prefer firmer pillows. Stacking them just didn’t do the job well. After our adventures of the day, we had no trouble sleeping.

We did not try the restaurant as we had made reservations at a special place for the birthday dinner. But the bar and seating looked nice and the staff helpful with directions and getting my partner’s morning tea after her run along the beach.

The location of the OC hotel is near perfect. From the balcony, there is nothing to block your view of the ocean. (Morning two gave us a much better view to wake up to.) The crowds and hustle of Cap May are a few blocks down. When the hotel is full during the season, the pool, tiki bar, and lounging area are likely to be noisy, but we had no issues. Would we stay here during the busy season? Probably not. We like it quiet when we’re trying to sleep. I have spent enough time in Cape May to know the party at the OC Hotel keeps going pretty late. It’s fun until I want to sleep.

This can’t be a review without some complaint, and ours were relatively minor. The Hotel has been around for a while, and while the décor still holds a modern appeal, they should replace the seating area furniture. It showed its age and likely housed the smoke we smelled when we arrived at the room. The balcony, view, and sound of the ocean made the price worthwhile, but without it, I would have been disappointed.

Some have complained about the bathroom size. We are fairly average sized people and didn’t have any issues. The small fridge came in handy and the extra space in the sitting room made it easy for us to get ready for our time away from the room. That's why we took this trip in the...

We were in Cape May years ago and had fond memories of the quiet, non- Jersey shore type atmosphere. We had stayed in an elegant hotel a few blocks from the beach. This time we wanted to be right by the beach so we chose this hotel thinking it was an upscale choice. We were wrong. First impressions- when you arrive you pull into the back of the hotel so you are greeted with dumpsters and such. You walk up a ramp into a dingy hallway. The lobby looks as though it’s been redone and offers you hope. Yet then you go back down a dark hallway to the elevator and then through a strange, half glass walkway to our room. We had a suite. The air never cooled off the living room area. The bathroom was not big enough to leave a toothbrush in. The bedroom was always freezing as we had to try and cool down the living room. It looks as though they have redo parts of the room but didn’t want to take the expense of a full redo. |We booked a room with the “private sun deck.” So the private sun deck is not really “private” It is a sitting area right outside the bedroom - which is nice. There is like drapery so you could close it off. Of course, then you would have no air or anything. The sun deck is really just part of the whole sundeck that is right above the pool. So if it’s crowded at the pool, the sundeck is packed and then there are loads of people in your “private” lounging area. The other problem with this “private” area is there is plexiglass up around the edges and it blocks any breeze or air. Our room was at the end of the deck and the noise from the dj was unbearable. Sooo we paid for this feature in our room and used it for maybe 15minutes. Someone above us also dropped a large shovel and it missed my head by an inch. |Back to the room- there was a cheerio under the bed when we arrived and it stayed there for our whole stay. The housekeeping left much to be desired. On checkout we were told we could not keep the beach tags past 11am nor could we keep our car parked there. This should be clearly communicated when you book the hotel. I have never been to a hotel where you don’t have access to their amenities on your check out day. Let alone, not being able to leave your car there. I would only recommend this hotel if you want a place to sleep right by the beach and you don’t care about...

I’ve traveled many places over the years with my service dog, Teddy — including hotels, restaurants, airports, and across multiple states. Not once — not a single time — have I ever been treated the way I was treated at this hotel in Cape May. This was the first time in three years of traveling with my service dog that I experienced such humiliation, aggression, and outright discrimination — and it was beyond unacceptable.

I live with PTSD. My service dog is medically trained to alert me to environmental stimuli that may trigger an episode — especially in unfamiliar or crowded settings. She is not a pet. She is medical support.

We were on a weekend trip with my fiancé and his 4-year-old son. For the first time in a long time, I felt safe enough to leave my dog in the room while we took a short walk — 25 minutes, after 9 PM. She briefly barked, doing her job.

The hotel called and threatened immediate eviction. When we returned, a staff member named Sandy sat in front of me in the lobby and accused me of lying about my dog being a service animal. She said, “You could drop a bucket of water on a real service dog and it wouldn’t make a sound,” and insisted service dogs “don’t bark” and “don’t have paperwork.” I calmly offered to have my psychiatrist call and verify everything. She doubled down. I told her, “I hope you never have to understand why I need a service dog.”

This was personal, illegal, and dehumanizing. Under the ADA, staff may only ask: Is the dog required due to a disability? What tasks is it trained to perform?

They are not allowed to demand paperwork, deny access based on barking, or harass guests.

I’ve never been treated like this before. I was devastated. I didn’t sleep. The child was terrified. The entire trip was ruined. And the hotel wasn’t even worth it — dirty carpets, musty smell, outdated rooms.

Screaming kids all night? That’s fine. A service dog briefly alerting to a stressful environment? That’s “grounds for eviction”?

If you travel with a service dog or believe in basic human decency, stay far away.

To Sandy and the hotel: You broke the law. You shattered our peace. And you turned a family weekend into a trauma I...