Crystal Beach Oceanfront Hotel — Hotel in Ocean City

We stayed at this establishment for three nights. It actually has two buildings. The Baltimore is the main building where you check in. It is closer to the street and has the pool with the bar. The second building is The Boardwalk, which is where we stayed. It is actually on the beach, hence the name. I will now give my pros and cons.

Pros: It was on the water. It had two pools, one with a bar just off of it (Baltimore). Parking was adequate, especially for how many rooms there were. Some (not all) of the staff at the desk and bar were great. Check in/out process was quick and easy. Ramps to the buildings and multiple elevators. Ice and vending on multiple if not all floors. The charm and lovely evening and night views from the balcony were great. I would have appreciated being able to smoke on the balcony, but I can understand the culture they are trying to promote with the heavily pushed no smoking/vaping policy on the grounds. It didn't stop others from doing it, but I sure listened. Didn't spark up a cigar until we were in a area where it was permitted.

Cons: the rooms were not well kept. The carpets, the insides of cabinets, and the shower were the glaring issues of cleanliness in my room. Many of the plugs didn't work. The AC was super loud and inefficient. The wifi was HORRIBLE. Do not work from your room here. If you do, you'll need to hotspot from your phone. The pools were pretty small and crowded. It felt like most kids were there alone, so imagine the noise. The bar was pretty expensive for the overall experience you were getting.

Overall, we weren't as happy with the experience as we had hoped. We do appreciate that this is an older place in an older beach town. Maybe our expectations were a little too high. However, I rate what I experience and I try to stay as unbiased and genuine as possible. I try to give details and explanations that I hope will help not only travelers but the establishment itself. I feel like this place has a good vibe and I appreciate that. It can make some small changes and be a lot better. Just a few upgrades can do wonders. And for the price, I could have stayed at the Hilton and got points, but I stayed here because people had expressed the charm of it. Yes, it did have a certain charm that reminded me of my childhood and spending time on the shore, but at this point in my life (early 40s), I'd prefer things like stable internet, a clean room, a comfy bed with crisp linens, and just a more professional feel from a hotel that large. It would be different if this was a smaller hotel/motel. This place was okay, but has the potential to be awesome. Beach views from small but cozy balconies, two pools, and a great location that doesn't seem too far from anything.

I would love to see some of these suggestions implemented and I'd love to stay there again...

We stayed at Crystal Beach Oceanfront building on the 5th floor 8/16/23 - 8/20/23..this was our 1st stay. I will start with what we liked. The lady that was working the front desk on 8/16 was very nice & helpful, we arrived early we were able to get our parking pass and was allowed to use the pools. There are 2 one in front of the oceanfront building & one on the 2nd floor of the Baltimore building. When we went to our oceanfront room it was very spacious and clean the view was amazing. Most employees we encountered were very friendly. I have read reviews on here with people complaining about no "maid" service (beds not being made, floors not being swept etc) It states on your reservation paperwork that housekeeping only cleans room prior to arrival BUT you can request service if you want it. They do empty garbage & give clean towels daily. Now for the negatives there are not safes in the room to put your valuables in when you leave your room. When we arrived we went on the balcony and looked down at the oceanfront pool & saw that there were white (probably hotel towels laying on the loungers) these towels stayed there until Friday when another guest threw them on the concrete and there they still laid and were still there on Sunday when we left. I believe there should be someone checking on the pool area at the end of the day. I believe there is either a lack of security or no security (especially the oceanfront building) for this hotel. When you walk up to the doors to the building the doors automatically open & there is no front desk or anything to monitor who comes in which leaves it open to anyone to come in and roam around the hotel. Also someone should monitor the pool at the ocean front building. We were sitting on a bench on the boardwalk on Friday night and watch about 10-12 people walk into the pool (fully clothed) and jump in the pool, played around for about 1/2 hour then took off down the boardwalk and were laughing and talking about how they got away with jumping in the pool. Last negative is when you register you sign a paper about NO SMOKING IN ROOMS, HOTEL OR BALCONY you will face a fine and possible eviction. Three times I had to call the front desk which is in the Baltimore building about someone smoking on the balcony on the 4th floor and the smoke was drifting up to our balcony on the 5th floor. 1st call was on Thurs approx 9PM I was told ok thank you for calling....2nd call was on Thurs approx 10:30 was told thank you for calling....3rd time was Fri morning approx 6:30 was told will send someone to knock on the door...an hour later the person is smoking again. I probably will not stay here in the future mostly due to lack...

My family and I stayed at this hotel July 1-8, 2019. We arrived 2 pm, check in is at 4 pm. We were allowed to check in when we arrived. The woman at the front desk was very nice, polite. When we got to our room, it APPEARED to be clean, but upon further inspection, it wasn’t. Lots of dust, dirt from hands on light fixtures, phone was disgusting when you picked up the receiver. There were four of us booked into the room, but there were only two towels and two wash cloths in the bath room. When I called for more, they were promptly delivered to our room. We wanted bedding for the sofa bed that was in our room and it also was delivered promptly. The bad thing about the sofa bed, is that the room was too small to properly accommodate it. When opened up, it was flush against the end of one of the beds so the person on the outside of the bed had to either crawl on the end of the bed or the sofa bed to get to the bathroom.As far as house keeping, it was lacking. Our beds never got fresh sheets or comforter in a week, even though we requested maid service. We had to call every day for more towels and wash cloths. The floor was never vacuumed and the way we got our trashcans emptied, was to set them outside the door.The air conditioning unit was difficult to regulate, and it was dirty inside. I started getting ill two days prior to our departure (I have respiratory disease)and continued to become more ill once home. Because of the very dirty ventilation system in our room, I had my healthcare provider test me for legionella. Thankfully, the test was negative. After reading other reviews, housekeeping and maintenance issues have been a long standing problem with this hotel, dating back years. One would have thought with some remodeling, and updating(although still outdated) that they claim to have been done, that this would have changed. Rates were fairly high given all the negatives this hotel has to offer. It’s only saving grace I think is that it has two outdoor pools and is oceanfront on the boardwalk. I don’t know as if I would book...