Surfbreak Virginia Beach Oceanfront, Ascend Hotel Collection — Hotel in Virginia Beach

My family and I had a comfortable stay, but this hotel is on the struggle bus for sure.

Check-In: We paid $80/night which wasn’t bad for a couple week days before Labor Day weekend. Upon arrival at 4:30PM, all the carts were gone. You must park away from the hotel in an open lot. They give you a pass for your car. They offer valet in the front if you need it.

Building: The building is old with a recent renovation a few years ago, but the carpet and vinyl tiles in the halls were dirty. It looked like it had not been vacuumed in a long time, and the tiles had dirt stains on them. The two elevators on the side were small and can be slow during busy times like check-in. I would recommend just one family of four at a time with luggage. The door to the outside by the elevators was always ajar, so I don’t really know why the card reader is even there. The stairwell sometimes smelled like marijuana and had trash on the ground at the first level with black bumpers that kept the door open. The hotel had a pool and restaurant attached to it, but I cannot comment on them since I did not use these facilities. I saw that Calypso had pretty good reviews online. $14 for 3 fish tacos, and some entrees were in the $20+ range. They had plenty of outdoor seating. Not many used the pool. I’d see maybe one family use it at a given time (2-4 people).

Room: We arrived to our double queen room and the door was wide open. I’m unsure if this was a new Covid cleaning protocol. The cloth or wipe they used left a lot of dust on the majority of the countertop surfaces, but the real shocker was the AC unit. No one has probably cleaned the dust from that in years and the dust can be seen on the legs of the chairs and other areas. Also, there were fingerprints and smudges all over the glass of the balcony door (mainly the exterior glass). While, the beds looked nice and made up, and everything else was cleaned, it was the condition of the hotel, dust, and AC unit that really brought our rating down. The AC was super loud and would randomly make rumbling drum-like sounds at night. If you are a light sleeper, are impatient, have high expectations, or have allergies, I would not recommend staying here. When we first arrived our toilet would not flush properly either. Since it’s an older building, plumbing could be an issue. But the maintenance engineer arrived within 5 minutes to improve the flushing situation. The shower had good water pressure, and the bed was comfortable. There were plenty of usb and wall outlets. They had an electric light mirror in the bathroom, which might be good for applying make-up. You can just tell that they did not pay close attention to detail with the caulking in the bathroom. It was poorly executed. The curtains, chairs, and bed sheets had hard-to-remove stains. It’s really time to replace all these.

Service: Everyone was really nice and worked hard. The main housekeeping guy said they were short-staffed and that he’s working 16-hr days to make sure the clients were all happy. Getting towels seemed to be an issue for everyone when we arrived. We waited 2.5 hrs for availability, but the front desk did call us back when they had some available. They also did not have bars of soap. However, one of the housekeeping staff gave us plenty of shampoo, cups, coffee, etc when she was passing by with her cart. I would rate the service as 5-stars.

Recommendations: Management needs to address the staff shortage. Housekeeping needs to achieve a higher level of cleanliness in common areas, as well as cleaning out or replacing the AC units in the rooms. Provide more than 3 towels in a double queen room, including a floor mat and rags. Provide a do not disturb door sign. The front desk needs a first aid kit including anti-septics, and not just bandaids. Address the side door issues for safety consideration.

The location was great, the price was affordable, and the room had everything that we needed, including a mini fridge and microwave. Inconveniences did pop up, so just choose your...

This hotel is AWESOME; if you are a 20's something spring breaker. Here with my 15 year old son for a Nationals track meet, and we're staying here a total of three nights.

Tried to get a late night dinner/drink at the Calypso restaurant/bar which is attached to the hotel around 9:30 after a long day at the track meet. Unfortunately the security guard who was very busy flirting with the hostess said we couldn't go through the entrance in the hotel lobby because it was a bar, even though there is a sign beside the door saying you could enter that way until 10pm. He instructed us, hotel guests, to leave the hotel through the front lobby, walk around the exterior of the hotel(in the rain at the time) to the beach side and enter through that doorway. Decided not to give them our business, and probably wouldn't have been able to get in with a 15yo anyway.

I'm just glad we were able to get in on some of the action when the fire alarm went off around 10:15 due to a smoke machine or something at the Calypso bar. The lights from the 3 or 4 fire trucks were like being in the strobe lights on the dance floor. Unfortunately, the guest staying two doors down from us who is a parent on the track team had her purse stolen from her room during the evacuation.

Without even having to try hard or pay extra, we were able to participate in the nightlife until around 3 am last night. The Calypso bar had music so loud, that even though our room was on the 5th floor we could not only hear it, but we could feel the bass literally shaking the wall, floor, and as a result, our beds.

I guess a positive outlook on it could be that we had free musical entertainment and the bed movement was like getting a massage from one of those 1970's beds that you put a quarter in to shake, but this saves you a quarter!

The whooping and hollering from patrons coming in and out until 3am was as exciting as being at a stadium full of collegiate football fans. You could feel the energy.

One of the cool things about VA Beach is being able to see all of the jets and helicopters practicing along the beach. The jet engine roars and helicopter whirls are insane. Don't worry, you can listen to that all night, even after the real jets and helicopters have turned in for the night because of the room air conditioning unit! It was so loud it sounded like a Chinook helicopter starting up and taking off every 10 minutes. I've never slept in or beside a helicopter 15 feet away, but imagine this is close as it gets!!

The art in the hotel room is pleasant and beach themed, except for the kindergarten finger painters they had do the caulk job around the sink.

I would give this place one star, but the rooms are pretty standard and surprisingly clean. The beds are comfy so when you finally get to sleep around 3am, they're really hard to get out of at 7. Props to the cleaning staff.

Front desk staff are incredibly nice, and helpful finding restaurants.

View honestly can't be beat. It's beautiful.

If you want a good night's rest, trust me, stay elsewhere. If you're looking for nightlife, this might be your place.

I'm old, but...

Every year, my best friend and I stay the week of Memorial Day until through June 1st, because of Warrior Weekend, Patriotic Festival and Birthday Celebration! Since renovations finished up back in 2016, this Hotel has become one of the best on the Atlantic. Exceptional staff that always make us feel like family and friends, and who genuinely appreciate our staying with them. Tammy, the Manager, went above and beyond to help us with credit card issues and getting us an extra night stay, because we didn't want to leave, and definitely didn't want to stay anywhere else. Nyambi is probably one of the sweetest young ladies that's ever worked at check in. Loved her so much. Tre who also works check in, and just about anything else you would need, went out of his way several times to help us with anything we needed, always had a smile, a laugh and just an overall delight to be around. This place is extremely clean, from entrance to the pool and rooms. Bathrooms are amazing, beds are an absolute luxury, balcony is equipped with table and chairs and ocean front, so that is probably one of my favorite things. The hotel itself is above the Calypso Bar, and it does have live music which usually last until 10 or 11 at night, but it's really no bother and we enjoyed going down to listen and hang out or just sitting on the balcony listening from above. Housekeeping is there daily, with plenty of fresh towels, linens or whatever you need, and someone will give you a call later in the day to make sure they came by and to see if you have everything you need. There is a small 5 foot deep pool outside, with plenty of chairs, tables and umbrellas. It's small, but quaint and perfect for cooling off. This is a 8 floor hotel, that is steps to the Boardwalk and beach, which makes it perfect in Every Way! We always feel like we are home when visiting, and will continue to stay here each year we come. They have valet parking available, which parks your car off site. If you have a disability, they will park you in the hotel lot or make sure they help in anyway they can. There are new washer and dryers to do laundry, and they are free for all guest to use. There's ice and vending machines on every other floor. The neighborhood is quiet at night, well lit, and always beautiful scenery from the door of your room out to Atlantic Avenue and the city. You can see the sunset, the strip and literally breath taking views. I really can't think of anything negative to say about this hotel. It's become more and more popular, and our home at the Beach yearly now. If you're looking for simple, extreme cleanliness, luxurious beds, amazing rooms on the ocean, then you definitely will love Surfbreak! Also, the WiFi is amazingly fast! Love that! Thank you again to all staff for another great stay, and always making us feel safe, comfortable and like family! Can't wait...