Bolero Resort & Conference Center — Hotel in Wildwood

-no working toilet for nearly a full day -chlorine levels in indoor pool were so high that it caused moderate to severe rashes on children -hot tubs were broken and did not have working jets -completely incompetent manager

We stayed at the Bolero from April 21-22. We stayed with a large group-27 rooms were booked together for our 8year olds cheerleading squad. My wife is also posting a review, so you will most likely see a similar review (they are not fake reviews). Parking is not convenient, especially for large families and those with special needs children-we had to park in an adjacent lot behind the All-You-Can Eat restaurant. (This was inconvenient but not a deal breaker) After we checked in at the front counter, we waited for what seemed over ten minutes for the single elevator. When we arrived to the 4th floor, I noticed how dirty the hallway carpets were even though we were arriving early in the season. Do they not clean their hotel in the off season? We stayed in room #4000, the very first room on the floor. After we unpacked and settled in, it was about 4pm Friday. First thing I noticed was the lightbulb in the bathroom was burned out. (Again not a deal breaker) Then after using the bathroom, the toilet would not flush. My wife called the front desk and told them that the light was out and that the toilet would not flush. They said maintenance would come look at it. We left the room to walk up to the boardwalk for dinner (and use the restrooms since many of us still needed to go) While we were on the boardwalk we saw other families in our group who had checked in early in the day. They said the girls already went swimming in the indoor pool but many of them had to get out because they were getting rashes all over their skin. The parents told us they reported it to Bolero's management before we arrived. We were not informed of any pool issues by the front desk upon arrival. When we returned to our room the toilet still would not flush, so my wife went back down to tell the front desk who claimed maintenance had repaired it but would send him around again. At 10:30 we went back to our room for the night, and the toilet still was not flushing. Again, we called the front desk. After about 20 minutes a young man front desk (who later identified himself as the manager) came to the room to "inspect" the toilet. He left after about 2 minutes and said maintenance who be back. A Maintenance man showed up after 11 pm with a toilet auger and worked on the toilet for about a half hour. He told us he would have to come back in the morning to "fix or replace" the toilet. After we put the kids to bed it was close to midnight. We went downstairs to address this issue with a manager, who turned out to be the very same guy named Michael who had been receiving our complaints the entire time. Michael defended himself and said "we sent someone up three times already," as if this was an excusable response for even putting a customer in predicament. Shortly after we were complaining with this manager, a group of parents came into the lobby with their daughters. The girls had rashes, or even burns, on their faces and skin. They showed the manager who claimed the pool chemicals were checked. One of the mom's called 9-1-1 to request an EMT, and literally the manager disappeared from building for the rest of the night. It was unbelievable that a manager would have done nothing to show concern for children. We went back upstairs after our toilet issue had become secondary to a much more serious issue. The next morning, maintenance came to our room around 10 am to repair the toilet. A couple kids spent hours at the ER where they were told they had chemical burns. We went to the front desk to check at at 11 am, and a woman told us that Michael should have been there but will be in later between 1-2. We came back at 1:30 and the same woman said he was there and already left for the day. Complete negligence and I hope the parents whose children were burned file civil action...

The room was damp and dark. The beds were uncomfortable. I have small children and they needed to take a nap but they were repairing the parking lot and a jack hammer right in front of our room kept us awake starting in the morning all day. We overlooked it the first day. The first night we were kept awake by loud guests playing music. The next afternoon the kids were kept awake again by the jack hammer. I went to talk to the man working at the front desk and he offered to move us to the second floor. I explained that won't do much for noise. He seemed annoyed and said to come back in an hour to talk to the manager. I waited and the manager was not there, instead the shift change occurred and there was a second man working that was equally annoyed. I asked if he could have the manager call me because I didn't want to sit in the room and wait, rather enjoy my vacation. He said he would. I never received a call. I went back again and told that the manager still was not in. My husband went in and told the man at the front desk to call him. The manager said he would be there within the hour to talk to him. We waited over an hour again... but no one came. My husband saw a roach on the bed and it crawled between the boxspring and mattress. My husband went back to the front desk as I packed our kids and luggage at 11:30 at night. They moved us to the hotel section. Apparently we were in the motel section. We were moved to the 5th floor and we saw no one on that floor, which was funny to us because the man at the front desk acted like it was difficult to find us a room. It was very quiet because there was no one but us. We were moved to a room that was smaller and had two full size beds, rather then two king size beds in the last room. It was not damp, rather stale, dry, and very dusty. Even the poor plant in the hallway was dying because no one watered it. We could see the ocean from our room, which was nice, and had a small sink with the microwave. The fridge was not plugged in when we got in the room, but it did work. The air conditioner was so loud when it turned on that we kept it turned up so it wouldn't turn on very often while we slept. The pools were not clean, a used bandaid by the stairs and hair in the pool of the indoor pool. The outdoor bar or concession stand were not open. The restaurant was closed, and the laundry room had chairs stacked in the room so you couldn't even walk in. The gym was nice and always empty except for the muscle head working in there. But don't worry about him, he never even acknowledged me or my daughters, but just worked out the whole time we were at the pool located off the gym. If we did cross paths he just looked straight ahead as if we weren't even there. It made me feel like I wasn't worth the time to even be acknowledged. We were THE ONLY guests in there and it was mind boggling that he didn't see us. The hot tubs were disgusting. They didn't work and looked so gross. They made one look as if it was operational but it was not much warmer than the pool and had gunk around the water line. The reason I picked this hotel was because of the amenities and the close proximity to the beach. The "3 minute" walk is alot longer than you think. Once you get to the boardwalk you have to walk alot further to the shore. With small children you would be better off staying closer to the beach or ramp and boardwalk going to the shore so that while carrying things or pushing a stroller it will be easier. We were very disappointed in this "resort" and the way they do buisness. We will not be back but we will dispute the charges based on quality and because their website says that the amenities are available all year around but were not. If you made the mistake of chosing this hotel and experienced any of this, dispute the charges. Make an attempt to resolve with the manager but if there is no resolution dispute the charge with your bank...

Every year we visit the Bolero for my son's Birthday. 1/19-1/21. We always request a suite in the Tower so that we don't have to walk out into the cold after visiting the beautiful, indoor, rooftop pool. This year, the friendly front desk woman quickly changed her demeanor when I asked to confirm that we were on the poolside. Seemingly annoyed, she aggressively batted at the keyboard and snapped “There's an up charge, just so you know, IF it's even available” I was taken aback. Side note: She was fine up to this point, we were laughing and joking so I was shocked. I tried to explain that I spoke with someone 2 times earlier this week (I was told that it was not an issue to have a tower room) and we have done it this way without issue since I always call in advance. She rudely cut me off mid sentence and repeated “this was an on line booking, this was an on line booking”.. not allowing me to explain that I spoke to someone, she literally kept cutting me off repeating the same phrase, each time becoming more and more condescending. I kept my cool, surprisingly. The hotel was mostly empty, due to the weather and being January. I didn't want to start the weekend off poorly so I said ok, I didnt mean to cause an issue. We will take the room given. Her reply was “Fine”. I was fuming with the remaining attitude. Her behavior was not warranted at all. Mind you, the hotel was near empty. We were put on the outside second floor, to climb slippery stairs, walk an unsalted sidewalk, all with 2 kids. Meanwhile, there were rooms inside the tower that I didn't care about the upcharge. There was a nice gentleman outside who helped us carry our bags upstairs that we were grateful crossing paths with. It was actively snowing all weekend. The manager Tom was very nice. Although, I do feel that he was given some sort of heads up from the front desk girl to ward off any negative response we may have offered him. We didn't. Initially, the first interaction with Tom felt uncomfortable but that could have just been my perspective. As we settled in, maybe he recognized that we werent the bad guys. Tom went out of his way to Interact with the kids and even gave them a ball to play with. He made the kids laugh and gave them special attention. We truly appreciated that because it made us feel more at ease. The indoor pool, sauna, and hot tubs are a huge selling point to this hotel. The spa area was uncomfortably cold. We were literally shivering. Previous years it was comfortable, this year it was not even close. The winter rates are about ½ compared to in season rates. Still, for over $400 the receptionist should have a little grace, especially to returning customers. Needless to say we are strongly contemplating ever returning after 5 years of doing so. It's a shame but nobody should be made to feel that way. I'm very organized and look forward to this trip every year. I tip well and leave the room spotless. I do my part but felt like we were under a microscope our entire stay. The experience was sub par at best compared to previous years. Being placed in an outside room in the snow, and the attitude from reception, deterred us from going to the pool as often and restaurant. Thumbs down this time. As for no smoking on premises with an additional $100 fee to ensure that you don't.... the smell of weed was over baring and constant!!! The mouse traps under the beds threw me...