Ocean Beach Club Resort, Virginia Beach

We stayed 2 nights. We were charged for the safe daily even tho we did not use it. AND - parking is 'extra' daily charge in a garage across the street the key they give you to get in the garage does not work!! Others had the same problem. and beware the 'time sharing pitch' - they are on you from the time you check in and even call the room daily! We got the door unlocked and the phone was ringing. Maybe service is better for those interested in making an investment - I just wanted a decent room for a relaxing weekend. A $169. room turned into a $199 room after all the charges. It smelled of smoke and cig were on the balcony. They also charge you an EXTRA $100 when you check out without telling you!!! This is the "incidental" fee. Glad that I had the money on my credit card or that would have been bad. The do give it back the next day. The music in the lobby is VERY loud. They DO NOT offer free internet. The only way you can get if free is if you are in the lobby. I cant relax in my jammies in the lobby!!!!! The channel on TV said ask them for anything they will do it. I asked them to drive me down the beach since the trolley was not running. They laughed. For the most part the staff was wonderful. But for the money you can get free parking and free breakfast at other places.

Last fall we had an out of town guest so we thought we'd take her to the beach and decided on the Tiki Bar at Ocean Beach Club. Big mistake. We ordered a bottle of wine. The bottle had already been opened and it was apparent it wasn't completely full. When I asked the bartender for another bottle, he was rude, replied there was only a "bit" missing and said it was the last one. We complained to a manager and the bartender came over with a full bottle (surprise), slammed it on the table, and said he didn't have time for this. No apologies, just complete disrespect. The salmon was also tasteless and apparently previously frozen. Management apologized for the wine fiasco, but nothing else. To top it off, we were charged an additional tip which we didn't notice until the CC bill came. We had already paid the server (she was nice) a tip in cash. Awful experience!!!

We really appreciated the kind service we received from everyone at the resort and I do mean everyone! Our original condo was not ocean front and therefore did not have balconies. When I explained to the staff that we really hoped for an ocean view condo with balconies, they switched us to one the next day! The view was gorgeous and I really enjoyed my stay there. We went to the pool a few times, enjoyed the bonfire, took many walks (Starbucks was nearby!), and ate at the Pi pizzeria across the street which was excellent and had an awesome soundtrack for the family to enjoy. The entire resort was clean and well-decorated. The pools could have been bigger and the activity room more spacious but it was fine for an off-season week vacation. We look forward to returning very soon!

I love this resort, nice clean rooms, nice location, my family had alot of fun and cant wait to come back.

Date of stay: 8/27/08 to 8/31/08 From the minute we stepped into the vestibule of the 1-br. suite we initially checked into, we could smell the strong odor of ethnic food. Curry, I think. While unpacking our bags, we noticed that the room had not been vacuumed very well; there were a few pistachio shells, peanuts, and a licorice stick on floor. After unpacking, we left for lunch and a trip to the grocery store. Upon our return, the maid, who just finished the room down the hall, saw that I was trying to prop the doors open (to air it out a bit) and said, “That room smells, doesn’t it.” She promptly came over with a can of air freshener in hand and started spraying away, heavy handedly, without my asking. That made the smell even worse. Shortly thereafter, I got the mother of all headaches followed by the feeling of nausea. Two Tylenols were of no help. The front desk instructed us to leave the room for about 1-hr. so they can send someone up with an ozone cleaner, whatever that it. Off to the pool area we went. We returned 1½ hours later and found that nothing had been done. Almost immediately after walking into the room, I became physically ill and almost passed out. My husband called the hotel manager and we were moved to another room on another floor within the hour. I found out later that what I experienced was a migraine. Whatever chemicals were in the can did not agree with me and caused some sort of allergic reaction. Not fun. The kitchen at the OBC is fully equipped with a full size stove, DW, microwave, and fridge. The cupboards are stocked with only the basic items - 4 plates, 4 bowls, 4 mugs, 4 glasses, 4 forks, etc. This means that if we wanted to have lunch back in our room, this eco conscious family of 4 needs to either wash the dishes by hand after breakfast or run the DW that's not even one quarter full. Neither are good options. We didn’t see a single recycling bin anywhere on the property and OBC guests don’t have the option of re-using their linens during their stay. We received fresh towels everyday even though they were hung up. A couple of the hand towels were never even used; the wash cloths were merely removed from the decorative pocket. A few of the light fixtures did have CFLs and the toilet in our room and the public restrooms were all low flow. My husband’s biggest dislike was the a/c unit in the bedroom. Not only was it noisy, but it was so close to the bed that it kept blowing cold air on him all night. Lastly, even though this facility is now “smoke-free”, we found ash trays in the night stand, and every now and then, would catch a whiff that it didn’t use to be that way. The Ocean Beach Club is in an awesome location, was clean, and staffed with friendly and helpful people. The food and drinks from Tortugas Café and Tiki bar were good and the pools were enjoyable for both kids and adults. Parking and Wi-Fi are not free ($7.00 and $4.95 a day, respectively) plus they charge you $1 a day for the in-room safe regardless of whether you use it or not. Would we stay there again? It depends on what’s going on in the area and they change some of their policies and become more eco friendly. BTW, don’t buy gas from BP across the street from the Hilton. At the time, their price for regular was $3.79 a gallon. The station a few blocks down on Laskin was only $3.49 a gallon.

Last summer of 8/06, one of my relatives made reservations for a week to stay here. When we just arrive from a six hour drive, someone from the hotel called and said that the room was not available, only to find out the another family was staying in the room we booked. Everything worked out okay and I still got to have a relaxion time. Then when I came with my parents during the winter time, it was fabulous. The service was good, oceanbeach club kitchen is way bigger than the Clarion. The rooms we stayed in both had oceanfront views. You would think coming during the winter time it would be cold, but each time I come the weather is better. And when new years come get ready for the parties, and everyone screaming "HAPPY NEW YEAR".

The resort overall and rooms were very clean and decorated nicely. However, I was awakened every morning by the construction of phase II of the resort. They give you info about the construction AFTER you arrive. They do not have the activities advertised. As a matter of fact, front desk told my husband that he would have to go all the way down to the Ramada to use the workout room. They charge daily for internet service--lower end hotels offer free internet! And get this--the period runs from noon to noon. So if you logged on at 10am, at noon you would be charged another fee of $5. Our biggest problem was that we purchased pre-construction and was lied about the unit we bought. We were told it would not be oceanfront, but rather ocean view on the side; however when we got there we found it was total city view--ruined our vacation. And beware, if you rent or buy a unit with a side view, the balcony of the next unit is directly in front of one of the bedrooms. That's right-no blinds, only curtains--you can peep them and they can peep you.

We stayed for a week last year in July 06'- and when we walked in we were so excited everything was beautiful, great music, etc.. Our rooms were amazing as well everthing very clean and cozy. We woke up the next morning ready for breakfast- waited about 10-15 min for an elevator and finally get down there and looked at menus displayed out on the counter when we went to order after waiting about 15 min. for someone to come in they had told us that, that was their menu from last year and they don't serve those items. We ended up going to another place to eat. There was never enough lounging chairs out side or if their was they were covered by other guests towels who were on the beach saving their spots until they returned. Another big, big turn off was the pool- very cool but extremly small for such a big hotel, the water was never refreshing very mucky as well. They also have a neat tiki bar outside but no one that works in it- we had to go up to the front desk several times to ask if someone was working it and when someone finally came out they were totally clueless about how to make a drink or they were out of everything to make it. Basically it is an excellent place to sleep!