Bal Harbour Oceanfront Hotels, Wildwood Crest

From the outside and the pictures on the website, the hotel looks pretty nice - BUT don't let that fool you. It is right on the beach and does have a pool. You can tell that at one time the hotel was great, but it is a filthy mess now!! The rooms are gross. The a/c did not work in any of our rooms or in the restaurant downstairs. The staff is rude and very unaccommodating. I was scared to even let my kids walk barefoot anywhere. DO NOT waste your money or time going here. We were all very dissapointed.....

where to start..a/c ran 24hr and never cooled the room.seperate bedroom had no a/c stayed around 84 deg.we ended up leaving the freezer door open to help cool off. they will not take credit cards and make you pay cash up front at check in.wifi cost $40 per week and they will take credit cards for that..or at least your number. gift shop was 5-10 dollars higher than 4 blocks away on the boardwalk for the same junk, pool closes at 6pm.1 pop machine and it's in the basement 1 iron and guess where it is..beside the pop machine.room smelled old musty.staff we saw was one 14 yr old mexican boy that stared at you.bathroom toilet placed under countertop toilet paper holder way under countertop and 2" off the floor.pooping was like a game of twister.shower water comes and goes as it pleases. they provide nothing but 4 towels, no soap,no nothing.they have a game room.half of the games were broke and the others cost $2 per game.we were not brave enough to try the resturant, but we ordered at the poolside window 1 time, mexican took my order and kinda chuckled and said something to the other mexican "chef" then he chuckled..hotdog went in trash, i'll eat later.parking ..there is a garage that holds 30 super compact cars.seeing as we drive a big suv, my wife and kids had to get out and spot me to park and with 10-15 up and backs we made it in a spot. rest of the week we parked on the street. honestly this was a $50 dollar a night room we paid $215

I consider myself a person who travels a lot all over the world. I have been to many places, some of them you would call third world countries. The Bal Harbour Oceanfront Hotel in Wildwood New Jersey is the worst hotel I have ever been TO. It is run down, dirty place with very uncomfortable beds. The bathrooms are claustrophobic with ceiling touching your head. The toilet is old, dirty and very small. The rooms smell old dirty mold. The microwave and refrigerator were rusted and dirty. The outdoor swimming pool is open until 6:00 PM (I have no idea why since there are no lifeguards on duty anyway). All of the above is nothing comparing to the customers service offered at the hotel. My wife made reservation for 2 nights but they charge us for three claiming that we made reservation for 3. There is no electronic hotel confirmation from this hotel so you have no proof. The manager refused to come out and talk to us communicating only by the front desk stuff that he will not refund us for the third night. At the end we end up paying for extra night. The hotel charges you 40 dollars deposit for old-fashioned heavy keys. Please read everything very carefully at this hotel despite the fact that you are on vacation and you could be relaxed.

Don't go there! Read all the bad reviews below - all true. I just went for 3 days and reserved a 2 bdrm - awful! When I checked out I learned they charged me for 3 nighs instead of 2.....which started a dispute that is impossible to win since they don't use e-mail fro written confirmation. Extra atraction includes charging you $40 deposit for a real key!

A very nice hotel located in the Crest. Clean rooms and friendly staff. Be sure to look at the pool deck and direct beach access.

please come inspect me. I have mold, bugs, dirt, open recepticales, and towels and washclothes that looked like they were never washed, just thrown in a dryer and put back in the room. There were stains on the towels, washclothes, walls, even the sheets! The table in the room had never been wiped off from the previous person(s) and was sticky and had crumbs still on it. Our maid's (?) idea of making the bed was leaving the sheets all crumbled up and just throwing the filthy bed cover on top. Even that was crusty....disgusting. What type of motel that you pay $250 a night for does not have a hairdryer, coffee maker? or at least cleanliness? Thankfully, I inspected the seams along the bed mattress to insure there weren't any bed bugs in that particular room. To be honest I was shocked it didn't. My advice: STAY AWAY....BE VERY AFRAID.....IT'S NOT WORTH EVEN $10 A NIGHT!

I just returned from a four night stay at Bal Harbour. The place is dingy, outdated and definitely not clean! The carpeting in the room felt sticky when I walked on it so I made sure to wear flip flops at all times. The bed is so uncomfortable and the bed covers are worn and did not smell fresh. The drapes were also dirty and even had what looked like moth holes in some parts. The bathroom was so out dated and the shower water flow had a little more than a trickle. The check in staff was unfriendly; no one ever made me or my companions feel welcomed. In fact our rooms were not ready. The staff was more interested in collecting money ( all upfront and had to be in CASH) for my stay. I asked the check in person that being I have to pay for my stay all up front before I even step into my room, will I get any credit if I am dissatisfied or a problem comes up and the answer was an adamant NO! I pay and no matter what happens I am stuck with any unpleasan experiences without recourse because it is my word against theirs. Personally, part of my vacation planning includes staying in a place that I feel welcomed, respected and safe. I felt neither of these qualities were present in this site, in the staff nor even in the manager/owner. I really hope that this hotel closes down and restructures itself for the better. It will require more awareness among people to read reviews and trust the opinion of people who are sharing the inside story of what happens when staying at the Bal Harbour Hotel. It should have raised a red flag for me when a hotel requires cash upfront before even seeing my room. Any quality hotel takes a credit card and doesn't charge the stay until checkout. Bal Harbour owners know how mediocre to very poor its hotel is so they take the money up front and then don't have to care what kind of experience the guest has because once they get their money up front, THEY DON"T HAVE TO CARE!

it is not near anything.the boardwald is not walkable and the pool is way too small..the toilet is not useable and guys cant stand up . the room has no special fetures that would make me wanna come back..

beds are bad staff is bad 4 pools are a joke 1 pool and 3 small foot baths.needs torn down and redone. family called and were told no such person at hotel real nice when we were needed at home!! owner should retire she is soooo crabby!

April 21, 2009 I just had one of the worst experiences making reservations. I spoke with Lee at Bal Harbour Oceanfront Hotels in Wildwood Crest, NJ. I have been staying at the Bal Harbour since I was a little girl when my parents took me there. I have been taking my three children there for many years and spent thousands of dollars every summer for about 6 years now for a week at a time. My sister also brings her family every year and we always had a fabulous time. To celebrate my youngest daughter’s 14th birthday, I decided to take her there Friday through Monday this weekend to enjoy the beach. When I called and spoke to Lee, I asked him about rooms for only two people. He said maybe two words and put me on hold. When he came back on he said, “call me back when you are ready to make a reservation.” I was a bit surprised and said “I would like to make a reservation right now.” I then asked to book Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. He said “we are not open Sunday night.” And when I expressed surprise he said, “I don’t want you staying here.” I was shocked and asked “why”, he said that because I seemed surprised that they weren’t open for reservation Sunday night that he thought I was confused and hung up on me. I was shocked. I immediately called back to say that I was surprised and shocked by his behaviour and that I had been staying and spending money there for years. I asked to speak to the manager. He said he was the manager and hung up on me. I was actually sitting there shaking when he yet again hung up on me. A friend who was with me could not believe what had transpired. Needless to say, my sister, her family and my children and I will never step foot on the grounds of Bal Harbour again. How sad….after many years of enjoying the hotel.