Ocean Court Motel

3 stars go to motel itself, nice wooden floors, clean for the most part aside from pillows and fridge w/​mold in it.
the outside is a bad portrayal of the inside, definitely don’t judge a book by its cover. customer service, unprofessional, use of foul language, & exteeme rude attitude from james upon arrival.
made a reservation for two nights, the second couple was coming the second night, (which i let him know in advance) and when the second couple arrived he was extremely agitated because «i didnt tell him i needed two separate parking spots», even though the parking lot had various different vacant parking spots.
at 10:55, 5 minutes before we were about to check out and visibly packing up the car in front of james he tells one of our visitors staying in the hotel next door to tell us it was 11 & that we needed to leave.
also, upon us leaving he informed is that we can keep our cars parked for only $ 20 for the day because «thats what he does for his guests» even though he has a huge sign in front of the parking lot that says «parking $ 20 open to public» LOL
this motel is too expensive to receive the service i did, & next time i will make sure to pay the extra $ 50 difference to stay at Ocean Place Spa & Resort, which i highly recommend to anyone reading this. maybe, when james loses his business due to being a jerk, he will learn that hospitality /​customer service really is essential in owning a hotel.

If you want a place right by the beach, and that is the only criteria you have, then this is the place for you to stay. That is the only positive thing I can say about our stay here, that and we had a great parking spot. Otherwise, it really is like going camping, only you have electricity. I kept my flip flops on the entire time in the room and in the shower. Maybe back in the day it was quite a place, but the years and the salt air have not been kind, both have taken its toll. However, we loved the town of Long Branch and next time we go back we will make our plans earlier to avoid motel surprise.

I know there are a lot of bad reviews here. And while I agree with certain points you can find in them (see below), I think it all depends on what you’re looking for, and what your preconceived notions of what the Jersey shore should be are. I gave Ocean Court Motel four stars for several reasons:
1. THE STAFF. I came to the motel by myself due to a relationship snafu. I was upset, ambivalent about going to the shore at all (much less by myself, but the hotel was paid for, so that was a big motivator), and shell-​shocked.
Donna checked me in. I informed her it would just be myself. She was so, so kind. She assured me it was safe (which it was), she told me about all of the things I could do, and she even invited me to join her and her friends that evening. If it had been any other day (I was exhausted; hadn’t slept), I would have taken her up on it. But just the kindness of that offer I found to go far above and beyond the call of duty. Even if she hadn’t offered, she was still super kind and accommodating.
James checked in on me continually throughout the trip. He chatted with me, made me feel safe, and made me feel cared for. I swear I might have turned back around at some point my first day if it hadn’t been for the two of them.
2. THE LOCATION. If Ocean Court could get closer to the beach, it would be in the ocean. Plus, it’s right across from an entry point with badge purchase booth. Plus, it’s about a three minute walk to Pier Village, full of shops and restaurants. Pricey, but for a singly-​traveling woman who’s heard what Long Branch has been like in the past, that means SAFE.
3. THE VIEW. Check out my pictures. I was in room 25 which was in the smaller building slightly south of the main building. BLAM. Ocean view. Second floor. Balcony. Plus the room is railroad style and has a sliding door as its entrance, big windows on the side, and a window in the smaller room in the back, which makes for nice cross breezes and surveying of the land. This kind of room view is rare on the Jersey shore to begin with, much less so for an affordable price.
4. THE ROOM. Okay. So, if you look closely, this isn’t a five-​star hotel. To that I say, thank god, because not only would I not have been able to afford it, but I would have been out of place. The room had two queen beds, one in a smaller room in the back by the bathroom. There was an eat in kitchen (TIP: BRING UTENSILS, PLATES, PANS TO COOK WITH) and a fridge. It was CLEAN and smelled just fine (contrary to other reviews). It also had been recently renovated, I think. Not perfectly, since things sagged a little, the bed was very basic (but not uncomfortable, and again, CLEAN), but this is part of beach charm in my opinion. The bathroom was brand new, new tile, new sink and toilet, and spotless. The kitchen had nice tiling too. Also, pergo floors. Shiny ones.
If you want luxury, go to Atlantic City. If you want character and kind people who know your name and who care about their guests, go here.
5. THE PRICE. Okay, so $ 350 is a lot of money. Believe me, I know. I work for a nonprofit. What it is NOT a lot of money for is the view I got, the size of the room, the location, and the last minute booking for LABOR DAY WEEKEND. I booked this room the Thursday before. Down the street at that fancy hotel jobby prices can be twice as high. Plus, I’ll say it again, LABOR DAY WEEKEND. The prices go down by half on less desperate end-​of-​summer days.
If I return to the shore, hopefully with friends this time, I will certainly go back to Ocean Court. Thanks, guys.

Steer clear unless you want the experience of staying at «the Bates» hotel. The trailer bathrooms block any view to the ocean. Towels and sheets were the only thing fairly clean but the bedspreads are gross!
It’s way overpriced and they charge for parking after check out time.
We asked to have our room changed because of a gas smell and we moved to a room where James and his party friends were hanging out drinking and smoking!
No sleep… No service… no phone… bad idea!

I’d almost say, «Stay here» — because you will most certainly emerge with a story to tell — but I feel it’s only fair to provide fair warning about this place.
The motel manager, James, is rather unforgettable. He shows up to your motel room with new sheets, wearing only a robe, boxers, and a couple of pinky rings, with a cigar hanging from his mouth, and ash falling all over the sheets. He is not afraid to inform you of your «stupidity» for not knowing the wifi password. James berated my friend for asking for clean sheets (her sheets had stains and cigar burn holes on them), and was alarmed that we wanted additional towels, yelling «you have them all!» (James yells a lot). He wanted to let a construction worker in to «fix the counter tops» while we were in our rooms. When we refused, he took that to mean we didn’t want ANYONE in our rooms ever, and so we never received clean sheets or towels.
We found this all rather amusing, until we were checking out. James was furious that we hadn’t checked out on time, saying sternly «if this was the summer, there would have been trouble! I would have just bagged your stuff and thrown it out!» He told me, «you had a lot of stupid people staying here,» and then warned, «Tell that oriental one, she is not welcome back!» (I presume, for asking for clean sheets? I was unclear as to the origin of this anger.
Besides the James factor, the blankets at this place are made of a very thin synthetic material that makes you sweat profusely all night. The rooms reek of cigar smoke.
So, all in all, stay here for the proximity to the ocean. Otherwise, steer clear. For the same price, you can have much cleaner, saner accommodations.

This place has been very difficult about refunding my money, they’ve charged me for un-​agreed to amounts. I canceled my reservation due to Hurricane Irene, It was a state of emergency & this place is on the beach! Every hotel in this town had shut down for the weekend, including the one where a friends wedding was at. They still charged me for one full night, even though I cancelled!
If you have to deal with this hotel, BE VERY CAREFUL! They seem like crooks to me, Not very pleasant to deal with at all.
Not to mention, they never answer their phone.