Clarion Resort Fontainebleau Hotel

The Clarion is definitely starting to show its years. Nothing was unclean or shabby, but the décor in the rooms and hallways is just blah. I do love the little balcony where I can look out at the ocean whenever I want. The elevators are quite slow, especially when the hotel is packed for a conference. But, the conference area is nice. It has several large spaces that work well for the events and such. The pub downstairs serves surprisingly decent food and my servers were always pleasant. The cleaning staff of the hotel seemed to be the friendliest, while the front desk staff, while, not rude, just wasn’t overly welcoming. However, I do appreciate them letting me check in several hours early. That was awesome! Also, direct beach access is great!

This hotel is terrible!!! Stay far away!!! You have been warned!!!
I decided to go on a weekend vacation with my wife to Ocean City. I went online to look up some hotels in the area and stumbled across the Clarion. I didn’t want to stay at one of those filthy rundown hotels all of the college students crash at during the summer, but a decent hotel so that my wife and I would be able to have a great time. The price for a King-​sized room at the Clarion on
was $ 279 a night. I decided to call the hotel direct and see if I could get a better deal with my job. When I called, I was told they were completely booked for that weekend. I got off the phone and went back online to
and called the customer service number. When I got in touch with a representative, they told me they had rooms available and they processed by credit card information. I then asked the representative why was it that when I called the hotel directly and tried to book the room, they informed me that they didn’t have any vacancies that weekend. They explained to me that
purchases a few rooms from Clarion direct and that Clarion is not allowed to sell the pre-​purchased rooms to anyone. I locked in, got an email confirmation, and the money was debited from my account.
The weekend of my vacation, I got to the hotel around 3:30pm. We first noticed that the parking lot was very confusing and can be very difficult for a driver to maneuver. I drove my car up to the entrance and got out to walk inside to the check-​in desk. When we finally got to the receptionist’s desk to give my name for the reservation, the receptionist informed me that I was 30 minutes early and that they didn’t have a room available for me because they OVERBOOKED!!! At this point I’m outraged because I had already paid 3 weeks in advanced. So I explain that to the receptionist and she tells me that I will have to wait until a room becomes available and that they could give me a $ 50 dollar food credit to their restaurant. I quickly declined because I didn’t care about eating $ 50 dollars worth of free food if I’m 3 hours away from home and don’t have a room to stay for the night. The receptionist calls over the manager and the manager arrives to the desk. The manager asks me to explain my situation one more time and I repeat it to her. I told them that I had already purchased a room online at
and that they money was already taken out for the stay. The manager tells me some BS that the hotel has blocked 3^rd party websites from booking more rooms than available, but 3^rd party websites such as
have hacked the system in order to illegally book more rooms. I called it BS because it didn’t make sense of what she was telling me. The manager tells the receptionist to just go ahead and process my check-​in. They ended up giving me a parking pass, a access card to the amenities, and asked me to write down my phone number so they could contact if a room becomes available. I quickly interjected and told the receptionist that was unacceptable because there’s no telling on when I would receive a phone call. I planned on shopping in the area, so I give them my number and decided to leave in order to cool off. When I left, I quickly got on the phone with
where a customer service representative told me they were going to contact the hotel to learn about the situation. The customer service rep got back on the call with me and told me a room was available. I was puzzled because I hadn’t received a phone call back from Clarion regarding an available room. By this time, it was around 4:30pm. I rushed back to the hotel and the receptionist finally gave me cards to my room. I even overheard another couple irate over them being told that they were overbooked as well.
Okay, now here’s the issues with the room. I guess Clarion felt apologetic about the situation and gave us a deluxe King-​sized room w/​small balcony overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. I’m not too sure if the hotel was trying to reserve these rooms in anticipation that someone would purchase one at a higher rate than what I originally paid. The bed was very mushy and the mattress was cheaply made. The bathroom looked dirty like no one cleaned the shower out. The toilet is very low to the ground and not suitable for an adult to use. The TV was too small for my tasting. It looked like it was a 27 inch. If you’re charging nearly $ 300 dollars a night, I expect a big screen. I had fallen asleep and my wife woke me up complaining about bugs she saw crawling around the lamp shade. She immediately got into a panic and pushed the beds back to notice dirty stains on the sheets and hair behind the headboard.
The only person who seemed like they cared was the receptionist by the name of Jessica. Stay far away from this fake hotel that’s posing to be a luxury resort. Such frauds.

This is a review for the beach bar not hotel
Service was extremely slow, like 45 min for a hotdog slow. Worse I ordered without cheese and all they did was scrape the cheese off. Will not be going back.
Suggest for a faster and cheaper option with better drinks going to the tiki bar outside the Golden Sands just a block up the beach.

We opted for this hotel/​resort (though it’s not a resort) because it was pet friendly and we brought our dog. But everything else is left to be desired. The pet rooms are on the fifth floor, and that whole floor smells like you would think. But most people would expect that smell if they have pets. The issue really is I believe they should have the pet floor on the most bottom floor which would be the third floor, due to other people having dogs it’s not always a good idea to get in an elevator when there are a few other dogs that are stressed out isn’t good and stairs were our main option most of the time. About the elevators, there are only 3… and getting on one is like pulling teeth especially during peak season. The pools were nice and clean, the balcony was super small. Two adults maybe 3 max! Hotel is ocean front, rooms are not. Buffet/​restaurant was pretty good but very pricey. The rooms were nothing fancy, pretty run of the mill rooms that are in need of desperate upgrades. Dog area also leaves a lot to be desired my dog wouldn’t even use the bathroom in there and ppl don’t clean up their dogs mess.

We went to the Clarion for the seafood buffet dinner for my daughter’s 15^th birthday. IT WAS. FANTASTIC!!!
The endless snow crabs with drawn butter were delicious, as was the prime rib and Virginia ham. We were so full and satisfied at the end of our meal. Our waitress was fun and super friendly. What an enjoyable and memorable birthday dinner. Our family will be making this restaurant an every year stop.

Ate thier the food was amazing clams casino the walnut salad and most of all I came for the orange ruffi that was better then 5 stars being in the restaurant biz for the last 25 years selling produce to over 3.000 restaurants and eating at most the chef here had his heart and soul into every dish especially the orange ruffi stuffed with crabmeat it was the begginng of a great vacation set the mood for the comming days /​even out very young waiter served the good flawlessly like a season pro /​the outside music was a lot fun thanks guys will see u next year as long as u have orang ruffi
Kenny /​rita thanks again my first stop

Yikes! This place is a dump. I wish we had done better research. The pictures are very misleading. The lobby is dirty. There’s dust literally hanging from the ceiling. Staff was very unfriendly and completely uninterested. It stinks. Rooms are spacious but dirty and dated. The «balcony» is tiny (really tiny). The only accurate thing from the description is that they are right on the water. They call themselves a «resort» which it CLEARLY is not. We’re so tempted to just leave now and not spend the night.

We had a great stay. Our room was clean! The food at the breakfast buffett was decent but friendly staff. Only complaint would be the hotel needs to hire a grounds crew to clean up after lazy people.

3 hours and I’m still waiting to get into my room! I dread what I’ll find when we get there. The front desk clerks are the most unfriendly, nasty, rude people and should NOT be in the hospitality business! I wish I could change properties but its too late. Its a holiday week and a convention at the hotel. Tell me they had no clue and couldn’t hire extra help!

This is our first time staying here and I’m a pretty tolerant person. But after driving 5 hours with two kids, we expected our room to be ready at check in. We were told they would call us. An hour and ½ later we got the call. What would happen if we checked out an hour and ½ late?! After we waited on another long line, we finally get our key. We were told they are understaffed. Not very encouraging since we are here for a large convention and had been booked since September. They give us a $ 50 meal voucher.
Get to our two bedroom condo. Not the cleanest, but decide we just have to bear it. Go to diner at their restaurant. Wait 90 minutes for food that was awful. Salty. Not cheap by the way. $ 50 voucher didn’t put a dent.
Go back to room with dirty air vents, splatter stains on the wall, sticky floors, and turn down the bed to put my kids to sleep. Found 5 hairs in my bed. Still decide, fine I’ll remove them and felt something rough only to find sand under the sheets.
Call the desk and they apologize and say they are sending someone. Ten minutes later that someone hands me sheets and walks away. I call the desk to ask if I’m getting a discount for removing the dirty sheets and cleaning the sand out of my bed. They say sorry but no managers are here after 8 and no one is trained to change the bed. What? Okay. So I clean someone else’s dirt and hair out of my bed. Open the new sheets to find a bottom sheet and 10 pillowcases. After calling a third time they say they are sending someone AGAIN. No one shows up. So after ½ hour, I walk down to the lobby across the parking lot to get my sheets so my KIDs can go to bed. They look at me like that don’t even know what I’m talking about. Finally the housekeeping employee who can’t change sheets brings me new ones.
And I have ten other friends with ten other stories just from today. If the Clarion couldn’t handle these simple things, how are they handling a large convention?!

I stay in this hotel 2 or 3 times a year for business. Several conventions or trade shows are held here every year. I been coming to this hotel for almost 8 years for business and the service quality and value has been declining sharply for the last 2 years. The room is okay, but dirty, the beds are comfortable and the in room sofa provide a nice place for me to sit in work after the trade show, but the hotel is noticeably dirty. I just returned to my room, a few minutes after housekeeping was done cleaning to find the floor was not vacuumed, the platter from breakfast was still on the table, two of the glasses provided with the ice bucket were missing and one of the glasses was still dirty– even with the cap on the glass (indicating that it was supposed to be a new glass) there are also two pillowcases sitting on the end table.
The gift shop is currently under construction and the sign says it’s being turned into a coffee bar. I asked the front desk where I could buy some toiletries that I had forgot to pack and they told me I had to walk a few blocks downtown to a 7-​Eleven. This hotel has the largest convention space in Ocean City outside of the Convention Center and caters to conventions and a business crowd, how can a hotel that caters to a business crowd not have some place on site where I can get some aspirin and a toothbrush?
Horizons, the hotel bar, was pretty good both bartenders were friendly, nice and pleasant to deal with. The light menu served at the bar for lunch was standard bar fair, the hamburger I got yesterday seemd to be one of those pre made frozen hamburgers, but the French Dip I had for lunch today was pretty good. The nighttime bartender did make a good Manhattan.
I will continue to come here for business because this is where the conventions are, but I would not recommend staying here for vacation, and I would recommend staying elsewhere, as I will, when my family and I vacation in Ocean City later this summer.

Boy was I worried about staying here. The hotel photos are accurate; however, I will say that the photos don’t quite do the rooms justice. I am pleased that the hotel is up to par. The rooms have dark carpet which does not lend to a bright and airy feel. The decision may have been based on being at the beach (to hide stains). My first room held a faint smell of smoke (in a non-​smoking hotel). The smell would have gagged me by the middle of the night. I got the impression the front desk staff knew that someone had been smoking in that room because it was mentioned…” they didn’t close the bathroom door.” They changed my room to a higher floor and all is well. Again, I am pleased that the hotel is acceptable to my standards.
The views are fantastic. Right outside of my room I have a direct view of the ocean. Inside my room, there is a small, one-​person standing balcony that allows me to see the ocean from the side of the hotel but again the view is fabulous. The hotel is right on the ocean and would be a great place to stay during the summer months. I know we sometimes worry about a place esp. since the reviews online were not favorable. The family is gathering here for the Thanksgiving holiday to enjoy the buffet meal and then the Eagles-​Cowboys football game! We didn’t do too bad.

I stayed stayed over the summer and it wasn’t a bad pick for OC. Most hotels are really like motels, but this one wasn’t too bad for a Clarion. It was a small walk to the beach and they have a bar/​restaurant onsite, as well as a pool. The room was a decent size, a little outdated, but okay. The bathroom was weirdly set-​up, with light switches in places you wouldn’t think to look. The front desk had a mix of nice and nasty employees. They seemed to get annoyed when you requested a cab being called. There are two parking lots and all cars need a permit in the window. It’s a little far from most of the places we went to, so we needed a cab every time we went out. Not a bad stay & reasonably priced, compared to others in the area.

Buyer beware. Disappointed in this hotel, to say the least. Our «ocean view with a balcony» was a view of a small sliver of the ocean if you peaked your head outside the balcony and our balcony was a one foot outpost that only one person could stand (not even sit) outside the room. The walls are very thin and the hotel is outdated. The guest information book was also filled with dividers for information but no pages on the inside. The pet park for your pets is a good idea… if you want your pet to roll around in overgrown grass that people also toss their cigarettes in.
I would give the hotel 1 more star IF it didn’t cost as much because our room was fairly clean (bathroom a little old). For what we paid to stay here, I expected more but in hindsight it’s not worth it.

This hotel is very nice, the rooms are okay and the service is pretty good. I will say that the staff here is extremely friendly and very helpful. The location on the beach is delightful and the outdoor deck is really nice. My girls had a national dance competition held here and that’s why we stayed at this hotel. Five-​star luxury it’s not, but then again the prices are not that expensive either. Very reasonable. Overall it is comfortable and the friendly staff makes it very pleasant

Recently stayed Memorial Day weekend, 2014 for 3 nights:
Definitely a fan of this place. The rooms are a little dated and not ultra high-​end, but not slummy by any means. It’s called a «resort» and hotel and for a family that’s had our fair share of island vacations, my first thought was «Ocean City ‘resort’, yea right.» But it wasn’t that far off.
Staff very accomodating, let us move rooms to get a better view (wife is kind of particular.) Great oceanview. Great outdoor tiki-​style bar with live music. Love the outdoor pool. Hotel staff comes right out onto beach to take orders/​deliver drinks. Nice indoor bar and waterview restaurant inside the hotel, with buffets. The kids loved it. Hotel also has FULL ROOM SERVICE which is what sealed the deal for my wife.
We were very happy, especially for a last-​minute reservation. It had everything we needed and also not at the very bottom of OC… good location for commuting up to Dewey or Rehoboth.

I really wish I did more research when I was looking for a motel/​hotel in Ocean City.
My boyfriend and I decided to plan a spontaneous beach trip and since I was worried that it might be a busy weekend, I used Google to find a hotel. I wish I used the Maps function because this hotel is all the way on 100^th Street, while the Boardwalk is 1^st Street to 20^th Street with plenty of motels/​hotels around the vicinity with «Vacancy» signs lit up. I’m sure we could have walked if we really wanted to, but we ended up driving to the boardwalk.
The hotel itself is a bit older, with thin walls (I literally heard EVERYTHING from our room) and the 1980s style décor. The elevators were slow as molasses — although there were three, only one would come at a time. Our bathroom was small and cramped, and the sheets on our had an «old» smell to it. The staff was pretty much attentive and friendly throughout our trip, so no complaints there.
The beach is right behind the hotel and you can rent beach chairs, umbrellas, and sand chairs. (Prices go down after 2PM) There’s also a bar and a carry-​out located right behind the hotel, in front of the beach. The carry-​out menu listed smoothies, so I asked the staff what type they had… and she said I would have to go to the bar to order it. What’s the point in putting it on the menu when I have to go to the bar to order it? I ended up ordering chips and salsa, and got grossed out by the staff putting his BARE HANDS into the bag of chips and taking them out to put in the bowl. Needless to say, I didn’t eat them.
Next time, I’ll do my research and find another hotel closer to the Boardwalk area if I ever plan to visit Ocean City again.

The only reason it gets 4 stars is the rooms are in DIRE need of updating. Just really tired. But the staff is phenomonal, and you can’t beat the location. If you want a quick getaway, have to take your dog, and want a place where you can be steps from the ocean but still have good food, and drinks served at a bar right next to where your kids are swimming. I mean, how great is that? Michelle at Lenny’s beach bar was especially awesome!