Cape May blogging

Hanging out in Cape May this weekend- all four of us. I haven't been in Cape May in a really really long time. When I was in biz school around 1980, one of my housemates knew people (a couple of teachers from George School, I believe) had bought this run down old hotel called the Chalfonte and were fixing it up on the cheap by trading room and board for student labor. So a few of us came down here at least twice, spent our days sanding and stripping and painting, and were given lunch and dinner and free evenings to just hang out. I remember it being hard work and great fun. Apparently, they still do this.

This time, we wanted to be in a "nice place," so we chose something called the Ocean Club Hotel. It looks lovely on the website, and I wouldn't say that the site is totally deceptive. It's just an overstatement. This is a funny mix between a big beach motel and a nice hotel. You walk into the very nice lobby if you enter from the front. If however, you are arriving by car, you walk in through the back door, which brings you into the hotel on a concrete ramp, leading to a painted cement floor and hallway that, while inside, looks suspiciously as if it were originally exposed to the elements.

I don't really know much about the history of this place, but I would guess that it was originally a large motel that is trying to transform itself into a nice hotel. The attempt seems sincere and is not just putting a glossy face on things. The people who work here are professional and helpful. They are, however, stuck with the bones of motel.

We are on the 6th floor, in what is affectionately referred to as "The Penthouse Suite." If simply being on the top floor makes something a penthouse, so be it, but there's nothing special about either the floor itself or the rooms. Don't get me wrong. The rooms are decent sized and pleasant, with balconies that either directly or indirectly face the ocean. But they're bland and dull and the hallway was clearly originally outside.

I could go on and nitpick everything, but I'll leave that for my Tripadvisor review. The main problem, or perhaps the elephant in the suite, is the elevator situation. There are about 20 rooms on each of 6 floors, and there is exactly one slow 6-8 passenger elevator. Let's just say it's not adequate. I've heard from people who work in the hotel that they will be putting in a second elevator over the winter. That means it would take only slightly longer to wait for that elevator than for the existing one. Having a room on the top floor suddenly becomes much less attractive when it takes 5 minutes to get there or back.

More to come.