La Mer Beachfront Inn

Another late season getaway this year and this time we stayed at La Mer.
The front desk people are some of the most accommodating that you will meet and our room was nice with a refrigerator, sink, dishes, silverware, glasses and cups, a microwave and beautiful granite counter tops. It was clean and fresh and the bed was made up beautifully. And yes it’s nice to have an adjoining restaurant. But I sure wish they had a deal with said restaurant to do room service! There’s nothing better than a Bloody Mary with a nice breakfast in ones PJ’s
I did have a problem, however, with the sliding glass door being very hard to move. Having called and stopped into the office several times we just sort of accepted the hard to move door until something weird happened. We were having a glass of wine on the covered balcony. The weather was a tad overcast and looked like rain but it was still warm.
Now here is the first part of strange. The room phone rang and when I answered, it was the front desk asking me to close the sliders because it was going to rain. Ok, creepy. Were they watching us?
I answered, definitely quite politely for me I might add, and said that I would gladly close them if I could given the fact that I’ve called down to have maintenance at least 4 times to fix them. Maintenance finally did show up to fix the door but that’s when we realized just how many cameras there were. I mean everywhere!
Now, one might offer the case of security and all of that but for those of us old enough to remember the book and not the TV reality show, all of those cameras spell nothing but Big Brother to me.

Stayed here last weekend with some friends. We had a room on the second floor with a balcony facing the ocean. The room was super clean and we had no issues during the check in and check out process. The staff was so courteous and the hotel was sold out. One thing to comment is the walls are paper thin — you can hear everyone and everything, and I do mean everything… (Next to me and above me). Also, I didn’t find the beds comfortable at all. I woke up with lower back pain and toss and turned all night.

Location was great and the rooms were nice. The beach view from our balcony was terrific. Beds weren’t very comfy, but the room was a good size and overall I enjoyed my stay. The walls, however, are paper thin and we got quite the entertainment from the room next to us and above us all hours of the night (and morning).

This was our first stay in Cape May in fifteen years, the first time for my son. The hotel is extremely nice. The check-​in staff was very friendly and efficient. There is plenty of parking on the property. We stayed in a full ocean view room with two queen beds. The room was immaculate and very newly renovated. The room had a balcony with two seats and a table for us to sit and look at the ocean across the street.
The hot water took a special trick to get up to temperature, which we learned on the second day. The air conditioner was very loud and powerful when it came on. We would have preferred sleeping with the slider open, but there was no screen. The beds were very firm (great for my wife, less so for me).
One of the best features of the hotel is its location. It is at the extreme northern edge of the main Oceanside road, far from the craziness of the ocean avenue area of town. The hotel offers beach service and provides lounge chairs, towels, umbrellas. A free trolley service can bring you to the shopping and attractions downtown, but we always managed to find a place to park when we drove ourselves.
All in all, we would stay here again.

Our problem with these shore towns is the lack of reliable lodging. We don’t typically like to stay at the older ‘motels’ that have seen better days. On a recommendation we checked out La Mer. Make no mistake, this is still a motel style establishment but they have done very tasteful renovations and the rooms are perfectly clean, updated, and DRY. (I hate those moist shore motels). They also don’t miss a detail, from the bell carts you can use to load and unload the car, to the clean, well lit parking areas, new elevators, clean balcony furniture, etc. Most importantly, the staff was top notch. Everyone we encountered was super friendly and accommodating. We’ve definitely found our spot in Cape May. It’s certainly not a Ritz Carlton but La Mer would be equivalent to a Fairfield Inn by Marriott. No frills but reliable and clean and I think that is a huge win for any shore hotel/​motel that’s right on the beach in these older beach towns. Great work La Mer and thank you for a great stay.

The «junior suites» on the corner nearest the restaurant are a complete disaster. Don’t even think about going out on the balconies. You may be excited about having 2 balconies with views? Well, you can’t hear yourself talk over the ac units on one end and the restaurant grill vents on the other. The servers must smoke out back because that’s another unpleasant order. Beware when booking!

Nice location although not truly beach front! The grounds are well kept, and very clean. The rooms are clean but the fridge made this annoying, loud humming sound making it hard to sleep. The pillows were also horrible, my neck is still killing me. The free beach chairs, umbrella and towels are a nice touch. The main issue is something others have complained about, I had to check out early due to an emergent issue and they don’t give a rats arse! Not even a partial refund, they’re cold about it too. That alone is the reason I will not consider them in the future, they don’t get the whole customer service issue and are penny wise pound foolish in that regard.

Our first visit to Cape May & this hotel came recommended. If we come back to Cape May, we will stay here. It is clean, spacious, & comfortable. We have a room with two queen beds, kitchenette, & a wrap around balcony. The location is perfect for us. It’s directly across from the beach & north of all the touristy noise by the shops and eateries.
The staff is very friendly.
My complaints: water pressure is super low. Most hotels have low pressure, but this one is one of the worst. The walls seem to be paper thin. I can hear everyone & everything.

This is 3.5 stars really. I didn’t see anything awful at this hotel like a lot of the reviews claim, and we stayed for one night in April so our stay was a quick in and out.
My brother was graduating from the USCG Boot Camp which is a mile away in Cape May, and his company finished mid-​April. It was a gross dreary day in April, but what can you do. We had 5 people and 2 rooms, both 2 beds each. For whatever reason-​they didn’t put them side by side, but they were on the same floor. It was kind of annoying though. It was weird also that the numbering of the rooms was very confusing. 308 and 312 should have been near or relatively near each other-​nope.
Our rooms had a mini kitchen which would have been a nice touch had we been staying more than the one night (and didn’t get in super late). If you were staying for a week to go to the beach this would be a nice touch. Where I was a tad peeved was that when we got into the room it was 58 DEGREES. I know hotels lower room temps to save energy but that’s freezing. I turned it up to 74 to warm it up-​and we were still freezing the entire night. I had to take a shower almost immediately when we got in since we checked in late at night having driven in late, and the pipes were either frozen since the thermostat was so low or there is no hot water at this place. The water pressure was super low and with the hot water cranked all the way up, I was still freezing in the shower, and then came back into a freezing cold room. Fun.
The beds made up for it a little-​the pillows were pretty comfortable and the mattress pretty good too. What I found very odd/​annoying was that I went to plug in my phone/​laptop behind the nightstand and there was none. The closest TWO were both behind the bed I was sleeping in, which were both inaccessible. I had to move the boxspring to get to the plug which was irritating. The hotel should have thought ahead and thought that people need to plug things in by the nightstand. Or at the very least, put in one of those lamps with plugs on the base.
I might stay here again-​but it wasn’t the best «ocean view» and I doubt I would come here in the summer seeing as it wasn’t the closest to where I would imagine all the downtown action would be. But for our purposes it got the job done-​with my criticisms.

BED BUGS: I brought my entire family to stay here, and unfortunately, the front desk staff was extremely rude and disrespectful. I expect to be treated nicely when I am spending this LARGE amount of money to stay here — here being a mediocre, overrated, dirty hotel. There are many other options of hotels to choose from at the Jersey Shore, so I suggest you CHOOSE ANOTHER, unless you want to leave unhappy, disrespected, and with BEG BUGS — yes, bed bugs.

First time at this place on the corner/​across the street from the beach. Rooms are large and clean –location is convenient to everything. There are many other options in the area but this is worth a return visit. Not a favorite, but a good option.

Check in is at 3pm, but they allowed us to check in at 1pm early with a little begging since our 1 year old was having a meltdown and needed to nap. We definitely appreciated it. We had the premium side view ocean king room. The view was more of a limited/​obstructed side view and very disappointing. I think they need to do a better job of explaining limited side view and premium side view. I was expecting an unobstructed side view.
The room itself was spotless and very large. The room came with a refrigerator and freezer, microwave and small bar sink. It also was equipped with some plates, silverware, and cups but they were dirty! The beds were very comfortable and they gave you a ton of pillows.
The hotel is located one mile from the center of town which we loved. You can walk to town in less than 15 minutes or take the trolley. We actually enjoyed being a little further away from the center because it was very quiet. The hotel does have a lot of families, but I didn’t hear any noise at all.
The beach service was terrific and the hotel was quiet and child friendly. I didn’t use the pool because it was very crowded and rather rowdy. I would definitely come back next year with the understanding of what kind of view I’m exactly paying for.
I’m can’t seem to upload my photos from the room.

This hotel claims they’re ocean front but they’re not. Stayed here for a wedding and was very disappointed with the rooms. Ate at 410 bank street restaurant since pier was packed, great food but totally overpriced. Tread lightly here, there are better places at MUCH better prices.

Very nice hotel. Large rooms we got the double queen and fit our three kids easily. Restaurant is very nice and they serve by the pool. We went when the beach was a little chilly so the pool was the main entertainment.
Have to bike/​drive to downtown cape may which is okay as you get a bit more peace and quiet

Two words. Dirty. underwear.
This hotel is a freaking joke. We checked in and found a pair of dirty underwear right by the bathroom door. What pissed us off the most was that the hotel cleaning staff insisted the room was checked thoroughly by her and her supervisor. Well excuse me but unless if the underwear grew a pair of legs, you didn’t do your freaking job! I didn’t call you here to argue with me, just pick up the dirty and get the hell out of the room. Ugh. NEVER AGAIN.
For a wanna-​be «beach front» hotel, you’re an epic fail.

This was my first and last trip to Cape May and my first and last stay at La Mer. Nothing is beach front in Cape May, there is a busy road between your room and the beach. If you want to hear the sounds of the ocean, get up at 2 am in the morning. If you stay at La Mer, expect to pay over $ 340 per night during the season. I wanted an ocean view and a balcony and all I got to see was the tops of blue umbrellas and the ocean 50 miles out. Do not allow La Mer to give you a room on the second floor, no view and very noisy. Besides noise, I had to content with smokers who had to have they fix right in front of my balcony. I had to keep my balcony door closed to keep out the smoke.
The only good part was the restaurant, Pier 1. Excellent selections and food from a Greek Chef.

My wife and I stayed here twice.
First the positives:
The hotel is a newer hotel that is kept clean. It is right across from the beach and has a restaurant next to it. The rooms have small kitchens with microwaves and refrigerators that are larger than most hotels have.
Now the negatives:
First of all its pricey. We stayed here for two nights and it was almost $ 250 per night for a king size room.
Second, the hotel is not near anything. There are no stores within walking distance. The hotel does not have a gift shop or anything. The nearest store is about a mile and a half a way. Cape May’s boardwalk ends about a mile south of the hotel so if you want to walk on the boardwalk you have to drive to it. The Washington Street Mall is about 2 miles away, and it’s not always easy to find a parking space there. Cape May is a very walkable town, but you will need a car if you stay at this hotel.
The third negative is the attitude of the staff. My wife and I are the type of guests that hotels love. We travel almost every other month, are quiet, never cause any problems, leave decent tips for the staff; you get the idea. What annoyed me was that management had the nerve to put a note on my car stating that I was not parked properly. I had left a foot in between the front of my car and the parking «bumper» at the beginning of the parking space. I could see if I was driving a Hummer, a Lincoln Continental, something that took up a lot of space. But no, I was driving a Miata, a two seat convertible that is one of the smallest cars on the road. I can understand them trying to keep the place nice, but complaining to a guest that their car was parked a foot off a parking bumper is unnecessary. I complained to the manager about this and he was very rude. When I am paying $ 250 per night, this type of behavior is unacceptable. In over 20 years of traveling for work and pleasure, I have never seen anything so petty. Given all the hotel’s negatives, it does not make sense for the hotel to antagonize its guests.
In light of our experiences, we will not be coming back nor can we recommend this hotel to anyone.

This is a nice hotel across from teh beach on the quieter side of the Cape May strip of hotels. The rooms are large, kept clean, and have a great TV and pretty comfortable beds. Nice balcony. The restaurant on site is expensive, but ok to sit at the bar and have a drink and a fancy appetizer (it is a good date restaurant, but expensive). The one negative of the hotel is the price, over 300 bucks a night in season, which is 30−40% higher than many other beachfront hotels. The other negative (not the hotels fault) is for some reason, this area of the beach is so loaded with rocks and shells that it is hard to walk around there. Go up a few blocks, and the sand is nicer, I don’t know whjy.

We had a great stay. Oceanfront room, all in great order. We weren’t close to the construction noise — they’re adding another wing to the back of the hotel. Covered parking on first level — rooms 2^nd thru 4^th. It’s not quaint, it’s a contemporary, easy to stay place. The onsite restaurant… good in a pinch. We had one breakfast here for our 3-​day stay. Then ventured all around town for other options. Didn’t take my laptop, so it was nice to use the computer in the business center to get maps, updates, etc. Best experience: a.m. balcony vista of the passing dolphins! Coffee and a good book, and mother nature.

I’ve been going to the Jersey Shore for years — yes, before those crazy kids on the MTV show made it de rigueur.
With that said, Cape May is the best seaside vacation town in Jersey thanks to it’s Victorian influence and culinary gems.
My choice when visiting the Cape summer after summer? La Mer Beachfront Inn all the way. Why? It’s the most contemporary hotel (most hotels are stuck in a ‘70s time warp!) on the island and the location is on the quieter side of town. I have two kids under the age of 2 and the kitchenettes (with granite tops!) are key for warming up bottles and snack time. I also love that’s there a gym and a business center with internet.
The balconies are also a major draw here. They’re private and ours was directly across from the ocean. The rooms are really big and spic-​and-​span clean. No musty room scents here! Phew.
Some other must-​sees in Cape May are 410 Bank Street (for their daily fish specials), The Lobster House (for their clam chowder) and The Depot (for a casual, local fave lunch spot).