The Asbury Hotel
Spruced Springsteen
Off the boardwalk
Housed in a restored, seven-storey red-brick building that was once home to the Salvation Army, The Asbury Hotel is Jersey Shore’s coolest crew member. Simply dressed in impeccable whites and Scandi-inspired geometric patterns, rooms are a pared-down foil to the lobby-bar’s buzzy scene and jam-packed programme of events. This coastal bolthole comes alive in the summer, when a beer garden, rooftop cinema and poolside parties mean you need never stray far.
Facilities
Rooms
110, including seven suites.
Checkout
11am. Earliest check-in, 4pm. Both are flexible, subject to availability.
More Details
Rates exclude an à la carte breakfast of yoghurt, fruit salads, parfaits, chia seed puddings and breakfast sandwiches (dishes from $2.50).
Also
The hotel has seven rooms equipped with wheelchair-accessible bathrooms, as well as rooms fitted with doorbells for guests with vision or hearing impairments.
Free Internet Access
Pet Friendly
Pool
At the Hotel
Outdoor cinema, beer garden, ping-pong tables, music library, bicycles for hire, free WiFi. In rooms: flatscreen TV, air-conditioning, Malin + Goetz toiletries. All suites and Family King rooms have a Nespresso machine, an iPod dock and a fridge.
Our Favourite Rooms
Pared-down and light-filled, rooms at the Asbury Hotel have a pleasing graphic aesthetic, with bold patterned rugs and black-and-white photos of musical greats. If you’re still answering emails on your getaway, Deluxe Kings have a seating nook and a desk; opt for a Suite if you’d rather lose your train of thought in panoramic sea views. Kitted out with eight bunk beds, two showers and lockable lockers, Octo’s a laid-back hideout for a grown-up sleepover.
Poolside
Flaunt golden limbs and breeze-tousled hair at the pool, a heated open-air number open in the spring and summer. Colourful cushions, sunloungers and swing chairs are plentiful, but you’ll have to stake your claim early if you want to lounge the afternoon away in one of the cabanas.
Packing Tips
Keep things cool and casual for the beach (breton tops, denim shorts and flat leather sandals will do the trick), but pack a collared shirt or two, and some curlers and false eyelashes for an evening nod to Jersey Shore style.
Children
Welcome at the hotel, although there isn't a lot to distract them onsite.
Gallery
Food & Drink
Top Table
If you’re just here for the music, grab a seat on the bleachers in Soundbooth; in the summer, perch high on a bar stool in Salvation for unbeatable views.
Dress Code
This is no place to wander around in flip-flops and baseball caps: Salvation’s dress code discourages sportswear after 9pm, so opt for something sharp and tailored instead.
Hotel Restaurant
There’s no restaurant as such, but coffee-and-juice bar The Counter serves home-made pastries, rustled-up-to-order sandwiches and colourful salads. Try the New Jersey pork roll, a carnivore’s dream of bacon, cheeses, turkey sausage and eggs bookended by freshly baked bread. In the spring and summer, the Food Truck makes a casual pit-stop for comforting staples such as gourmet hot dogs, burgers, fries and onion rings. There’s also the retro-cool diner in Asbury Lanes, where you can order cheese-topped burgers, pork roll waffle sandwiches and cast iron skillet cinnamon rolls drizzled with bourbon caramel-spiked frosting. More in the mood for munchies with your craft beers and cocktails? Share a snack of onion rings, tater tots or gooey French onion macaroni and cheese.
Hotel Bar
Plan to stay in for the night: the hotel wholeheartedly embraces Asbury’s music scene, a proud hand-me-down from the Seventies. Lobby bar Soundbooth keeps a packed calendar of events – a rotating roster of bands, singer-songwriters, drag-queen karaoke and open mics. Cocktails are tongue-in-cheek: try the Asbury Painkiller (the hotel’s take on a Long Island iced tea) or a fruity Tea Dance. Come spring and summer, head up to the eighth-floor Salvation bar for killer rooftop views and tequila-based tipples. Locally crafted, thirst-quenching beers are served from the Beer Truck – a converted Volkswagen camper van – in the seasonal Beer Garden (opening around Memorial Day).
Last Orders
Breakfast is available all day. The Counter is open 6am–7pm Mon - Thurs (midnight on Fri & Sat, 9pm on Sun). The bars open at 11am; Soundbooth and Salvation close at midnight (2am Fri - Sun); Beer Garden at 8pm. Salvation and the Beer Truck are seasonal.
Planes
A 55-minute drive from the hotel, Newark Airport is a major hub for international and domestic flights. LaGuardia and JFK are both an hour and a half away, though traffic and time of day can greatly affect travel times.
Trains
Asbury Park Train Station, a five-minute drive from the hotel, serves New Jersey Transit (www.njtransit.com) trains to New York City and Jersey City.
Automobiles
Valet parking is available for $25 a night (plus tax); there’s also metred and residential parking in the streets around the hotel. If you’re bringing your own wheels, get off the Garden State Parkway at exit 102.
Worth Getting Out of Bed For
Pick a nickname (Fred and Wilma Flintstone? The Dude? Mr & Mrs Smith?), borrow a brightly coloured pair of shoes and prepare to bowl doubles, turkeys and the occasional hilarious gutter ball in the neon-clad Asbury Lanes. Barring the occasional music gig night, the lanes are open Tuesday to Sunday for good ol’ fashioned fun.
A historic resort town within easy reach of New York, Asbury Park has weathered downturns with plucky persistence. Its boardwalk pavilions, Victorian houses and a former seafront casino have enduring nostalgic appeal. Take a walk along the shore for a taste of New Jersey’s old-school pleasures; in the summer, you’ll find beach chairs and umbrellas for hire on the sands. The Silverball Pinball Museum is an all-flicking, all-blinking ode to the thrill of the game with 600 machines in rotation, some dating back to the turn of the century. In town, Cookman Avenue is a destination for must-try dining, boutique browsing and offbeat pastimes. Drop in at Hot Sand for a crash-course in glass-blowing or settle down in front of an easel with a glass of wine at Uncorked for a few hours of painting and sipping. Packed with classics, hard-to-find oddities and new releases, Hold Fast Records is a home away from home for vinyl enthusiasts.
Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt
This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .
