9101 Atlantic Ave, Wildwood Crest, New Jersey, United States | (888) 635-3814
Beachfront location on Wildwood Crest Beach
Spacious rooms with well-equipped kitchenettes (no ovens)
Select rooms have private balconies and ocean views
Most rooms include sofa beds
Outdoor heated pool and kiddy pool
Sundeck with barbecues and ocean views
Guest laundry room
Free Wi-Fi
Each room comes with a parking spot
Good budget choice for families
Rooms are a bit dated and worn (fake plants and patterned bedspreads)
No fitness center or business center
No on-site restaurant or bar
Wildwood Crest is “dry” of alcohol (BYOB is OK)
Few shops and restaurants in the immediate area
This beachfront property is located in a quiet neighborhood in Wildwood Crest. Its 51 rooms are a bit dated, but generous floor plans and well-equipped kitchenettes make it a solid budget choice for family vacations. With few amenities besides an outdoor pool, calling the Acacia a resort is a stretch -- calling it a motel would be much more accurate.
Scene
Dated budget beach hotel in a sleepy neighborhood
This three-floor hotel faces the Atlantic Ocean on one side and a residential neighborhood on the other. It’s situated on a relatively quiet stretch of beach and is a short trolley or bike ride to the Wildwood Boardwalk. The hotel’s decor could use some updating (think generic beach art, lampshades covered in plastic wrap, and fake plants), and things are looking a little tattered, with some leaky water marks on the ceilings, stained carpeting, and faded pool loungers. But the vibe is laid-back and the staff is friendly.
Location
Right on the beach in a quiet area of Wildwood Crest
The Acacia is an oceanfront property on the southern end of Wildwood Crest Beach, 10 minutes from the Wildwood Boardwalk. This relatively quiet neighborhood is filled with residential houses and beachside hotels. There’s a coffee shop next door, but there aren’t many shops or restaurants in the immediate area. Victorian open-air trolley cars operate from 8:30 to midnight, in season, and will take guests from the hotel to the boardwalk. Due to Wildwood Crest being a “dry” town, visitors will need to leave city limits (no more than five minutes) to find a bar or liquor store.
Rooms
Spacious one-, two-, and three-bedroom units with kitchenettes
Rooms range from one-room Efficiency Suites that sleep four to three-room Efficiencies that sleep 10, and nearly all the rooms include a pull-out sofa. Each room comes with a well-equipped kitchenette (microwave and stovetop, but no oven), Wi-Fi (which is sometimes spotty), and mostly old box TVs (although there are some flat-screens, too). A handful of rooms directly face the beach and have a private balcony or patio. The rooms are generally spacious and clean. Even the dated decor is well dusted. Expect thin patterned bedding and some water stains on the bathroom fixtures.
Features
Heated outdoor pool, barbecue grills, sundecks, and a guest laundry room
An outdoor heated swimming pool (and attached kiddy pool) is on the smaller but deeper end, going down to eight feet. Two patios with barbecue grills and in-room kitchenettes offer cost-effective alternatives to dining out. Other features include a sundeck with lounge chairs and ocean views, free HBO from June to September, a coin-operated laundry room, free parking, and Wi-Fi.
Beach
Wildwood Crest Beach is huge, free, and clean.
The most noticeable thing about this beach is its sheer size. It takes at least four minutes to walk from the hotel to the water’s edge, which can be annoying on a scalding hot day, but it also means there’s plenty of beach space for everyone. Unlike many Jersey Shore beaches, Wildwood Crest Beach is free and doesn’t require a beach pass. The beach is open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, and lifeguards are on duty from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (from mid-June through Labor Day). Animals, alcohol, fires, picnics, and barbecues are not allowed.