The Best Beach Hotels to Book in Atlantic City, New Jersey

Located five minutes’ walk from the boardwalk, the Chelsea Inn first opened in 1880 and it’s still full of period features like high ceilings, sash windows, chandelier lighting and polished wooden floors. Some of the rooms even come with antique four-poster beds and claw-footed freestanding baths. The heart of the hotel is the pub, though – known as “One of the last remaining billiards halls in Atlantic City”, it’s home to four billiards tables and a bowling lane-long bar.

Set right on the boardwalk – a couple of minutes’ walk from Steel Pier – this Atlantic City beach hotel pools out for 11 acres (4.4ha). Within the grounds, you’ll find a casino, a retail area, an ocean-view pool, a spa and more bars and restaurants than there are days of the week. Don’t miss the daily happy hour at Dougherty’s Steakhouse and Raw Bar when you can get $1.25 oysters and sip drink specials like blueberry martinis.

Every room at this beach hotel in Atlantic City comes with floor-to-ceiling windows that look out over the Atlantic Ocean. The views continue to come thick and fast elsewhere in the hotel. You can also watch the waves from beside the main pool, over a plate of charcuterie or bowl of paella in the Spanish Armada restaurant – or with a cocktail in the fire pit area of the hotel’s 3 acres (1.2ha) of landscaped gardens.

Of all the hotels on the beach in Atlantic City, none make a first impression quite like Caesars, near Playground Pier. A huge sculpture of Caesar driving a four-horse chariot welcomes you to this hotel. Inside, the lobby is all marble columns, water features and even more towering Roman-style sculptures. Another huge highlight of this hotel is its restaurant offering – which includes a Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill.

The Hard Rock Hotel – just across the Boardwalk from Steel Pier – is one of the biggest beach hotels in Atlantic City. Its racetrack-long list of facilities includes a pool, casino and a spa where the treatment menu is inspired by music – the Face the Music facial incorporate sound vibrations, for example. On top of this, there are 15 bars and restaurants including Sugar Factory – where the highlight of the menu is a King Kong Sundae with 24 scoops of ice cream.

Located a 10-minute walk from Steel Pier, Club Wyndham Skyline Tower is home to a collection of one and two-bedroom apartments that sleep between four and six guests. Rooms are neatly designed with warm autumnal color schemes and each one comes with a living area and fully equipped kitchen – some rooms have their own balconies, too. Guests here also get access to an indoor swimming pool, a hot tub and a fitness center.

Sometimes, booking a hotel on the beach in Atlantic City can really eat into your holiday budget. If you’re watching the pennies, it’s worth picking a place a few blocks away from the sand – this Courtyard by Marriott is just a 10-minute walk from Steel Pier. Rooms are smart with refreshing blue and white color schemes. There’s no dinner restaurant on-site, but an American breakfast is available in the bistro and the streets around the hotel are lined with eateries.

This hotel – with its disco ball-silver exterior – is set next to the Clam Thorofare channel, a 10-minute drive from the beach. Some of the rooms here look out over the water – while, like many of the beach hotels in Atlantic City, this place has a casino and a long list of nightlife spots that range from wine bars to tequila joints. There are also more than 10 eateries – including Bread & Butter – which serves morning-after-the-night-before dishes like all-day breakfasts.

This Sheraton is just a 15-minute walk from Atlantic City’s boardwalk, the beach and its cohort of bars and restaurants. For the days you don’t feel like venturing out, the hotel has its own breakfast café and a brewpub called Tun Tavern – which serves craft ales and snacks with witty names like Tun a Wings and Tunion Rings. Each room comes with a mini-fridge and a microwave – so you can store and warm your own snacks.