Jesse B.
Yelp
Looking for a short vacation not too far from home for my wife and my birthdays, we settled on Wave Resort in Long Branch. Having stayed at Asbury Ocean Club the prior year (and being pretty disappointed there), we wanted to try something different and Wave Resort seemed like it had what we were looking for - luxury hotel, right on the beach, ocean views and a bunch of nice food choices both in the hotel and at the surrounding Pier Village.
As an Amex Platinum holder, we noticed a couple of days before our trip that Wave Resort began participating in Amex's Hotel Collection. Unfortunately it was past cancellation time as our original reservation was made direct through the hotel so we couldn't cancel and book directly through Amex. I figured it was worth a shot and brought it up to the front desk at check-in. They were able to accommodate us and allowed us to cancel and book quickly through Amex's portal so we would be eligible for Amex $200 hotel credit and $100 food and beverage credit. Really great service at the front desk. Friendly, courteous and efficient. Surprised to read some of the reviews about negative customer experience as we experienced such great service throughout.
The room was really nice. We had a Deluxe Oceanfront King with a direct view of the Ocean from a nice sized balcony (again - a far cry from Asbury Ocean club where their oceanfront rooms are mostly street & parking lot, and a lot of neck-craning to see a slither of ocean). Pretty spacious. Nice decor. Balcony could have been a little cleaner but at a beach resort, not too surprising.
We had a little issue with Chromecast on the TV but the hotel was quick to send over engineering. Two gentlemen who came were a great help and got us up & running in no time so we could enjoy all of our streaming services on a rainy day.
No Room Service yet - I definitely recommend the hotel thinks about adding it. But we didn't miss a beat using UberEats and Doordash for a few meals. The front desk was gracious enough to even bring up our orders most of the time. Much appreciated!
We had some small bites at the Boardwalk Cafe off the lobby. A nice bright and airy cafe with sandwiches, croissants, muffins, etc.... Great for a quick bite (and also eligible for the F&B Amex credit).
We also had a dinner at Branch Cantina, their Mexican restaurant. Food was very good as we sampled their Nachos, Chicken bowl and Chicken tacos.
Unfortunately the weather wasn't great - we had some cool and rainy days, so didn't get to try the pool or the beach, but we walked around Pier Village - a nice upscale shopping and restaurant center. There's a 7/11 right up the block if you need to pick up some convenience items. Two restaurants that we loved were Simply Greek (delicious authentic Greek food) and Turning Point (a good substitute for Room Service breakfast - great eggs/omelets/etc...). Their home fries were amazing!
All in all - exceptional guest services - from the Valet, Bellhop, Front Desk, Cleaning Service and Engineering - everyone had a smile on their face, was helpful and efficient, and helped to make our stay a terrific one.
We're already planning our next excursion here for later in the summer when hopefully the weather will be nicer and we can get to try out the pool/beach.
Forget the negative reviews, as someone who has travelled often and sampled many 4 and 5 star hotels around the world, Wave Resort is definitely a worthy upscale Jersey Shore destination.