Atlantic Palace visit

[caoan00 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close caoan00]

Our family just came back from a 2 night stay at the Atlantic Palace, and we are a bit disappointed by the unit we had (Room 2601). The room has a partial ocean view, which is amazing. But the room itself was quite rundown -- one of the toilet was leaking, a chair had cuts on the leather surface, broken utentils, TVs were very old, bed room door could not be locked. The decor looked old an cheap. Have been spoiled by the Fountains, we had high hopes for this place but it turned out not even coming close.

We did not complain or asked for a different unit since it was only for two nights. But I figure we should share the experience here. The flyer from the front desk said that there are renovation going on, but our unit was definitly not renovated. It seems not fair if they charge the same amount of points for renovated and old units. Have anyone stay here before and got renovated unit?

[crwisconsin Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close crwisconsin]

Atlantic Palace was fine

Have anyone stay here before and got renovated unit?

We were there this summer for a week. We had a 2 bedroom which had a good ocean view (but not ocean front). The condition of the unit was very, very good. No complaints.
Charles

[Hysterium Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hysterium]

I've stayed in the 1-bedrooms (hotel style) and they are very antiquated. We were also next to the garbage chute, so the smell in the hallway was pretty bad. I do have to say that the staff was very friendly, and it is a great way to stay in AC without having to plunk down a bit of cash in one of the hotels. Just stay off the boardwalk at night!!

[mrspigdoc Member Find all posts View Profile Close mrspigdoc]

The boardwalk isn't safe at night? define night: 6pm, 8pm, 10pm, past midnight? I was thinking of going there over the Christmas holiday, but might rethink it if we can't walk on the boardwalk in the evening.
Teresa

[vintner Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close vintner]

.....We did not complain or asked for a different unit since it was only for two nights. But I figure we should share the experience here......

I hope you do/did fill in the online comment cards. You need to let them know of problems, even if it is scheduled to be updated soon, BG needs to know that guests are not happy in those rooms.

I left a 'fix up list' with the gal at the front office when I left Big Cedar Wilderness club. I hope someone did something about it, the gas grill didn't light after several tries, so I shut off the gas. I didn't wait long enough when I hit the ignitor button again, and WHOOSH. I lost arm hair. The bottom of the grill was so full of stuff that the gas to the ignitor was partially blocked. It needed MAJOR cleaning. Several other things were on my fix up list. Without lists, BG never knows where things are breaking down, falling apart, etc. Although, where you were staying, I would guess many people have made the same complaints.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

The boardwalk isn't safe at night? define night: 6pm, 8pm, 10pm, past midnight? I was thinking of going there over the Christmas holiday, but might rethink it if we can't walk on the boardwalk in the evening.
Teresa

AP is down one end of the Boardwalk. Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable walking there much after dark, especially in winter, unless there are plenty of people around. Check to see if there is a shuttle, I think there may have been one a few years ago, not sure.

[caoan00 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close caoan00]

I hope you do/did fill in the online comment cards.

Yes. I did fill the online comment cards. Hopefully something will happen since I do like the location, the view and the beach.

I did find the boardwalk a bit scary after dark. The side towards Resorts is very quite after 10pm. The other side (towards Bally's) is more alive in the night. In the winter time I think both side will be pretty much dead in the night.

[jericap Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close jericap]

I've walked the boardwalk by myself from the Resorts Casino to AP and was okay, but that was in the summer. Would I do it in the middle of winter....personally, I probably wouldn't for 2 reasons; it's too cold, the breeze off the ocean isn't warm and There are also not a lot of people around. They do have rickshaws and taxis that can get you around though.

[janej Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close janej]

My husband and I stayed at a studio unit for a long weekend in August. It was in similar condition as the OP described. The bed is very uncomfortable and there was no place to sit. We had a wall unit with a pull down bed instead of a sleeping sofa. A very old and small TV sat on the window sill. The whirlpool tub was doubled as the show, and due to the flat top around the tub, water ran everywhere. I used towels block water so we ended up with all soaking wet towels. Our unit had a very nice view too. There are tons of people walking on the boardwalk at night. The two pier parks are steps away from AP. We walk all the way to the new construction at night and still felt safe.

We also found the staff very friendly. When we reported maintenance issues, they show up within minutes. There are many red signs in our unit stating different levels of fines. For example, $50 for leaving dirty dishes, $10 for each missing towel. It really makes me worry so I reported every little thing.

[Tom in GA Member Find all posts View Profile Close Tom in GA]

Maybe a Resort to Avoid

I was looking at possibly staying there in the future, but from what has been reported, that idea has faded from my mind. I think it is better to stay places like The Fountains, Club 36, Lodge Alley, etc. It sounds more like a 'crap shoot' (pun intended) as what you get for a room. Also, I would not like to make an involuntary donation to the 'local clientele' with life, limb or wallet after dark.

[Art4th Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Art4th]

This is my first post here, but I've been a TUG member for many years. My wife and I are Bluegreen points owners as well as Atlantic Palace flex week owners. We go to Atlantic City frequently and always stay at Atlantic Palace unless we have free nights at one of the casinos. I may be able to shed some light on the mystery that is Atlantic Palace.

First off, it will never be as nice as Club 36, Carolina Grande, or any of the newer BG resorts. It's an old building that has definitely seen better days, but it's not as bad as some would have you believe.

Atlantic Palace is actually divided into three different entities that each control their own bank of rooms under one roof.

1) Atlantic Palace Suites - A condo hotel that is not associated with the BG operation. They even have their own check-in desk located around the corner from the BG front desk/lobby.

2) Royal Suites at Atlantic Palace - A weeks based timeshare operation that is managed by BG but is completely separate from the BG points ownership that we all enjoy.

3) Bluegreen at Atlantic Palace - This is part of our BG vacation club.

They each have their own inventory of rooms. In our experience, when we book a room with our BG points or BG bonus time, we have always had a room that has been refurbished...new carpet, marble countertops, new cabinets, stainless steel refrigerator,flat stovetops, and large flatscreen TV. These are what we consider the "Bluegreen rooms". I don't know if all of the BG inventory rooms have been refurbished yet.

When we book time with our weeks ownership or weeks bonus time, the room we get usually has furnishings that are not as nice or modern but it's still a decent room. We have never had room that we considered unacceptable, although in a place this big I'm sure they exist.

In our opinion, the very best thing about Atlantic Palace is the location. It's right on the beach, and it's not actually at one end of the Boardwalk, but pretty centrally located...about a ten minute walk north to Showboat and fifteen minutes to the Tropicana at the south end. As stated by someone else, the ocean view is great from almost all of the units (stay away from any unit numbers that end in eleven...you'll have a view of the parking garage on the lower floors).

Walking the Boardwalk has never been an issue for us. You should obviously take care as you would in any city environment, but I've been on the Boardwalk at all times of day and night in every season and never had a problem or felt in danger.

Also, in our experience, the staff has always been very friendly and accommodating, from the front desk to the security guards to the maintenance staff.

I hope this has been helpful. If anyone has any specific questions about Atlantic Palace or Atlantic City, I'll be happy to answer them if I can.

Art

[grest Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close grest]

We've stayed a couple of times in a large one bedroom (Royal Suites at the Atlantic Palace), and have been very pleased. However, we saw some of the studios which we thought were sorely lacking. As for the boardwalk, though I've walked it alone at night, I wouldn't make a habit of it.

[Ryne08 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ryne08]

Many, many years ago we look at this resort but decline to purchase, we instead purchased a lease at 560 Ocean Club for five years at $1800 and mf cost $150 per year. The residential owners force 560 Ocean Club t/s to cease after five years.

[BerryQueen Member Find all posts View Profile Close BerryQueen]

I will be going their in april with my girl friends I hope I can give a better report

[Art4th Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Art4th]

Bluegreen is currently renovating the studio units at Atlantic Palace. In the lobby there is a framed display that shows all the new furnishings. My wife and I have stayed in two of these new units and they're very nice. They've gotten rid of the carpeting and installed wood flooring, granite counter tops in the kitchen, large flat screen TV, and all new wall decorations too. The one thing we don't like is the bathroom sink. It's some new kind of funky shallow sink, and while it looks nice it's not very functional. They've also for some reason made the bathroom counter at kitchen height which is about six inches higher than standard bathroom counter height. It's a bit awkward. Their plan is to continue with the studios in the fall, and also do a couple of one-bedrooms and at least one two-bedroom.

All in all it's a big step in the right direction. If anyone plans on staying there, just request a renovated room upon check-in and they'll accommodate you if one is available.

There are a lot of good things happening in Atlantic City right now. Things should only be getting better.