Empress Motel

I'll start out by saying this is not a luxury motel by any means. If you are looking for top tier because you plan on spending a majority of your vacation in your room, then look elsewhere. However, if you are balling on a budget like us and looking for something cost efficient to put your stuff down, shower, change and sleep that's also conveniently located 1 minute from the beach/boardwalk; Look no further! The motel is dated and is a more run down beach side motel. The rooms were a bit dirty (they could definitely use a deep clean) and our bathroom had mold growing on the ceiling because there is no type of ventilation for the condensation. On the plus side, room was pretty spacious, fridge kept our drinks nice and cold, AC was ice cold and felt great after a hot day on the beach. The pool was nice and clean and easy to access. There were quite a few "neighbors" smoking weed but it didn't bother us much and everyone was nice and said hello/ Good Morning in passing. You do have to walk across the parking lot to the Sahara motel to check in/out and to get ice as the ice machine at the Empress is out of order (it's also $0.25 per bucket of ice)
I inspected our beds and such when we entered before we even brought any of our belongings in because I have heard of others having bed bugs but did not see any signs of them in our room (Thank goodness)

There is also a cafe directly across the street (Sahara cafe) which has delicious breakfast food! It was a bit pricey but so good!

Don't be fooled by the small parking lot out front, there is more parking behind the building or we were told we could also park across at the Sahara if we needed to since it is the sister motel.

All in all, I wasn't expecting much for a cheaper beach motel but it was actually better than what I was expecting. We will definitely be back next year.

We stayed at the Empress 8/2/2025 -8/5/2025 let's start with the pros of staying at the Empress.
When arriving the check in was easy and stress free. The location was awesome! No bed bugs! The pool was clean. The deck was narrow because of the chairs, but no big deal!
Now for the cons of our stay! The parking was absolutely awful. Parking spots are tight. So if you are coming in a bigger SUV or truck good luck! Our room was on the 3rd floor. Entering the room the smell of grandma’s basement hit like a ton of bricks! The musty smell was awful! The room really wasn’t clean! The patrons before left Condoms behind, which should’ve been cleaned up! You can tell the carpet was not vacuumed, and the sheets were not changed. The refrigerator was absolutely disgusting inside. We tried to use the 1970s microwave which never heated a single roll and you can smell the wire getting hot. Definitely unplugged that and didn’t use it. We noticed a screen outside the door and realized it belong to the bathroom window, which the bathroom window didn’t even lock and stayed open at the top. The ice machine did not work. We had to use the building next door! The door from inside looked like someone was trying to break out! The AC was so loud at night! Two bars hung outside the mattress frame! Cracking my ankle twice! The blankets are old. I really wish I remembered my own pillow because the ones on the bed were flatter then pancakes! We had 3 outlets in the room! So to plug in phones and iPads we had to unplug lights! The tub took so long to drain! After a 5 min shower ankle deep in water!

Recommendations! Pull up the carpet! Switch out mattresses, you can feel every spring! Invest in some newer bedding and pillows! Check your microwaves! Check to see if rooms are really clean!

Smells like mold and mildew. Floors are carpeted and damp. Could not walk without shoes on in the room because we were very concerned about cleanliness. The smell is so overwhelming we had to buy air freshers just to sleep. After 3 nights in this room we had sore throats. Bathroom was clean but there were stains on the wall that were brown. A few stains on the bed sheets as well. This was an incredibly uncomfortable stay and we will not be returning. This motel is a biohazard.