A stay at the Asbury Ocean Club
Our stay at the Asbury Ocean Club in Asbury Park was a last-minute visit thanks to the benefits of the American Express Platinum card.
Realizing that I only had a few more days to use my annual $200 travel credit with Amex I decided to look for a quick trip close to home.
The only New Jersey hotel in the American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts is the Asbury Ocean Club.
We visit Asbury Park often and watched as this hotel and condo complex was built so it was exciting to stay there for a quick one-night getaway days before the end of the year.
Using the American Express Platinum card hotel credit
I recently added the Amex Platinum card to my wallet and one of the benefits is a $200 annual credit in their Fine Hotel and Resorts or their Hotel Collection. The Fine Hotels are the more expensive hotels but they also offer the best benefits.
As part of the Amex benefits, we received an upgrade to a larger room, an early check-in and a guaranteed 4 pm check out. The early check-in and late check-out really maximized a one-day stay. After check-out, the hotel will also hold your luggage so you can easily spend the evening getting a nice dinner or walking on the boardwalk.
The real reason we took this trip was the $200 travel credit coupled with a $100 food and beverage credit and a $60 breakfast credit.
One mid-winter night at the Asbury Ocean Club costs about $400 plus a $42 resort fee. The resort fee was steep considering it was winter and the pool was closed.
With all the credits we stayed at a wonderful hotel with a good meal, a nice drink, and an excellent breakfast for about $200.
There is no way we would stay at the hotel at the regular rate so the Amex benefit gave us a nice one-night trip.
Staying at the Asbury Ocean Club
Moments after booking the stay at the hotel my phone rang. It was the front desk staff checking to see if I had any questions and fully explaining all the details of the hotel. This was the moment I knew we’d have a great stay. Debbie realized it when they called her by her name when we were checking in (during the phone call they asked the name of who was traveling with me). It was a nice touch that most hotels don’t bother with.
As part of the Amex benefits, we were upgraded to a slightly larger room with a partial ocean view. All the hotel’s 54 guest rooms are located on the fourth floor. Our room had a nice-sized balcony. In the summer we could have listened to a concert from the nearby Stone Pont summer stage right from the balcony.
The rest of the large building, located directly across the street from the Asbury Park boardwalk, is comprised of 130 luxury condominiums.
The room had many nice touches, including a handwritten note from guest services and some nice high-end nibbles The bed was excellent, and the rest of the furniture looked great but was not too comfortable. The visual highlight of the room is the glass-enclosed shower. If taking a shower essentially in the middle of the hotel room is a bit much for you there was a curtain that could be pulled around the glass.
Dinner is served in the Drawing Room, a large, modern lounge. Guests are welcome to relax in the room all day long. When you are ready for food or drinks the very attentive staff is ready to serve. Overall the food was very good but Asbury Park has many wonderful restaurants for the same or less money.
In the summer months, the large glass windows open up to the giant pool deck. The pool also has a large outdoor bar but of course, it was closed for the winter.
There is also a very nice spa and gym. The gym has a number of Peloton bikes and was kept very, very clean. Best of all you can ride the Pelotons while looking out on the boardwalk.
Since it was the middle of winter we were more than happy to stay inside the hotel and be coddled by the excellent and attentive staff. Of course, if the weather was warmer all the benefits of Asbury Park are only steps away. You can read all about what to do in Asbury Park in our previous blog post.
Although the card is pricey, the benefits of the Amex Platinum allowed us to have a really nice stay at a nearby luxury hotel at a vastly reduced price. A good way to end the year.
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