a/c beaches and casino and drinks

We are going to A/C for the first time in May. I am now nervous after reading all the negatvity but the trip is booked and will have to deal with it all. Are the beaches at the boardwalk usable and accessable to the public?

Do the casinos serve ';free'; drinks such as Vegas? I understand that they may not come around much but then Vegas is lacking there now also!

We have booked at the Showboat, (who will not comfirm us 2 beds for the 4 of us that are sharing a room!)because the have the best price on the boardwalk, but does anyone know if they have a pool?

Thanks so much for any help. Greatly appreciated.

a/c beaches and casino and drinks

I don%26#39;t know about the beaches or the Showboat%26#39;s pool, but yes, the drinks are free. Only difference is if you play video poker while sitting at the bar they do charge for your drinks. But if you get your drinks from the waitresses they are free.

a/c beaches and casino and drinks

I don%26#39;t think the Showboat not has a pool, but you can call them and ask... and as far as the beach, it will probably be cold for the water in May... unless you%26#39;re talking the very end of May, which can still sometimes be cool for the beach. The nicest beach in AC is by far the Hilton, all the way down on the Southern end of the boardwalk. They%26#39;ve done a nice job with their beach, with private cabanas and beach chairs for rent, and a very nice beach bar (actually on the boardwalk). You may want to call Showboat and ask if they even have chairs. By the way, if you want a nice pool, I%26#39;d look into the Taj Mahal or Bally%26#39;s, which both have incredibly nice indoor pools (Tropicana for a nice outdoor one). May is not typically swimming weather in NJ - an indoor pool may be your best bet.

Oops, I meant to say ';I don%26#39;t think the Showboat has a pool...';

Thanks so much for the quick replies. Now all I have to do is keep our fingers crossed and hope we get two beds!!! The reason we picked Showboat was for the price. They give a discount if you have a Rewards card. The Bally%26#39;s host wouldn%26#39;t even talk to me as I haven%26#39;t been to A/C yet! Guess they don%26#39;t want any new business! Quite put off by her attitude. I would gladly change hotels since they won%26#39;t guarantee me a non smoking room or the bed choice but cannot find anyone on the boardwalk that can match their price. I am very surprised at this, have never never never come across this type of business practice in any hotel in any city. Just wondered about the beaches for walking not swimming. Can you walk the beaches or do each hotel have them cut off from each other?

Hopefully we will have a fun time celebrating birthdays.

Thanks again.

The beach in AC is one big beach; there are no seperations between hotels. However, as NJ beaches go, AC%26#39;s is not one of your nicest. I%26#39;m not sure how clean they keep it, and in general, AC%26#39;s boardwalk/beach gets a ';sleazier'; crowd than the rest of the Jersey shore (which is pretty wholesome). If you want to spend some time at a nice beach, I%26#39;d drive a little south (about 20 minutes) along the ocean, to Ocean City. (You can get directions on Map Quest or Yahoo Maps - there may be a couple of turns, which takes you over a bridge...) In Ocean City, you%26#39;ll find a beautiful clean white beach, a very nice boardwalk with shops and restaurants, and a very pleasant atmosphere. Unfortunately, AC is centered around the gambling casinos, and the beach is secondary. The city really has a ways to go to promote the beach as a beach.

The beaches are not bad in AC!! We are from Virginia Beach and have a beautiful beach but I would rather spend time in AC anyday!! We travel up there about once every 2 months and have spent a week last summer and the summer before.

We prefer AC over any other beach in that area bc of the gambling and ';fun'; atmosphere. The boardwalk is huge and in my opinion they keep it very clean. Within the last 4 years we have been traveling there I think it has been cleaner each and every time we go (especially during the summer bc all the hotels are trying to compete for the tourists). In fact, 2 summers ago the hilton opened up a beach bar, right off the boardwalk and since then it seems every other hotel has added a beach bar in front of there hotels. last summer we saw live music at ceasars and ballys bars everyday and night.

you can walk on the boardwalk with drinks too.

The drinks from the waitresses are free and also if you play video poker at ceasars and at trump plaza (the only 2 that i know of) they are free at the bar where those games are as well.

Most hotels wont accomodate your requests until you arrive so that shouldnt be anything to worry about too much. we have always gotten what we requested as far as 1 or 2 beds go.

AC is so much fun and you will have a ball for birthdays!! we are actualy going up for my brother in laws birthday next weekend. just dont be expectating a ';bellagio'; type and you wont be disappointed. ac is a lot older and rundown then vegas and the city isnt the nicest but if you stay around the casinos and boardwalk you will be fine. people expect the city itself to be super nice like vegas but it isnt but the casinos are really nice---and they are now adding a super fashion mall built out from the boardwalk near ballys and tropicana just added a bunch of new restaurants and shops.

anyway, bottom line ac is the bomb!!! i dont know what showboat is like but we always stay at the hilton and we think that is nicest hotel and beach and we have been in almost all of the casinos. have a great time and if the weather is nice take advantage and walk down the boardwalk and check out all the other hotels and casinos in case showboat isnt that great. dont forget to get comp cards to put in the slots when you play at EVERY casino you play at, that way you will start receivng offers in the mail.

have fun and good luck!!

Suey - You said ';the city isn%26#39;t the nicest'; - that%26#39;s a bit of an understatement! If you walk away from the boardwalk (even 1 block off the boardwalk) it%26#39;s downright scary. The City is a slum, unfortunately. And this is a Jersey girl talking!! I%26#39;ve been to AC a lot, over the course of many years, and I know the Jersey shore well. I would never go to the beach as a destination in AC - any other beach in NJ is 10 times nicer. The AC Hilton is OK because they put an effort into making their beach nice.

Ashgrove - if you want a nice beach in AC, definitely stay at the AC Hilton. If you want a nice room, and gambling, there are many hotels to chose from. Also, look into a show while you%26#39;re there. Bally%26#39;s has the Legends show which is supposed to be good, and often the Taj Mahal (next to Showboat) has top entertainment. Good luck %26amp; have fun. (Didn%26#39;t mean to be so negative, but Suey is a little overly positive. AC is AC. If you like gambling, you%26#39;ll have fun. If you%26#39;re renting a car, it%26#39;s not hard to drive to other shore towns which, I think, might really impress you!

Ok, you get out of life what you put into it. When you are positive, you see positive, therefore positive things happen to you. I think Suey was right on with her comment.

I live in Virginia Beach right now as well, but am originally from Philadelphia- so I know what the getto is. Atlantic city boardwalk is 10 times better and safer than ours in Virginia Beach ( And VB is known for one of the most popular beach destinations in the south- so this sais a lot).

I think Ejan is from NJ and although AC was bad at one time, they have done so much to build up the casinos and the beach area in the past 10 years. People who have not been there in a while still have that ';ghetto'; stigmatism in their mind.

We go there once a month, but spent a good length of time vacationing there last summer, the beach is clean, police on bikes everywhere (so you feel safe)- and there are a lot of families there. I have never seen an incident that has made me uncomfortable- and we are walking down the boardwalk LATE at night. Of course you should always be smart and be aware of your surroundings, but it is generally a safe beach. Suey was not kidding when she said how fun the beach bars are. Everyone is still trying to copy the Hilton with theirs- unfortunatley I dont think they all open until Memorial Day weekend- so if you are not going then, they may be closed.

The casinos are terrific- and there are plenty of waitstaff walking around offering drinks while you gamble- so that shouldnt be a problem! You will have a great time- let us know how much you liked it when you return home. We are going next weekend, so we can check out the Showboat for you and see how the outside of the property looks, for this is one place we have never gambled. Will post when we return on the 19th.

Sorry, I need to explain what I meant by all that ';POSITIVE'; stuff. I only meant that when you travel, it is good to have a positive attitude- and when you do you usually end up seeing the postitive things. I travel a lot, and have never had anything to complain about or a negative experience happen to me. Whenever we go to AC, everyone is friendly, we meet fun people, we have good luck in the casinos, everything is nice and clean, etc. I just wanted to clarify my opening statement in the last reply. being positive usually means you will have a fabulous vacationing experience ! :)

Luckygrl - I happen to be the eternal optimist, and I travel a lot as well. I%26#39;m not saying that the AC boardwalk isn%26#39;t safe, we were talking about the city of AC, if you walk off the boardwalk. You wouldn%26#39;t want to do that! I was also comparing the AC beach to the rest of the Jersey shore. Have you ever been to Cape May, Spring Lake, Ocean City, Point Pleasant, Long Beach Island...? I have been to all these places, and I have been to AC in the summer, winter, fall %26amp; spring, yes, even in recent years. I%26#39;m just saying that if someone wants a beach vacation, there are much nicer beaches and environments in NJ, other than AC. AC is for gambling, mostly. Yes, there are some nice places to drink on the boardwalk, but if you%26#39;re even considering traveling with a family (we have kids, ages 12 %26amp; 15), you%26#39;d skip the AC scene totally. By the way, the marina hotels, while you don%26#39;t have the advantage of being on the boardwalk, get a much nicer crowd. If I were a ';20 something';, I%26#39;d definitely make Borgota my destination spot.