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.

Pool area is not clean, trash, used condom in the pool area. Friend had water come thru the ceiling in the bathroom. Rug all wet. Was told we needed to wait for the Manager. We were in the office 3 times. Last time we went over he was in the back office. Never came over to us until we demanded to see him. They reimbursed our friend for some of the cost. Moved them to another room. We had blood on our comforter. Had to get another one. Did not get enough wash rags or towels. The corporation that bought them out is not doing a good job to maintain the units or hire people that take care of the units properly. My friends have been coming here for 20 years. This is the last year they will not be back. We intend to let others know about it.

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.