Ocean AC... random thoughts

Spent the weekend at Ocean and wanted to relate some thoughts on the place.
Not a complete review because I was busy hosting our company's holiday party .

I plan to return in a month and will try additional restaurants and investigate the property more.

Overall ,everybody really liked the property.
It is open ,modern with high ceilings and great décor.
The William Hill sportsbook is in the center of the casino with a great design ,lots of high top tables and couches.
It is not as large as the new one at Borgata but also not as crowded.
We easily found a couple high tops to watch the conference playoffs in CFB.
That would not be the case at Borgata.

Although I did not go to Top Golf there ,several guys did and played and had lunch there.
They really enjoyed the experience and lunch was very good.

 

That seems like a good place for corporate stuff, then. Sounds like you had a good time even though it was for work. Did you stay? How are the rooms?

 

For some reason half my post got cut off.
Everybody liked the rooms a lot.Very up to date similar to rooms at Aria.
I was in a one bedroom suite and it was fantastic.Two glass walls with views all the way to Brigantine and the Atlantic.

 

Being loyal Borgata customers for years my wife and I went to Oceans Saturday November 16 and was very impressed with the resort. Room was nicer than Borgata bed just as comfortable. The layout of casino took a bit to get used to but eventually started to get to know our way around. Didn't do any fine dining but went to cafe 2000 I think it's called for breakfast on Sunday and was perfectly acceptable ordered room service saturday food was very good and arrived hotvOnly thing I didn't care for was the multiple elevators that was needed to get from room to casino and vice versa but other than that Oceans was great. So impressed with the place from hotel staff , bartenders and dealers we are going back MLK weekend arriving Saturday and leaving Tuesday morning. We will check out the upscale dining options and wifey would like to compare Oceans spa to Borgatas. If this longer stay is as pleasant as our short stay might be bidding Borgata adieu as our comps are not as generous as what we were getting only last year being Gold card holders. Will report back when time comes

 

I'll try to remember most of my original post which I must have screwed up.
Tony,agree on the multiple elevator/escalator deal. Took some getting used to.
The casino only had 3 craps tables which is different than my usual spot at Borgata which has 9.
I could not get on a table Sat morning as they only had one open.

I was pissed at the time but won at BJ so I got over it quick.
Dolce Mare ,Italian restaurant was good and our group of 8 had no complaints.
Service was prompt.
Don't want to make a comparison yet to the other Italian restaurants after one meal.There is pretty stiff competition from Capriccio at Resorts ,Angeline at
Borgata , and Martorano's at Harrah's. Quite a few other non casino Italian spots in AC but we will see.

Whalburger' s was good for lunch .Excellent salads and burgers and the servers were very friendly.

Villain and Saint looks like a great bar with casual food but they open at 4pm and we were tied up both nights.
Played some BJ in Hi Limit and the room is stunning. Bright with windows all around ,it is right over the Atlantic.
There is also a nice bar inside the room.

It is hard for me to judge regular comps as I was part of a group but they did pre comp my suite.
They also had two giveaways when we were there that I took advantage of.
A set of knives from Emeril on Friday and a Kindle on Sat.
I was too busy with the group on Sat so host is sending Kindle to my house .Plus I did not have to wait in line which was great.

Looking forward to going back and exploring more of Oceans on my next trip.

 

I think Ocean has the best rooms in AC. I think it's the nicest casino in AC but overall, I think Borgata just edges Ocean out for overall casino experience. Ocean is, however, on the boardwalk. Ocean has yet to put in their buffet. I think they were waiting for the casino to get a bit busier before starting a full up-scale buffet. After seeing the mid-week crowds so far this year, they may actually be there.

 

Just saw AC's gaming revenue numbers for November and Oceans table and slot win was up 67 percent compared to November 2018, going from 11.7 million to 19.5 million.

 

I always had a soft spot for Revel/ Ocean, despite the weird layout and elevators. Seemed like the dealers and staff were always friendly, never seemed cramped there, I just always wanted that place to do well. Did that Glenn Straub guy do anything to the place? Should've at least replaced the carpet or something lol.

 

I talked to a few bartenders and Oceans preaches customer service and smiles before shifts. They make sure everyone is happy before they go on the floor and have to walk down this creepy hallway full of smiley faces before they get out there. They said it honestly makes a difference too.

 

I tend to agree with you but it is based on very limited experience at Ocean.
Borgata has been my go to for the last several years. I think the overall upscale dining at Borgata is the best in town.
Here2Learn makes a good point about the bartenders and servers.
All the servers I encountered at Ocean were very friendly.
The bartenders at B Bar at Borgata can be a little edgy and I have seen them ignore people they did not know.
Have not experienced that at the Long Bar or any of the restaurants.
I've heard people complain about the dealers at Borgata but I think it is probably the same amount of grumpy vs. friendly dealers as any of the casinos.

 

Glen Straub was a charlatan, a fake, phony-baloney and a fraud. A litigious bag of hot air who sailed up on his yacht. He paid three cents on the dollar for $2.4 Billion property and sold it for six cents. Probably the best thing he did was to buy the power plant and bundle it with the sale of the property. This guy made headlines for suing his ex-girlfriend.

I like Walburgers, but I think their prices are out of line. We split a burger, an order tater tots and two iced teas; the bill was $25 plus tip. I walked through Top Golf and would like to have a drink at the bar with great views of the water. Top Golf won last year’s best burger award. Amada is a solid tapas place, I’m jonesing to try the suckling pig. Just about all of the bars have some kind of happy hour

I never stayed there, but I believe they now have an elevator to go from the 11th floor lobby to the 6th floor casino. The previous way to get between floors was an escalator near the front and a lot of folks had anxiety over its height.

Yes, the bartenders at the B Bar have their regulars and if you're not one of them, you will wait for a drink. The short bartender is OK, but the one with the black frame glasses and flat-top haircut is a total class-hole He walked past me 4 times and finally I had to stand up and raise my voice to get him to take my drink order. Plus last year they had problems with their draft beer system, it wasn't cleaned properly and they poured skunk brews. The problem with the VP bar at Ocean is the low quality of their well spirits for comped drinks and they don't have draft beer. But for higher tier players, the vip lounges will comp something better than Banker's Club vodka.

With The Homestead, Bobby Flay's, Wolfgang Puck, Izakaya, I agree, Borgata has the edge on upscale dining. Heck, even the quasi-coffee shop, Metropolitan, is a great place for a modestly priced meal. Count me as a fan of Ocean.

 

I'm on my mobile, so this post may be short / terse. Sorry in advance!

Overall, I agree with the opinions here! Oceans is an excellent property with several pluses
- friendly and attractive drink servers that remember you
- diverse eating establishments for all budgets. I've tried all the spots and think Amada and Dolce are their best offerings
- lots of activities outside of gambling with 3 pools
- diverse selection of slots, with a decent high limit area
- best high limit table room I've seen this side of Vegas
- best nightclub in town
- best comps in town
- best mid- level suites in town (harrah's has some 1 of 1 one Vegas style suites that are better)
- second best casino floor in town

The property is not without weakness, however:
- it could use a polish as some parts of the property are downtrodden/ worn... rooms included
- the poker area is somewhat of a joke
- the layout (casino notwithstanding) is laughable. I've been there three times and think they've made it too much of a maze to get to perimeter restaurants... also why is the nicest bathroom buried deep into the restaurant area... seriously it's my secret go to bathroom when I wanna go in peace
- some of the gift shops / coffee spots feel really cheaply put together and it's due to the layout. They've got two coffee shops
- room service leaves bedsheets out in the hallways... they need a better system for cleaning the rooms in the morning
- not enough rewards kiosks
- overall it feels like they didn't design the space correctly and stuck random things where they could... a glance at the property map reveals the same thing. Not only that, but some parts of the property feel "nicer" than others. As if they ran out of money when putting the property together

 

Regarding Ocean Casino, I just saw a billboard that mentioned “play at ocean, stay at Wynn”. Nothing is shown on the website, so I guess a visit to the players club will be required. @Flowers, @spdandpwr, maybe this will work for you.

 

Wow. That is very interesting. I will definitely ask my Wynncore host about it. That I think would be a win win for both properties if there is some strong cross marketing.

 

Interesting and valid points about the layout and property design.Some things are head scratchers.
We tried to figure out some of the wide open and underutilized spaces (Sky Café and lobby area) and other areas seemed crowded.
I did not really see anything like sheets in the hallways when they were cleaning rooms and my rooms did not seem worn.

 

That would explain them ending there relationship with Hyatt

 

I'll be there again in a week. I'll update if I see anything

 

Ooof i hope not. I don't want the ADT to get mixed up lol

 

I was always curious as to which party ended the deal. I think it was Ocean because Hyatt customers could book rooms on high demand summer weekends using points.

 

I stayed there for 2 nights this summer and really enjoyed the casino and hotel.... the room was beautiful with an awesome view... it seemed easy to get around once we figured out how to get to hotel easily and how to get to casino quickly. Plenty of places to eat ...Really nice. Still for some reason, I like Borgata just a little more.