I stayed at this hotel last week with some girl friends. I love the location. There is something so peaceful about sitting on the front veranda having a drink and listening to the ocean. The food is excellent and not over the top expensive. I love this place and can't wait to go back.

The Breakers is as beautiful a place as its reputation. If room size matters, one needs to pay for it. We had a huge room with a view of the ocean. The staff (with the exception of the assistant manager, who has the personality of a piece of dust) was helpful and very kind. The food was good; they have a great early bird dinner as well. Spring Lake is the most beautiful town in the States, as far as we are concerned.

It is not often that you can have a perfect experience at a hotel but our family had a super one here. We had visiting family in from Maryland to the Jersey Shore area for the Christmas holidays and felt that it would be best to put them up at a hotel to avoid crowding at home. They had a 9 year old and an 11 year old. At the time of making the reservation the front desk staff could not have been any more accomodating in getting the room set up so that the children especially would be happy, bringing the games and snacks we had provided for them to the room. Further each child delighted in the wonderful spa tub, the spaciousness of the rooms and the outstanding view. The adults found the environment relaxing and all staff helpful and welcoming. Everytime we talk to this family they mention the wonderful stay they had at the Breakers and I felt it was important to share this. Great place - their dining experience for breakfast was also super they said.

We attended a wedding reception at The Breakers, stayed the night and then attended brunch in the morning. The hotel is all about the location. The beach is just across the street and there are no obstructions to the beautiful view. And because of that most guests can easily ignore the fact the building and the rooms could use an overhaul.

We stayed in a Petite Queen with no view - a $220 room in season according to their website. Since we were there as part of a room block in the off-season, the room was much less. It was worth the off-season price but I would think twice about the in-season price considering the room. It was smaller than a typical hotel room (closer in size to a Euro hotel room) with a bed, closet, dresser and a small table with two chairs. It was outdated but very clean. The bathroom was also clean and it had a whirlpool tub as described on the website.

It was an unseasonably warm April day so when I entered the room the thermostat read 79 degrees. I went immediately to the air conditioner (a regular window unit installed below the window) and cranked it up to high. After being out of the room and at the wedding for the next six hours, we came back to a cooler but not cold room. I was surprised that the place wasn't freezing which was fine with us but figure this may be an issue for those who stay in July and August.

Another thing that came to our attention during our stay was that if the hotel is hosting a wedding, the regular hotel guests are overrun by wedding guests. The cocktail hour began at 6pm and by 6:15 the 200 guests attending the wedding had taken over the valet parking, the main lobby and the outside porch. Since the cocktail hour room was too small to hold the entire wedding, we spilled out into the common areas and into the faces of unsuspecting guests. In addition, I can't imagine that we were all too quiet after the reception when we continued the party out on the porch and then the beach till 1am.

Lastly, there is only on-site valet parking. Otherwise, you need to park in the diagonal spaces closest to the beach on Ocean Avenue. All other streets have a parking ban that goes into effect at 3am. Once again, this was fine for April but I don't know how easy it would be in July or August.

Overall, we had a great time because we were there for a wedding but I wouldn't rate the hotel as better than an average.