It has been 50 years since a new hotel opened up in Asbury Park, New Jersey, a beach hamlet just 90 minutes south of New York City. While other towns around it thrived, Asbury Park’s quiet streets witnessed shuttered storefronts and failed businesses. In 2012 Hurricane Sandy added an unfortunate blow. But the winds of change are blowing across the boardwalk this summer as the newly opened Asbury hotel is leading a fresh era of Jersey Shore enjoyment.
Hotelier David Bowd of Salt Hotels looked to designer Anda Andrei to transform a neglected Salvation Army building into a 110-room property. The interiors, they agreed, needed to be anything but standard. Bowd wanted the property to reflect the unique spirit of Asbury Park, “from the incredible mix of people to its great music, art, and food scene.” To achieve this, Andrei sought “joy and spontaneity.”
Starting with the ground-floor lounge, affectionately called the Pit, the communal spaces offer a smattering of sunny spots for guests to hang. The Soundbooth bar serves a menu of signature cocktails, while the Beer Garden outside offers up five beers on tap and hot dogs from a food truck.
On the roof, the Baronet theater is a 4,300-square-foot space blanketed in Astroturf and enclosed with a suburban-like white picket fence, with a 20-foot movie wall for screenings under the starlight. Salvation, the hotel’s rooftop cocktail lounge, is more grown-up and sexy than the rest of the hotel, with hundreds of lanterns and candles that illuminate the roof after sunset.
The guest accommodations range from bunk rooms that sleep up to eight to spacious suites with stellar ocean views. The minimal decor and whitewashed walls are inspired by laid-back beach bungalows and feature pale-wood furniture custom made for the Asbury. It’s the perfect mix of fun and relaxation that spells summer.
From $125/night: theasburyhotel.com
