There’s a hotel for every occasion. Let’s say you’re on a rock-n-roll road trip to Asbury Park for a long, hot summer weekend. The kind of getaway you used to take with your frat brother in college or your two best girlfriends: beach all day and party through the night. You’re living the lyrics of a Springsteen song about the best summer of your life. That’s where The Berkeley Oceanfront comes in.
Built in 1925 by the notable Beaux Arts architect Warren Whitney, The Berkeley-Cartaret Hotel was the most imposing hotel in Asbury Park with a façade of red brick and an oceanfront location across the street from the Asbury Park Convention Hall and Paramount Theatre.
Entrance at The Berkeley Oceanfront © MRNY
So popular was the seaside town in the 1920s and 1930s that Cole Porter referenced it in his song “At Long Last Love,” writing “Is it Granada I see, or only Asbury Park?” Few people today would confuse the Moorish-influenced city in Spain with the city of Asbury Park – although Bruce Springsteen’s performance base does still hold the Convention Hall with its façade of red brick and Moorish sandstone in a melange of architectural styles and nautical motifs that was designed by the same firm that built New York’s Grand Central Station.
© MRNY
The rooms at The Berkeley Oceanfront are commodious, befitting a hotel that was the height of luxury at one of the nation’s most popular summer resorts. Large windows provide oceanfront vistas onto the town’s broad – and often empty – beach. The town policy of charging admission fees for beachgoers keeps the beach looking as pristine as a deserted Caribbean isle – and from your hotel window, the expanse of ocean blue can be mesmerizing.
© MRNY
Just a stone’s throw from The Stone Pony and Wonder Bar, The Berkeley Oceanfront is an easy walk to the city’s other numerous celebrated live music venues including Asbury Lanes and Porta. For dinner, take a stroll down the boardwalk toward downtown’s Cookman Avenue where locals and visitors crowd the city’s acclaimed restaurants such as Brickwall Tavern & Dining Room, Goldie’s, Toast, and Pascal & Sabine.
And after a wild night at The Stone Pony or a riotous concert at the Convention Hall or one too many, The Berkeley Oceanfront’s central location makes it easy for you to pass out in bed (rather than on the beach). For a rock-n-roll road trip, The Berkeley Oceanfront’s got you covered. “Prove it all night,” as Bruce would say. “Prove it all night for you.”
