12 Best Hotels in Atlantic City, New Jersey Shore

The 16-story art-deco hotel, connected to the convention center by an enclosed walkway, showcases Miss America Pageant memorabilia in display windows. A grand circular staircase leads to the Miss America–themed Shoe Bar as well as restaurants and meeting rooms. Step outside and you're on The Walk, a group of outlet stores connected by a brick path. Standard rooms are understated and bathed in earth-tones. Club rooms and suites are available with both city and bay views.

Rooms come in a variety of styles at this beachfront property: the main building, the 1860 Dennis Hotel, incorporates traditional and contemporary interior schemes; Claridge Tower rooms are bright and airy; Garden Tower rooms are spacious and embrace environmentally friendly practices; and Bally's Tower rooms go art deco. That's to say nothing of the boutique hotel aesthetic in their newly renovated Ruby Rooms, with their sleek and modern red, white, brown—and zebra print—furnishings. The spa facilities, with a multitiered complex of mosaic-tile whirlpools and an atrium pool with water-aerobics classes, are exceptional.

Floor-to-ceiling windows and oh-so-tasteful furnishings grace the Borgota's spacious standard rooms, where even the shower has room for two and the recently renovated MGM Tower is as close to Vegas as one can get on the East Coast (it even has a signature scent wafting through the common areas). Suites all have entertainment centers, wet bars, and bathrooms with deep tubs and his-and-her vanity sets. Spa Toccare is the biggest in Atlantic City at 54,000 square feet with a salon, barbershop, a hi-tech fitness center, and five pools. The 15 eateries include an outpost of New York City's Old Homestead steakhouse, Angeline by Michael Symon, and Noodles Of the World (N.O.W.).

Worthy of an emperor? The numbers at this beachfront property are certainly imperial: 1,144 rooms; 145,000 square feet of gaming floors; more than 2,300 slot machines; a theater seating 1,500 that has hosted Tony Bennett, Smokey Robinson, Ringo Starr and many others; and on and on. Book a room here and you will have to embrace the kitsch. The pillars, fountains, statues, and faux classical style of the entrance and lobby are anything but suble. The rooms, however, only hint at such gaudiness. They are luxurious and modern with dark wood furniture, wall scones, and expansive mirrors. Many have breathtaking ocean views, and there are often deals to be had.

Reliable and affordable, this centrally located hotel from Marriot provides easy access to the Boardwalk and its attractions. A beach motif is evoked in the rooms, where framed whimsical prints hang on the walls and sandy beiges and oranges highlight the linens and furnishings. Rates are available with or without breakfast.

The modern, 32-story, all-suites condo hotel across from the Boardwalk offers respite from the casino action and faces the island of Brigantine and the Absecon Inlet. There's an indoor pool, a small movie theater on site, and an arcade and "FunZone" for cold or rainy days. Each suite has a kitchenette with refrigerator, sink, microwave, stovetop, dishes, and cutlery, as well as a private balcony (some with Boardwalk and water views).

Formerly the Trump Marina, the completely renovated, refurbished, and rebranded casino has the state's largest marina at its disposal and a brand-new salon and spa. The changes become obvious as soon as you pull up. The entrance now shimmers with gold. Standard rooms are tastefully appointed with maroon, black, beige, and brown furnishings. Gold Tower suites up the ante with Sobel Westex linens, dining areas, and panoramic windows. Spa Tower suites go all in with marble baths, murals, columns, and cocktail bars.

Atlantic City may not have the glitz and glam of Vegas, but this property certainly makes you feel like you’re at a Vegas party where everyone came to have a good time while surrounded by priceless rock memorabilia and amazing works of art (look up as you're riding the escalator). The casino features more than 2,000 slot machines and 130 table games, plus there are four fine-dining restaurants onsite---Il Mulino New York, Sandpiper Coastal Bar & Grill, Council Oaks Steaks & Seafood, and Kuro---as well as the classic Hard Rock Cafe and a branch of South Jersey’s favorite sandwich shop, White House Subs. If you’re into more relaxing activities, there's a pool and sundeck on the South Tower’s 4th level, easy access to Atlantic City Beach (with drinks available at the Beach Bar), and the must-visit Rock Spa & Salon. 

In the marina district, this five-tower property has rooms with high ceilings, elegant wood furniture, and tasteful fabric flourishes. As parents relax at the acclaimed Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa, younger guests can go a little wild at the family fun center with its mini-golf course, arcade, and family pool. Hotel staff can also book tee times for golfers at the Atlantic City Country Club and enroll amateur cooks in classes at the on-site Viking Cooking School, where instructors and celebrity chefs teach classes for all abilities.

The shimmering 47-story hotel and resort, the tallest in Atlantic City, challenges the Borgata as the swankest reservation around. Floor-to-ceiling windows give every room an ocean backdrop and the decor is elegant and understated, with muted tones and polished dark walnut. More than 15 restaurants, including the steakhouse American Cut, Jose Garces' Amada, and the Italian-focused Dolce Mare, provide something for every tastebud, and the city's newest casino has nearly 2,000 slot machines, more than 125 table games, and the Gallery Bar, Book & Games with 140 feet of LED walls that line the venue and plenty of space to watch all the sports you want. Pools with private cabanas and a fully serviced beach anchor the summertime social scenes. Guests can relax at the 40,000-square-foot Exhale Spa + Bathhouse or have some fun at the HQ2 Nightclub or Topgolf Swing Suite.

Potted palm trees line the corridors, fountains bubble, soft beiges and yellows bathe the walls. You've traveled back to pre-Castro Cuba, or perhaps Miami, anywhere with a Caribbean breeze. That's the idea at least. With the addition of "The Quarter" entertainment complex, the Tropicana has fully embraced its tropical theme. Rooms are spread throughout four towers. In the West Tower, they're more modern and wear blue and white stripes, while in the Havana and North towers they're clothed in wallpaper and plaids. Suites feature a more subdued palette and expansive ocean views. The atmosphere here is slightly frantic and sometimes chaotic, but the hotel offers plenty of escapes from the busy casino scene, including skincare treatments, oxygen facials, and therapeutic couples massages at the Bluemercury Spa.

This modern, boutique-style hotel dotted with pools, fountains, and flowers will especially appeal to swimmers and spa aficionados, rather than gambling buffs. Adjacent to the Borgata, The Water Club is an innovative, non-gaming destination offering sweeping views of the marina and ocean. Immersion spa on the 32nd floor is a high-tech jewel, with an infinity-edge pool; deluge showers as forceful as deep-tissue massages; milk and honey cocoon floats and soaks in bourbon; and blossom and bark-filled tubs. Chef Geoffrey Zakarian (of Manhattan's Town and Country restaurants) reinvents Philly cheese steak, french fries (with truffles) and shrimp cocktail (with fresh wasabi), serving summery food and cocktails in the Sunroom lounge and poolside. Indoor pools and Jacuzzis next to the luxurious lobby are surrounded by pineapple plants, palm trees and bamboo that transport guests from the Jersey shore to the tropics.