Atlantic City, NJ

[vald1977]

I am thinking of planning a trip here for my husband and my 10 year anniversary in May. Neither of us have ever been and know nothing about the area. Does anyone have any suggestions for a hotel, dining, things not to miss? Any info would be appreciated .

 

[JerseyJanice]

Atlantic City is one place you'll want to use an on-line service to book a hotel for--something like hotels.com or Expedia. The hotels save a lot of rooms for "high rollers" so it's not easy to book a room the way you might do ordinarily.

The Virginia City Buffet at Bally's Wild West City casino is a must-do for any Disney fan. The atmosphere is like a cross between the Mexican pavilion in Epcot and the scenery of Big Thunder Mountain. If you go, pay for your drinks upfront as they're a little cheaper that way. If you're seated there for dinner, you'll get a nice club steak cooked to order in addition to a very good buffet.

Carmines NYC also has a location in the Tropicana that I've heard good things about.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

I am thinking of planning a trip here for my husband and my 10 year anniversary in May. Neither of us have ever been and know nothing about the area. Does anyone have any suggestions for a hotel, dining, things not to miss? Any info would be appreciated .

The Tropicana was completely redone a few years ago. It's fantastic. There are great restaurants and it's one of my favorite casinos there. Other than that, I've stayed at Ballys. Any of the casinos are fine I'm sure...just don't stay at any shady hotels on Black Horse Pike!

 

[vald1977]

Thanks for the input . I am thinking we will stay at the Tropicana as that is the name that keeps coming up when I talk to people.

 

[POOHDRMR]

I like the Showboat and Tropicana.We get free rooms through Showboat all the time so we tend to stay there more but we always go down to Trop for the restaurants-we love Carmines and the chinese place.Showboat connects to trump next store and we usually walk over there but I don't really like to gamble there.They have a big outlet store area to shop at-there is a big Disney store(regular store not outlet)We used to stay at Bally's but I like the rooms at Showboat better.

 

[puffkin]

I recommend any area in the midtown section. Lots of shops/restaurants/casinos there and that section of the boardwalk is nice. Bally's, Wild Wild West, Ceasars, Trump Plaza. I think because we are so used to Disney theming, Ceasars and Wild West are our favorite casinos. We usually eat at Rainforest Cafe too, it is one of our favorites....a little touch of Disney to us close to home!

The Borgata is really, really nice too. But it is down in the marina so you are kind of stuck with just the Borgata. We had a fabulous dinner at Wolfgang Pucks there (pricey but delicious). They also have some really nice entertainment coming in...love the Music Box Theater!

The casino hotels are very reasonable during the week. We usually can only go on the weekends when the prices are outrageous. So we usually stay out in Absecon, and then drive into town. It is about a 10 minute drive in and you can park for free (or a nominal amount) at the casinos if you have a reward card (sign up for free at the casino). Be careful though because a lot of the places are DIVES! We have Hotwired before and I will only do a 3* or better in AC. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Absecon last time and it was really nice (we had hotwired a 2* hotel and walked out because it was so awful...this is the first hotel we came to that looked decent and it was really nice, plus free breakfast!).

 

[a1tinkfans]

Sign up for ALL the reward cards, Trop included. We have not gone back to AC in a while, they STILL send me free rooms (summer) , free shows, etc. I just booked a $20. room at Showboat for the Easter break, for dh and I. First trip without anyone else, WooHoo, cannot wait.
My suggestions:
Stay on the boardwalk in one of the bigger resorts, those you mentioned are
fine. Don't stay OFF the boardwalk on the Pike! You may save some $$ but you will gain, "trash/unsafe" with it.......really, avoid it!!!
Try and see a show....
WATCH your purse/money at ALL times....thievery is more prevalent and economy is down, everyone assumes you have $$ when you go there.....last few trips my family has been "hit", one my sis, took whole wallet right out of her bag....my mil, had hers lifted out of her waistpack...though she thinks she left it open....
so secure your money. My sis actually got her wallet back minus the cash (which was nominal) she was glad no lic issues, etc etc...
IF you can stay at the bellagio, I'd go there over all the ones on the strip. Yes, they are away from the boardwalk, but it is class all the way, from the rooms to the pool on the roof to the casino.
Have a great time and Good Luck!!!

 

[laurafergie]

We just got back from Atlantic City and agree with the PPs - stay on the boardwalk.

We stayed at the Chelsea for $49 a night booked on Orbitz (The Tower side NOT the Annex side) and walked across the street to the Tropicana. The Chelsea was a wonderful hotel, very slick and retro vibe going on. I have been to AC before, and this time I enjoyed the fact I was able to leave the casino madness and go to a quiet hotel BUT did not have to drive out to the suburbs.

The comedy club in the Trop is great and we took in Avatar at the Imax there. The shops at the Pier/Caesars is a nice diversion, though the only shop that was special was the candy store, which is awesome.

Sign up for the rewards cards at the casinos - at the Trop there are TONS of coupons you can get with the reward card and they change every day. THIS website also has lots of coupons. We did not drink or eat anything for 4 days without a coupon or unless it was happy hour. Saved a ton of money.

Also wanted to mention that the fancy restaurants in the casinos midweek have Prix Fixe menus and you can get wonderful, gourmet meals for $30-40, for 3-4 courses. We have eaten at Max's at Trump Plaza twice this way. 3 courses for $35 a person. UNBELIEVABLE food, and the service is top notch.

 

[bballmom56]

We go to AC about 4-6 times a year just as a getaway. The Trop is our favorite. It has a great area called The Quarter. Very neat shops and restaurants. Sign up on their website at tropicana.net for email and postcard specials. We have a reservation for a Thursday night for $59 which includes a voucher for the buffet breakfast for 2 ($40 value) plus $20 to use in the casino.

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

We did a girls weekend in Atlantic City last April. My favorite casino was the Borgata....it had a very "hip" vibe. They get alot of popular music groups in there. Also, make sure to check out Lucy! Lucy is a huge elephant that used to be a hotel...it's a hoot. Totally tacky and awful and it was our favorite thing.

 

[Hidden_Mickey]

Take a nice walk on the Boardwalk. You can ride in a little buggy if your feet are sore . Be sure to try the Frahlinger's taffy / fudge. There is a Johnny Rockets on the Boardwalk - if you are a burger fan. There is a Hard Rock at one of the Trump Hotels. The Ripley's Believe it or Not museum is kinda weird but fun. Most of the big casino/hotels on the Boardwalk are very nice with lots of restaurants to choose from. Don't get stuck in one casino though... check out different ones; they all have different vibes, restaurants & shops. Try to check out a show. They have concerts, etc. at Boardwalk Hall but many hotels have their own theatres too.