Hotels By Seaside Heights – What to Know Before You Book (2026)

Let’s be upfront about something: there are no super close hotels by Seaside Heights. There is no Marriott or Holiday Inn. There’s no beachfront resort with a rooftop pool and a concierge. What it has are motels — some of them ok, some of them… fine — and a tight summer rental market that fills up fast.

If you’re searching for hotels by Seaside Heights, NJ, you’ve probably already noticed that your options fall into a few distinct buckets. You can stay right in town at one of the motels on the boulevard. You can drive a few miles and find actual hotels in Toms River or Brick. Or you can skip the hotel search altogether and look at vacation rentals — which, for families, often makes the most sense once you run the numbers.

This page covers all of it. Here’s what you’re actually working with.

The Motels In Seaside Heights

Seaside Heights has a handful of motels, and they’ve been there for decades. Some of them have kept up well, and if you want to roll out of bed and be on the boardwalk in three minutes, nothing beats the location. But going in with realistic expectations will save you some disappointment.

Be sure to read reviews carefully before booking any motel in town. Seriously. The range in quality is significant, and the photos on booking sites don’t always tell the whole story. Look for recent reviews — especially ones from other families — and pay close attention to anything mentioning cleanliness or maintenance.

One thing worth knowing: most motels in Seaside Heights are summer-only properties. They’re not operating year-round, and they don’t have the same amenities or staffing levels as a full-service hotel. If that’s fine with you — great. If you need more than a clean room and a parking spot, you’re probably better served by looking outside of town.

Read our full Seaside Heights motel guide for more info on each property.

Hotels By Seaside Heights: The Surrounding Area

If you want actual hotel amenities — indoor pool, breakfast, reliable Wi-Fi, chain-brand consistency — you’ll need to drive a bit. The good news is that the Jersey Shore has solid options within 20–30 minutes of the boardwalk, and the rates may be more reasonable than trying to stay right in Seaside.

Here’s what options there are for hotels by Seaside Heights:

Toms River (~15 minutes west)

Toms River has the best concentration of national chain hotels by Seaside Heights. You’ll find Hampton Inn, Courtyard by Marriott, Holiday Inn Express, and similar options along Route 9 and near the Garden State Parkway exits. For families who want consistency and reliability — a pool, a breakfast, a hotel that looks exactly like what you expect — Toms River is your answer.

The trade-off is the drive. You’re 15 minutes each way to the beach, which starts to add up when you’re going back to nap the toddler, change out of a wet bathing suit, and return for sunset. That said, a lot of families make it work just fine. You’ll want a car either way if you’re staying in Toms River.

Brick (~20 minutes north)

Brick has a few hotel options and is closer to Point Pleasant Beach if your family wants to mix in a second boardwalk day. Not quite as hotel-dense as Toms River, but worth checking if Toms River rates are high. The drive to Seaside Heights is similar — about 20 minutes depending on summer traffic.

What It’s Actually Like to Commute to Seaside Heights from Toms River

A lot of families wonder whether staying off the island really works. The short answer is yes, with one big caveat: Route 37.

Route 37 is the main road from Toms River across the Thomas A. Mathis Bridge into Seaside Heights. On a normal summer weekday morning, the drive takes about 15 minutes. On a summer Saturday when half of New Jersey is heading to the Shore at the same time? Plan for 30–45 minutes, and that’s if you leave early. The bridge creates a real bottleneck, and there’s no alternate route.

The practical impact: if you’re commuting from one of the hotels by Seaside Heights, you’ll want to get to the beach early — before 10am — or accept that the drive in will eat a chunk of your morning. Coming back in the late afternoon isn’t usually as bad, since traffic tends to spread out after the beach crowd disperses.

A few things that make the commute easier:

Leave early and stay late. If you’re at the beach by 9am, you beat both the traffic and the parking crunch. Stay through dinner and head back after 7pm when the worst of the outbound traffic has cleared.

Park once and stay. If you’re driving in from Toms River, find your parking spot in the morning and don’t move the car until you’re done for the day. Paid lots in Seaside Heights run $20–$30 per day in peak season, and that’s on top of your hotel room.

Weekdays are much easier. If your schedule has any flexibility, a Tuesday-through-Thursday trip from Toms River is a genuinely different experience than a weekend stay. Traffic, parking, and beach crowds all drop significantly.

None of this is a dealbreaker. Plenty of families do the Toms River base camp every summer and love it. But it’s worth knowing before you book rather than figuring it out on your first Saturday morning when you’re already running late.

What Hotels By Seaside Heights Actually Cost in Summer 2026

Rates in summer at the Jersey Shore are not cheap, and they’ve been trending up. For motels in Seaside Heights itself, you can expect to pay anywhere from $150–$300+ per night for a basic room in peak season (late June through Labor Day). Weekends, especially around Fourth of July, can push well above that.

For the chain hotels in Toms River, peak summer weekends often run $180–$280 per night. Those numbers move constantly based on demand, so whatever you’re seeing right now could look different next week.

The thing is — when you’re paying $200+ per night for a hotel room, a vacation rental starts to look a lot more attractive for families. A week in a Toms River hotel for a family of four easily runs $1,400–$2,000+, and you’re still eating every meal out and splitting one bathroom. When you can rent an entire townhouse in Seaside Heights for the week — full kitchen, multiple bedrooms, beach badges included — the math sometimes tips the other way.

Should You Book a Hotel or a Vacation Rental?

Honest answer: it depends on your group.

Hotels make sense if:

• You’re a couple or a small group (2–3 people) who just needs a room
• You’re only there for 2–3 nights and don’t need a kitchen
• You want the flexibility of booking late and canceling if plans change
• Brand consistency and points programs matter to you

A vacation rental makes more sense if:

• You’re coming for a week (Saturday to Saturday is the standard in Seaside Heights)
• You have kids who need to nap, or a family that wants space to spread out
• You want to cook some meals — which saves real money at Shore prices
• You want beach badges included so you’re not paying $13/day per person at the gate
• You want to come and go from the beach without navigating a hotel lobby

For the full week crowd, vacation rentals are almost always the better value at the Shore. Most rentals in Seaside Heights are Saturday to Saturday, so if that works with your schedule, it’s worth pricing both options side by side before you decide.

Booking Tips for Hotels By Seaside Heights

A few things worth knowing before you hit “reserve”:

Book early. July Fourth week and Labor Day weekend book out months in advance — for both hotels and rentals. If you have dates in mind, don’t wait to see if prices drop. At the Jersey Shore in summer, they usually don’t.

Check the cancellation policy. Summer Shore hotels often have stricter cancellation windows than hotels in other markets. Read the fine print before you put a card down.

Ask about parking. Seaside Heights has limited parking and it’s not free in summer. If you’re staying at a motel in town, find out if parking is included. If you’re commuting from Toms River, factor in the paid parking lots or learn the free parking situation (there is some, but it fills early).

Look at the beach badge situation. If you’re staying at a hotel by Seaside Heights vs a vacation rental, you’ll be buying daily or weekly beach badges separately — $13/day per adult (2026 prices), or $50 for a weekly badge. That adds up for a family. Some vacation rentals include badges; some don’t. Check before you book either way.

Don’t forget shoulder season. If you have flexibility with your dates, the week before and after peak season is worth considering. Late August through early September, the weather is often excellent, water temperatures are at their warmest all year, and both hotel and rental prices drop noticeably.

The Beachfront Hotel Question

People search for “oceanfront hotels in Seaside Heights, NJ” all the time. The truthful answer is that there are no traditional oceanfront hotels in Seaside Heights. There are some motels closer to the beach than others, and vacation rentals with ocean views, but no resort-style beachfront property in the traditional sense.

If oceanfront is non-negotiable for your trip, the Jersey Shore options that come closest are in other towns — Avon-by-the-Sea, Spring Lake, and Cape May have more of what you might picture when you think of a classic beachfront hotel. Those are longer drives from Seaside Heights, though.

For most families, proximity to the beach — not literally on it — is what actually matters. Being a 3-minute walk from the sand is perfectly fine. In fact, being able to come and go freely, rinse off, and not worry about salt and sand tracking through a hotel lobby is sometimes better.

Frequently Asked Questions About Hotels By Seaside Heights

Is there a hotel right on the beach in Seaside Heights? Not in the resort sense. There are motels within a short walk of the beach but no beachfront resort with direct sand access.

Do hotels by Seaside Heights include beach badges? Not likely.

Which Seaside Heights motels have pools? Several of the in-town motels have outdoor pools, including Anchor Motel, Sunrise Motel, Sea Palace, and Hammock Inn & Suites. Pool availability can change season to season, so confirm it’s open when you’ll be there — especially if you’re booking early or late in the summer.

Do hotels by Seaside Heights motels require minimum stays? Some may, especially on weekends. A two- or three-night minimum for Friday and Saturday check-ins is common during peak season.

Are there pet-friendly hotels by Seaside Heights? Your best bet for traveling with a dog is the chain hotels in Toms River, where Motel 6 (which brands itself as near Seaside Heights) explicitly welcomes pets.

What’s the best hotel option for a large group or family reunion? For groups who need multiple connecting rooms or a common space, the chain hotels in Toms River are more likely to accommodate you than the smaller Seaside Heights motels. The Clarion Hotel & Conference Center in Toms River has event space and can handle larger groups.

Is it worth staying in a hotel by Seaside Heights vs in Seaside Heights to save money? Sometimes, but do the full math first. A cheaper nightly rate in Toms River gets offset by daily parking fees in Seaside ($20–$30/day), gas, and the time cost of the Route 37 commute in summer traffic. If you’re staying for a full week, run the numbers both ways before assuming Toms River is the budget option.

Bottom Line

Your options for hotels by Seaside Heights, NJ are a mix of in-town motels (great location, variable quality), chain hotels in nearby Toms River and Brick (reliable, a bit of a drive), and vacation rentals that can be a better deal for a full week. There’s no one right answer — it really comes down to your group, your budget, and how long you’re staying.

For the week-long family trip, it’s worth comparing hotel pricing against the rental market before you decide. The numbers sometimes surprise people. Either way, book early — Seaside Heights summers fill up, and the best options don’t stay available long.