In the middle of a three night stay right now. My family had never been to Ocean City before and wanted to check it out.

• We booked a base room for $75/nt and were upgraded to direct oceanfront view. The room has a large balcony and we can hear the waves crashing in our room with the sliding door open. We received the same amenity Mary2e describes above, a kit of different lotions and sprays. I got a text a few minutes after getting up to the room asking how everything was, and all the staff seem friendly. I’m not sure what the upcharge is for oceanfront rooms in the summer, but I think it may be worth the cost. Some of the partial-view rooms are fairly set back and I think mostly looking at neighboring buildings.
• At check-in, guests are required to sign a form stating that they must follow social distancing/mask protocols in public areas of the hotel and if they don’t, they can be kicked out. Never seen that before and not sure if it’s enforced, however all the guests at the hotel are masked up. The hotel is very quiet anyway.
• Breakfast is much more extensive than the bag of garbage some limited service hotels have been handing out during COVID. They have instant oatmeal to microwave, yogurt, cottage cheese, bread and bagels (individually wrapped) with peanut butter, hard boiled eggs, and many cereals in addition to granola bars and coffee.
• Having never been to OC before, we were unprepared for how dead quiet it is in the off season. I’d say at least 85% of the shops and restaurants are shut. Last night we walked quite a ways and could only find one place open, Coastal Salt, which is right next door (no draft beer tho). Luckily, it was actually really good and they had plenty of outdoor seating.
• Normally we visit Virginia Beach so to compare the two (vs Hyatt House VAB):
  • The beach itself seems similar, very large
  • VAB is much more built up with taller hotels. Also, I don’t recall VAB being so dead quiet in the off season.
  • I never really felt the HH VAB was that clean, even right after it opened. On the other hand, this hotel seems sparkling clean and my wife didn’t even bother with her normal wipe down routine. Not quite a fair comparison since it’s off season.
  • I like the wooden boardwalk here (vs concrete at VAB) but otherwise seems like the same general idea

that’s about it, a positive experience so far and I would definitely return.