Showboat Hotel Atlantic City in Atlantic City, NJ

The hotel is very old and run down. The room was in disrepair for example the toilet seat was chipping paint. The elevators are overly crowded during checkout and check in time. We waited 1/2 hour and still was not able to get on one. Took the stairs down from 21st floor with our luggage. I went with family, they all experienced the same. Only upside was the arcade but many games were out of order. Prizes were good though. I would not stay there again and just visit the arcade only in the future.

It’s relatively clean, right on the boardwalk and has a family waterpark, go kart track, and arcade instead of a casino. I found it a little pricey for what we did get - but you're paying for location - and this was a holiday weekend, maybe deals are available at other times... The entire property isn't fabulously maintained- but it’s not bad at all in the rooms in the Bourbon Tower. The room was clean when we checked in - but the walls are scuffed, the tub is older and needs to be re-caulked - one light fixture was missing a bulb. The hallway carpets are stained, and there's a beachy wet aura - but it didn't feel dirty - just ... meh. There ARE ice machines on each floor - but most don't work. We had to go up 2 floors to find a working one that was ironically labeled as NOT working... We also had a VERY cold in room fridge (a can of soda popped when it froze!) A fresh coat of paint and a weekly inspection from some dedicated maintenance professionals would improve a lot of the issues. While the fridge was cold - the room was decidedly NOT during the day. At night we got it down to 68ish - but during the day the unit ran full time to keep it in the low to mid 70s - the the outdoor temps were low to mid 70s - so... at the height of summer? I would bring a fan. There is no housekeeping during the stay - but they are definitely available in the hallways for towel refresh and other requests. It would have been nice after day 2 to have someone come in and clean up the beach sand on the floor - but we didn't ask so I don't know if a room refresh was available. I brought a tub of clorox wipes and ran a few around the bathroom - they all came back clean - would likely have been fine if I hadn't. The dresser drawers needed to be wiped out from some crumbs. Ask to stay in the Bourbon tower which was recently renovated. But even then it could use a bit of a deep clean and a refresh. The common areas are like an 80s casino papered over with a family theme. Carpets are threadbare- many are taped down at the edges. Signs and labels in the halls, walls, and in the elevator are often old enough that they mention directions to the Casino or Pool or Poker Room - NONE of which exist. This is an older casino building that's transitioning into a family style hotel - but it's like they did 75% and either ran out of money or time. That said - there's LOADS of stuff for families and kids - and the kids don't care if it's threadbare and half-baked - the kids had a good time. There are tons of claw games and vending machines in the lobby. A fun selection of pinball and plenty of standard arcade games. They gave us a handful of free arcade cards for each family at checkin, and I think we gave the kids an additional $20 for the long weekend and that went plenty far enough - lots of the pinball games allow free play every so often so they hung around that alley and waited for one of them to light up after their credits were done. They all came back with prizes from the arcade and had a lot of fun with it. The whole hotel gives off sort of a run down carnival atmosphere- but it's certainly family friendly. The indoor waterpark is why we booked here and it does NOT disappoint! The entire facility is well maintained and MUCH cleaner than I expected in comparison to the hotel common areas. It has the usual assortment of lazy river, slides, kiddie areas, a surf rider - etc. But the kicker is a 21 only adult pool with a swim up bar. We parked ourselves there with a view to the entrance and the kids came and waved if they needed anything. Perfect! All of the Staff is friendly and helpful. But the waterpark is well staffed - plenty of safety lifeguards and attendants. - BUT BRING YOUR OWN TOWELS! They do not provide any at the park. Be aware that there is no other pool option - but the beach is right outside the back door. That led to our only real complaint - after we arrived, we were told the regular hotel pool was closed for renovations - but during the Summer?! And over holiday weekends? AND they still charge for the waterpark without any other pool access? I brought that specific complaint to a manager, and she couldn't have been more pleasant and helpful. She explained that they closed the pool when they opened the waterpark - but unfortunately that isn't made clear when you book. We had some issues with our advance reservation being cancelled and rebooked (it was originally booked with multi-day waterpark tickets - but re-booked with only a single day.) The manager was able to rebook our waterpark tickets and gave us some comps for the arcade which went over well with the kids. Other items of note -- Wi-fi is spotty and slow - there are no real restaurants to speak of, but again you're right in between Hard Rock and Ocean with the full boardwalk available as well. Food in the waterpark was standard grill/fried stuff and Pricey - but you have to plan for that. Bartenders were friendly and poured heavily if you tipped well. Bottom line - go in expecting a mid-level family arcade experience and you won't be disappointed. If you have an issue - have a quiet chat with a manager - be polite, explain your expectations and be willing to accept what they have to offer. We had a lovely family weekend and a few maintenance issues and lack of fancy schmancy amenities didn't detract at all from our vacation.

I booked the king suite with the balcony. It needs some upgrades, but over all it accommodated my family of 4 with ease. Besides the ice machine not working on several floors, the only downside to staying at the Showboat was the elevator service. During check out, the elevators weren’t working properly & it took over 45 minutes for the wait. But other than that, our stay was pleasant.

The showboat is a kids hotel With a water park and arcade, there is no casino inside the showboat. The hotel's customer service is horrible 😫 rooms could have been cleaned better, our remote didn't work so I tired calling housekeeping no answer then the front desk no answer several times smh🤦🏽I gave up, finally the next day the front desk answered and someone was supposed to come change the batteries and bring up some towels they never came, needless to say we had to damn near beg the housekeeping lady on our floor for towels and there's no blow dryer in the rooms yea with a water park 😠 And we never got those batteries for the remote. My grandson loved The water park and arcade but I will not be staying at the showboat Ever again.