A wonder-filled weekend at Morey’s Piers

Last weekend was spent playing on amusement rides, swimming, creating art and eating boardwalk junk food.What a glorious two-and-a-half days. If you were following along on Instagram, you’ll know that Morey’s Piers are located in Wildwood, New Jersey. About an hour and a half south from home, Wildwood is known for it’s 1.8 mile boardwalk and piers filled with just about any beach-side activity you could ask for.

Starlux Hotel
We stayed at the Starlux for the weekend, which is a block away from the big Wildwoods sign along the boardwalk. When we checked-in, the person at the desk informed us that there is a live webcam of the sign – pretty neat!

This is a small boutique hotel comprised of 45 rooms, all in the 1950’s Doo Wop era and 1960’s rock-n-roll themes. There is a beautiful heated pool and a very cool retro lounge adjacent to both the pool and the main building. A continental breakfast is offered each morning and includes bagels, muffins, pastries, orange juice, apple juice, tea and coffee.

The glass shelf above the sink was chipped and cracked, and there were a few other things about the room that needed a little love and updating, but it was charming nonetheless. The room was clean, and that matters most to me when I’m traveling with my kids. I loved the Philosphy products provided in the bathroom, a nice touch that definitely glammed up the experience.

It was a bit of a walk – about ten minutes from our hotel to the first pier on the boardwalk. To the third pier you should give yourself at least 25 minutes. There is a tramcar that provides transportation, but at $3 a person each way, we chose to walk. Walking was great exercise, and I told myself I was working off all of that boardwalk food, but at the end of each day my feet were hurting.

This hotel transports you back in time – we loved the faux palm trees and the heated pool!

Morey’s Piers
The absolute best part of Wildwood are Morey’s Piers. The boardwalk itself is a little rough around the edges, but once you step foot on the piers, it’s like entering a whole new world. There are three different piers that each offer something unique.

Adventure Pier was the pier nearest the hotel. You’ll find more adult-themed games and daredevil rides at Adventure Pier. It was here that Emma took her first art class at [artBOX], a new building which serves as class space and art gallery. She and the other younger children decoupaged their own a paper lanterns ($30 fee) while the older kids painted their own skateboards ($75 fee). She had a blast, and now she has a beautiful momento from our trip hanging in her bedroom.

Mariner’s Landing is the middle pier, and we felt offered the most to young families like ours. There were a ton of kid-friendly rides, more than any other pier and a great waterpark at the tip of the pier, close to the ocean called Raging Waters. The kids loved floating and sliding near the Ship, where we spent most of our time, and we enjoyed floating down adventure river.

Surfside Pier has a great mix of rides for both older and younger kids and a beautiful water park called Ocean Oasis that we unfortunately didn’t have time to enjoy. We’ve saved it for our next trip! This pier is closest of all three to the ocean and features two great restaurants, Joe’s Fish Co. and Stubborn Brothers Beach Bar & Grille.

Dining
We can’t visit the Jersey Shore without dining on some fresh seafood. On our first night, we enjoyed a great dinner at Joe’s Fish Co. This was our favorite meal, and we enjoyed seafood pasta, scallops, calamari and stuffed flounder. They also offer kids meals and pizza. There are two levels of open-air dining here but it’s covered which was great because we got caught in the storm that night.

On Saturday night, Stubborn Brothers Beach Bar & Grill hosted the bloggers in town for the event along with our families. We had the opportunity to sample the light fare, drinks and appetizers offered at this salad-and-sandwich joint. We ate crab cakes, calamari, chicken tenders, pulled pork, bruschetta and salad. It was great to meet the owner, mingle with the other bloggers and listen to the fantastic live music. We returned for an early dinner on Sunday night. It is so relaxing here, and in my opinion offers the best views in all of Wildwood.

Bottom line: Go to Stubborn Brothers for the atmosphere and Joe’s for the food.

Snacks
I can’t talk about Morey’s Piers without mentioning the ah-mazing boardwalk food. We tried a little bit of everything thanks to the generosity of the management. We enjoyed Curley’s fries, La Bakerie mini donuts and funnel cake, Johnsons popcorn and more.

We had an absolutely perfect weekend filled with fun and just the right amount of activities. A huge thank you to Morey’s Piers, Starlux Hotel and all of the other vendors that generously hosted us for the weekend. We will be back soon!

Disclosure: Our family received complimentary lodging, entertaiment and food from Morey’s Piers. As always our opinions are our own.