Albatross Hotel neighborhood on the south side of Ocean Pathway. Ocean Grove, NJ. Paul Goldfinger. photo. 8/26/25. Blogfinger.net. Click once to enlarge
Paul Goldfinger photo on Ocean Pathway. 8/26/25. Blogfinger.net
The Great Auditorium is about one block west of the Albatross.
Woody Allen used this religious icon as a hotel (“Stardust Memories”) 8/26/25. Paul Goldfinger photo.
Blogfinger has been reporting on the Albatross Hotel since 2017. Here is a link.
Blogfinger image in 2017. See link below. Paul Goldfinger photo.
Albatross Hotel . 2017 Blogfinger post. Part I
Paul Goldfinger photo, 9/7/2024. Ocean Pathway, Ocean Grove, NJ, USA. Blogfinger.net
From our 9/08/2024 post: (our most recent until now in 2025)
According to the McHugh Architecture firm:
“While continuing the hotel’s historic legacy of grandeur and elegance, the hotel will be infused with modern functionality.
“Hotel guests will be able to enjoy a vibrant lobby lounge and cafe. Each of the guest rooms will be increased in size. Other modifications will include a full elevator, all new HVAC system, modern fire suppression, and other handicap accessibility elements.
“Follow us on Instagram to witness the hotel’s remarkable progress as it undergoes its transformation designed to enhance each visitor’s stay!”
This rendition has been approved by the HPC. It looks much better than before, but what about more details? 34 Ocean Pathway is the OG address. Architect image.
Let’s begin by discussing the Albatross once again. And let’s start by asking the architects, “Who says that the Albatross has a ‘historic legacy of grandeur and elegance?'”
We might as well acquire an accurate history of the Albatross, since Ocean Grove is a historic town. I reviewed two OG history books and can find nothing about the Albatross other than its address and its proprietor.
And where is it written that this town aspires to “grandeur and elegance?” After all, this isn’t Newport, Rhode Island.
Here is a link. (below) to a Blogfinger part III January 2024 post on this subject, and that article is worth reading.
Also you can find links to part I, part II and Part III of our prior discussions about the Albatross.
However, as we review this topic again, let’s remember that a former hotel can continue as a hotel even if it is totally rebuilt after a fire. So this project seems above board and in line with zoning as it brings the old Albatross back as a new Albatross with a face lift and contemporary “modifications.”
But there are some interesting issues.
Albatross Blogfinger III. Jan 2024.
Albatross Part IV. Coaster posts an article in July 2025. They interviewed a designer on the project who said that “Hotel Albatross renovations blend the old and new in Ocean Grove.” The project took 13 months to complete. The new Albatross opened in July, 2025.
The hotel will offer bicycles for guests and the opportunity to drink wine on their porches. They can offer bottles of wine in their rooms, although one wonders how those wine orders are labeled for billing since the sale of alcohol is illegal in the Grove. There will be a coffee shop and many decor items that bridge the last two centuries.
They hope to have weddings there and a golf cart to pick up guests at the train station. But what will they do about parking issues for guests and visitors?
We heard that the rooms will rent for $250 to $500 per night. There are 27 rooms and an elevator.
A guest room. From Travel and Leisure.
Albatross lobby cafe´
From Travel and Leisure.
Two of the owners live in the Grove. The Travel and Leisure magazine posted a piece about the Albatross on August 18. You can read it on line. They mentioned that, “The challenge here was really to establish a new standard of hotel and service that’s never been available in Ocean Grove before,” Perrier-Strand adds. “We had to be sure that introducing a new accommodation class and price point was going to work in what has historically been a Victorian bed-and-breakfast coastal town.”
Who in Ocean Grove whispered in the owners’ ears that Grovers want “a new standard?” in their historic town. The term “new standard” seems to refer mostly about design and amenities , but what about the Grovarian life styles that homeowners on the Pathway want to continue and how about the rest of our census 3,000 population and visitors to town who expect the “same old.”
Is this going to be another example of the “Cracker Barrel Syndrome?”
What will be next in restoration of old hotels in town, just when it seemed that we would prefer something else, eg single family homes. Check out the plan for the forthcoming Ocean Grove North End Plan which includes a new hotel and more slick condominiums.
This hotel will be promoted as a high end place, and they will be hoping to attract business to and from Asbury Park. Isn’t it interesting that Travel and Leisure magazine just announced that the best small beach town in America is Asbury Park? Is this a coincidence?
Oh, what about parking?
LADY GAGA AND TONY BENNETT: “It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got that Swing.” Album: Cheek to Cheek. But do we in Ocean Grove want “that swing?”
I remember in the late ’90’s that the albatross was a run down seedy boarding house of ill repute then. Drug dealing was commonly found there. Those who wished that it disappeared will be delighted.