On August 31, 2002-September 1, 2002, my girlfriend and I, Amy, stayed on the Inn on Ocean. Amy and her family have been coming to Cape May for over 10 years, and I have been to Cape May twice. We always come to Cape May on Labor Day weekend to celebrate the end of the summer.

I have to express to you how disappointed I was with the way we were treated during our visit to the Inn on Ocean. The purpose of going to a "bed and breakfast", instead of a typical "hotel", is because of the personal treatment guests normally receive at bed and breakfasts. We want to feel like we are guests at a person's home, and not simply visitors to another hotel. Last labor day Amy and I stayed at another B&B, which was 1/2 the size of the Inn on Ocean, and simply was not as nice as the Inn on Ocean. The room we stayed at last year was very small, and the house was not as well kept as the Inn on Ocean. Despite this, however, both Amy and I had a wonderful time last year because of the small things that the innkeepers did. They greated us warmly when we arrived, and seemed to take a genuine interest in speaking to us, and making us feel "at home" in their B&B. We all had afternoon tea together, and the weekend was great.

Our experience at the Inn on the Ocean was the complete opposite of what we experienced last year. First, when we arrived, we told the innkeeper's husband that we were staying until Monday, September 2, 2002. He had no idea who we were, no idea how long we were staying, and did not check his records before giving us the room key. He seemed to have better things to do than to talk to us. Unfortunately, the innkeeper's wife, Victoria, had messed up our reservation, and thought that we were only staying two nights, instead of three. If the innkeeper's husband had simply paid a little attention to us when we checked in, this problem could have been avoided.

Victoria specifically told me that on labor day weekend she only accepted reservations for three nights. This was clear and unambiguous. I then specifically told her that we would stay for the three nights of the 31st, 1st, and the 2nd. She made the mistake in our reservations, and sent us an incorrect confirmation that unfortunately I did not review carefully.

What was the most upsetting was how aloof Victoria was about trying to make the situation better on Sunday afternoon. There was no warmth, no personal treatment--simply a take-it-or-leave-it offer to move into another room, after you she threw all our belongings out into the hall while we were out having lunch. Victoria could have put our things in the other room as a show of good faith. She could have offered us a discount for staying the extra night. But she acted like you did not care one way or the other, and actually seemed to be rushing our decision. This is not the way that a guest expects to be treated at a B&B, or any other establishment for that matter.

Amy and I fully intend to continue visiting Cape May every year, but we would never consider staying at the Inn on Ocean again because of the way we were treated by the innkeepers. We have lots of friends and family who also enjoy visiting Cape May, and unfortunately, we also cannot recommend the Inn on Ocean to any of them either.