Check In, Check Out Hotel Review Bungalow Hotel, Long Branch, N.J. NYTimes.com

THE BASICS

Skip to next paragraph New Jersey Travel GuideGo to the New Jersey Travel Guide » Enlarge This Image Laura Pedrick for The New York Times

The exterior of the Bungalow Hotel.

Enlarge This Image Laura Pedrick for The New York Times

A room at the Bungalow Hotel.

Long Branch was a Jersey Shore hot spot back in 1869, when President Ulysses S. Grant arrived for a summer vacation. He was followed by Presidents Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Harrison, McKinley and Wilson, which explains the name of Long Branch’s Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park. But recent decades haven’t been as kind; in 1987, fire destroyed the Long Branch Pier and its popular amusement park. Commercial areas declined. But now the town is finally rebounding, thanks in part to a new-urbanist community called Pier Village, with hundreds of condos grouped around restaurants and high-end shops. Since May, it has also had a stylish boutique hotel, the Bungalow, which would be right at home in Santa Monica or South Beach. Who knew the Jersey Shore could be this chic?

THE LOCATION

Long Branch is about 55 highway miles south of New York City. The biggest problem is that the hotel isn’t on the oceanfront promenade, but inland, next to a parking structure. As a result, only three of the 24 rooms have ocean views.

THE ROOM

The interior designers Robert and Cortney Novogratz, subjects of a Bravo reality show that will have its debut this fall, did a terrific job. The mostly white rooms are spacious and cheerful, with a combination of contemporary furnishings and accessories meant to recall seaside hotels past. There was plenty of space next to the king-size bed for an inflatable queen-size, provided by the hotel for the kids. Both beds came with high-thread-count sheets, comfortable pillows and luxurious Hudson Bay blankets. A kitchenette (sink, mini-refrigerator and a lot of cabinets) occupies one corner of the room. Another corner boasts a gas fireplace — fun to look at, for about five minutes. Above the fireplace is a flat-screen TV with a built-in DVD player. Games like Boggle are provided.

THE BATHROOM

The toilet (with a water-saving dual-flush option) is in one well-lighted cubicle; the shower in another. Two sinks are mounted on a tiled counter with a view of the main room. The entire bathroom area is sleek and sparkling.

AMENITIES

The lobby is a handsome hangout with a vintage foosball table and a bar area that becomes crowded on weekends. (The espresso martini, , is popular among the 20-somethings who stop there on their way to Avenue Nuit, a nightclub in Pier Village.) There’s no fitness center, but a Gold’s Gym a block away offers day passes for . For a day, hotel guests can hang out at Le Club, a private beach with a restaurant and rooftop pool that’s part of the same complex as Avenue Nuit. Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, and coffee and tea in the lobby, are included.

ROOM SERVICE

None. Several nearby restaurants deliver, though the hotel general manager, Michael Fanning, said that on busy weekends they hadn’t been as cooperative as he would have hoped. He said he expected a bakery cafe on the ground floor of the same complex to open in about a month.

BOTTOM LINE

With a starting price of 9 (9 on weekends), the lack of water views came as a surprise. But the rooms are so spacious and well-designed that we didn’t feel cooped up, even on a very rainy day, which is the ultimate test of a resort hotel.

Bungalow Hotel, 50 Laird Street; (732) 229-3700; www.bungalowhotel.net.