Jersey, Boy: Midcentury Doo-Wop Motel Up For Grabs

So, I’ve tortured you with a few entries that put the “wut” in Wednesday WTF, and as a reward, I’m going to show you a New Jersey property so unique and cool that I might even go fifteenthsies on it with a few of you.

Meet the Caribbean Motel in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey. According to the motel’s website, the adorable example of Doo-Wop architecture opened its doors in 1957, and has been restored and renovated recently. It’s also listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Historic Hotels of America.

The Wildwood area (just in case you’ve never hit the coast that far northeast) is along the Jersey Shore, and is a popular tourist destination from way back. And it’s got some treasured moments of rock and roll history, too – Bill Haley & His Comets played their hit (often called the first rock and roll record, in fact) Rock Around the Clock at the HofBrau Hotel in Wildwood, for the first time on Memorial Day weekend 1954. Chubby Checker introduced The Twist at the Rainbow Club. American Bandstand occasionally broadcast from the Starlight Ballroom.

The hotel has 30 rooms varying in size from the “C-Luxe” suites with three bedrooms each to rooms that boast a small kitchenette with two double beds.

“Professionally designed by New York interior designer Darleen Lev, rooms include a mix of authentic and reproduced Midcentury furnishings and features from Heywood-Wakefield furniture and George Nelson marshmallow chairs to original solid wood paneling,” the listing reads.

Some of the rooms boast ocean views, and amenities include a heated pool, live music, restaurants, and shuffleboard, and the hotel is adjacent to the beach and two blocks from the boardwalk.

In other words, when the pandemic is tamped down enough to allow for safe recreational travel, this is going to be a great family destination.

It’s priced at just shy of $2.8 million, so maybe we could all rummage through the couch cushions?

Want to see the rest of the listing? Click here.