OCEAN CITY — Atop the stairs from the lower lobby, a beachfront resort opens up to the east as sunlight and a cool sea breeze flow into the Port-O-Call Hotel through sliding glass doors.
Outside, parents gather on the deck in loungers, looking out over the beach as their children play in the swimming pool, while others bury their toes in the sand from complimentary beach chairs under one of the hotel’s free pink umbrellas.
The main lobby of the iconic shell pink high-rise, with a service desk to the right, dining room to the left and a couple of retail shops on the ocean side, is bustling with activity as new arrivals check in for their relaxing stay at one of the top hotels in America’s Greatest Family Resort.
“Everywhere you go you feel like you’re at a resort,” general manager Glenn Losch said.
Located at 1510 Boardwalk, the Port-O-Call has been offering beachfront accommodations for decades, and in the spring completed a renovation that transformed the property’s 98 rooms. The hotel also has a penthouse and guest house.
The current owners purchased the property in 1986 and have spent decades rehabilitating, renovating and updating one of the tallest and most visible buildings on the island.
“They put a ton of money into this property every single year. I submit what I want to do, the renovation, and I have never been turned down yet,” Losch said, noting it cost about $1 million to renovate the city rearview rooms and oceanfront rooms and another $728,000 for the 28 coastline rooms this past winter. “Every year we’re doing something; that’s why we’re are all so proud to work here.”
Port-O-Call ownership engaged Erica Harmelin’s Philadelphia-based hospitality design firm APOP Design to create the elevated coastal elegance aesthetic.
The new room interiors feature gentle tone-on-tone color palettes reminiscent of the romantic hues of sunset over the vast Atlantic Ocean. Subtle textures, shimmering finishes, custom carpets and an elevated art collection lift the hotel’s beachfront ambiance and create an atmosphere as stylish as it is timeless.
“To me, it’s worth the money because when you walk in these rooms … this is why we are so proud of it,” Losch said. “If they’ve never stayed here before, it just blows them away.”
The completion of the guest room renovations marks the continual updates to the hotel. In recent years, the Port-O-Call has renovated its oceanfront restaurant, Adelene, as well as the lobby and corridors. The corner and penthouse suites were renovated in 2022.
“Basically from top to bottom, everything is different than when I started here,” Losch said. “Completely different.”
Losch said the entire pool deck was resurfaced in 2023 and that this year, for the first time since 2019, the cabana grill is open, serving hamburgers, hot dogs, milkshakes, wraps and other items.
Design inspiration
For the re-design of the coastline guest rooms, the APOP team approached the original concept in two ways. One was to honor and connect to the first phase of hotel guest rooms previously renovated in 2021. The team wanted there to be a relationship in look and feel to ensure the hotel felt cohesive in design and designed in the same time period.
It also wanted to make a different statement, telling a unique story for these larger rooms, all of which have a view of the coastline. The team drew inspiration from the reflections on the water as the sun went down.
The custom carpet colors and pattern it created played a large part in forming the overall feel of the rooms. Fabrics, finishes and art were carefully selected to express the feelings and images of those water reflections. The rooms are very light and fresh with layers of tone-on-tone colors and varying shades of blue accents, and possess a feeling of comfortable luxury accessible to all ages and families with children.
The Ocean City boardwalk stretches 2.5 miles and includes amusements and rides, water parks, themed miniature golf, arcades and shore specialty treats. The Music Pier hosts a variety of entertainment including Broadway musicals, children’s musicals and music acts from classical to big band, rock and roll and reggae. The island offers 8 miles of pristine white-sand beaches. Complimentary beach tags, beach umbrellas and beach chairs are provided to hotel guests during their stay in season.
In addition to towel service, the heated outdoor pool features chaise lounges and umbrellas. Pool attendants are on duty.
The Cabana offers poolside food and drink from Adelene daily in the summer.
Massage therapies by Blue Garden Wellness are offered to hotel guests by appointment in a private room on the sixth floor
A private fitness center includes cardio stations, treadmills, weight machines and free weights.
“Just enough for when you’re on vacation,” Losch said.
Experienced staff maintains quality
Losch oversees staff members in maintenance, housekeeping, front desk, sales, cooking, dining, pool and grill.
“Running a hotel, there’re a lot of moving parts,” Losch said.
The hotel has about 75 employees in the summer, dropping to about 30 in the winter. In the offseason, the hotel hosted multiple religious and corporate retreats through the fall, while it closes in January and February to make upgrades for the following summer.
Losch said he is about to celebrate his 20th anniversary with the company, noting its leadership is the reason why he has stayed and keeps other returning as well.
“It’s the support from the top; it means everything,” Losch said. He said they hire J-1 visa students as well as locals, but “without the J-1 students we would be in big trouble.”
“These kids, all they want to do is work, work, work. Without those kids, we’re done,” he said.
A bonus the hotel offers is that after check-out, guests can use the locker rooms and showers to clean up before heading home. One caveat is that they must move their car from the lot to make room for new arrivals.
“We are a family-friendly facility with customer service as our number one priority over everything,” Losch said. “Offering top-notch service has been key to our success.”
– STORY by CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
– PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
