Hi everyone, I’m nox, and in this post I’m sharing my stay at Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City last year and the status match I completed.

Background

There are many ways to do hotel status matches. Previously, I matched Hilton Gold and Marriott Platinum directly to Wyndham Diamond, and then matched Wyndham Diamond to Caesars Diamond. But if you want to match MGM hotel group status, you have to do it at an MGM property. One of the biggest advantages of MGM status is that you can match Hyatt Explorist and get better Hyatt benefits.

But after I returned to Philadelphia (PHL) from Las Vegas last year, since all MGM-owned hotel casinos in Las Vegas had already stopped matching Caesars Diamond in mid-August 2019, LD and I decided to take a detour to Borgata in Atlantic City to match MGM Gold. In theory, MGM Gold and Pearl do not differ much in the benefits they offer at their properties: both include buffet line skipping and free parking. During holiday periods, only Platinum and above can skip the line, so the only real motivation was to match Hyatt Explorist.

Check-in

It was Friday, and Atlantic City hotel rates had multiplied several times over; Borgata was already sold out. The casino was packed, and the MGM desk had a long line. Since it wasn’t a holiday, the decorations weren’t anything special.

After the guy at the MGM desk took my driver’s license and Caesars card and worked his way through the computer like a pro, my MGM Gold match was done. Then I went online on my phone and matched Hyatt Explorist, which was almost an instant match. After that, we used the 25 dining credit to eat at Borgata’s buffet. Dinner was a little over 30 per person, but with Gold status it was 12.5 each, so the two of us used exactly 25. As for quality, it definitely can’t compete with the big names in Vegas, and the dining area was also fairly dark, basically a downgraded version of the Bellagio. But to be honest, it was still better than the buffet at MGM Grand in Vegas. After eating and drinking our fill, we used the 100 slot credit to recoup some of it.

About Ocean Resort Casino - The Unbound Collection by Hyatt

This hotel sits on one corner of Atlantic City. Thanks to the flat tower design, almost every room is either an ocean-view or partial-ocean-view room. The hotel is under 50 floors, and the views from the upper floors are excellent.

The hotel is Category 3 and costs 12,000 points. On Friday, the cash rate was around 400 before the resort fee, so it was a great value. In addition, Hyatt award stays do not have a resort fee, which is much more generous than Venetian and Palazzo under IHG.

Room Type

I’m not sure if it was because I had just been upgraded to Explorist, but the hotel gave us a corner suite on one of the higher floors (Studio Suite). Since we checked in at night, it was hard to appreciate the corner-room effect.

The corner room had a fantastic view of the entire coastline, and because there were no obstructions, it was perfect for watching the sunrise. Unfortunately, there was a lot of moisture over the coast that morning, so the sky was basically covered with thick clouds, which naturally ruled out the early-morning sunrise plan. When I woke up and remotely opened the curtains, this was the view:

We had originally set an alarm with LD to watch the sunrise, but since it was cloudy that morning, we decided to keep sleeping. If the curtains had been manual, I think all that back-and-forth would have fully woken me up. Honestly, if I had more time, I’d love to stay here for a few days and relax. The floor was high enough that privacy wasn’t really a concern.

Surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows, the room offered great views of the Atlantic Ocean and the scenery along the coastline.

The room layout was very open, and the overall style was fairly simple, not nearly as luxurious as Caesars or Venetian. One thing worth mentioning is that the room had our favorite remote-controlled curtains, so in the morning we could just lie in bed and open them to enjoy the sea and sky blending into one.

The bathroom had two sinks and only a shower, but the good part was that the shower had a layered massage showerhead, and with plenty of water pressure, it was very comfortable to use.

Afterword

This hotel’s weekday cash rates fluctuate quite a bit. Sometimes they’re over 200, and sometimes they may be under 100, but weekend prices are always painfully high, because Atlantic City’s location is very convenient for people living in big cities (NYC, Philadelphia, & DC). I think for anyone who wants to come to Atlantic City to gamble a bit or walk on the beach, staying here on points as a Category 3 and not paying a resort fee is a pretty good deal.

This casino hotel has its own player rewards program. New players become Blue Card members after registering, and then they can park for free. With Caesars Diamond, you can match their second-highest tier, Platinum. Personally, I think that compared with Gold and Blue, the biggest benefit is not just room upgrades but also access to the VIP Lounge. One thing to note: Platinum cardholders need to spend 10 comp dollars to enter, while Black cardholders can go in directly. I’ve been to Caesars lounges in Las Vegas, and they usually just have snacks and drinks (in my opinion, better than the food in the three major airline lounges). Also, time was tight, so I didn’t go back to check out the lounge. Finally, matching to Platinum did not come with free slot play. Like Gold and Blue for new members, it was the same promotion: if you lost $50-$500 on slots only, they would refund the same amount in credit a few weeks later. It was basically just a way to bring people back again.