Madison Resorts Grand Opening Video Tour

It’s official, Madison Resorts is open! The ribbon-cutting ceremony, held at 7201 Ocean Ave, marked the grand opening of this stunning new resort, the largest in Cape May County.

This impressive $52 million project, which began in August 2022 with the purchase of the Oceanview, took two years to complete.

In December of the same year, Madison Resorts expanded its vision by acquiring the adjacent Royal Hawaiian motel, which required minimal renovations compared to the Oceanview. (That part will be opening in a few weeks.)

If you follow this website enough, you know our coverage of the Oceanview Motel started back in 2017.

Over those years, we saw many things happen to this property, all the way down to the pandemic when part of the building was condemned and at risk of demolition.

The roof of the lobby was leaking, and the sundeck portion was in horrible shape.

At one point, it was proposed to build a massive condominium in its place. It was an ugly building that not only stripped away all the Doo-Wop features but also saw the demolition of the historic lobby.

The building’s design borrowed heavily from the futuristic airport terminal designs of Eero Saarinen and was a prime piece of budget-friendly space-age architecture, especially its soaring lobby.

The “blast-off” roof, made up of a gigantic gable whose two sides don’t meet, is visible from blocks away and exemplifies what architects Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown call a “duck” – a building whose purpose shapes its design.

Lou Morey designed the lobby to catch the eyes of potential customers and to deliver a luxurious, but still affordable, vacation experience.

As such, it is a classic piece of 1960s Wildwood and is a rare survivor on an island once filled with similar motels (the Satellite, the Fantasy, etc.) that have since met the wrecking ball.

The Wildwood Video Archive teamed up with great people to create a movement to help save the lobby. We created multiple videos, gave interviews with reporters, and had guests download letters and write to city hall.

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All this hard work caught the attention of Dan Alicea, who purchased the property back in 2022 for $10 million. Alicea is passionate about the Doo-Wop/Mid-century modern style we have in the Wildwoods and vowed to preserve the distinctive architectural features of the Oceanview.

Let’s say that Alicea not only stood by his words but also took it to another level.

After engineering tests showed that the lobby couldn’t be saved, Alicea rebuilt it with minor changes.

The Madison Resorts team took two years to upgrade every inch of the property. They understood that visitors wanted to stay in a Doo-Wop motel but wanted all the modern amenities.

Inside each room, you will find retro appliances such as refrigerators, clocks, and microwaves. All of their furniture pieces and fixtures are mid-century modern.

To give themselves more of a challenge, they decided to purchase the Royal Hawaiian Motel just a block over this past January. Together, both the Oceanview and the Royal Hawaiian are now known as Madison Resorts.

Following their purchase, they started on $7 million worth of renovations of the property. These upgrades included renovating the rooms, restoring the pool, and painting the exterior the same color aesthetics Madison Resorts is known for.

A few months back, the WVA was able to get a sneak preview of the rooms, which you can see by clicking here.

With its grand opening, Madison Resorts not only preserves the beloved Doo-Wop style but also elevates it, offering a blend of retro charm and modern luxury.

The WVA was in attendance at the grand opening and wanted to share what the resort looked like.

On a personal note, it was quite emotional to be physically standing in the middle of the property and see it buzzing with people. We spent hundreds of hours of hard work to save the building and to see it full and happy was incredibly rewarding.

The sight of families enjoying the restored amenities, the laughter by the pool, and the overall vibrant atmosphere reaffirmed that every effort was worthwhile. It was a moment of profound satisfaction, knowing that we had not only preserved a piece of history but also revitalized a cherished landmark for future generations to enjoy.

Thank you to Dan and his team for keeping Doo-Wop alive and well! This is the start of a new wave of Doo-Wop on the island.

To book a room at Madison Resorts, click here.

Below is our grand opening tour video.

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