Let me start by saying that the two acts I saw at the Lizzie Rose Music Room were awesome. The…read moreplace itself is small so any seat in the venue is great. All of the volunteers were extremely friendly and it made for a great experience. I really enjoyed our experience at this place, however, during the recent visit: The only reason for giving it only one star was the emcee, who I believe is the owner. He, in my opinion, was completely rude. He spent most of his time before the show not talking about the acts but how the place was funded by donations from the audience and how recently people haven't put enough in the passed around donation bucket. My first time at this location I was unaware that a donation was requested for the volunteers so I didn't have any cash on hand. This time I made a point to bring cash because I totally appreciate volunteer work. But this man, in my opinion, belittled the volunteers by requesting at least a $20 donation. Saying that the donations have been sparse during recent events and we need to make up for it. Why do I need to make up for it? Hey, maybe mention it on your website so that people understand the situation, instead of making people feel guilty when they get to the venue. He also, in my opinion again, made fun of people who have never been to the venue before saying why haven't you been since we've been here for so many years. He should appreciate that people are coming to his venue. It definitely felt like people he didn't know weren't worth coming to the venue. Again just my opinion. But if it was my first time at the venue and someone told me they should give them $20 for volunteers and why haven't you been here before, I'd be insulted. He also had an attitude when my wife, who has trouble with stairs, was walking to the front of the venue. He said we should have let them know ahead of time and they would have told us about the handicap entrance. It's not labeled anywhere and how was I supposed to know ahead of time to contact them? I did look back on their website to check the information and 1) they do indicate that donations help with their non-profit organization, but it's below where you click on information about the shows, so it's not easy to see. Maybe you should move that up and specifically say that you will request donations at the show. 2) The handicap information is at the very bottom of the page and again not necessarily where you'd go to find it. Maybe have a FAQ link at the top of the page?

It is one of the most amazing places to see a show. It is intimate, charming, and delightful. We…read morealways enjoy coming here and they always have amazing bands.

I came for the rainbows beach slides, I stayed for the super cute designs lauding the many things…read morethat make LBI unique including the red beach haven water tower, the 50-year anniversary of the shark attacks that inspired JAWS, and more. Owned and run by a local family, this is the spot for good vibes and good advice on swimming, surfing, skateboarding, and generally getting the most out of this great island.

Amazing ownership! One of the last standing business that offers true customer service…read more Was referred to them ironically by their competition bc of the lack of inventory. When I called the store and spoke with the owner about for a SUP. They had the largest inventory of SUP within hour radius. When I told the owner I was coming from an hour away, he offered to meet me on the mainland and saved me over an hour of travel time. With all that said, Matt(owner) not only had highest quality board I was able to find but the price was better than anywhere else, even Amazon! Wish more small businesses like this still existed

This (free!!!) museum is worth a visit, even if the weather on LBI is perfect!…read more We have (quite literally) spent hours here looking at all of the awesome exhibits, models of ships and books upon books upon books of documents from a myriad of Jersey shore-related shipwrecks, storms and other events. There is also a room devoted to the history of the Coast Guard, an exhibit on lighthouses, and a really cute gift shop! By the way, if you make your way to the gift shop, I cannot emphasize enough that you should take some of the FREE DVDs that they have lined up for the taking. We grabbed one on Hurricane Sandy, Tucker's Island, and the Morro Castle disaster, thinking they would be little movies to listen to while doing something else - we were ENTRANCED and couldn't stop watching. The fact that all of this is free is just crazy...PLEASE leave a donation when you go so this museum can be enjoyed for generations to come!

They have a great collection anything and everything marine related. It was cool to see those. And…read moretheir staff is super nice and easy to talk to! It's very organized for a small museum.

Is it insanely busy? Yes Is it worth going to? Absolutely,…read morebut there are a few caveats First of all, chowderfest has been around forever. Yours truly was one of the goofy volunteers working it when they were in high school. Now im the goofy chowder-eater/ beer drinker who gets to enjoy the day instead. Think of Chowderfest like a mini music festival with local bands, overpriced beer, and an absurd amount of chowder from all the restaurants you've known for years (and a few new ones). Each of the restaurants brings 400 gallons minimum, but I suspect some bring much more to make it through the day, which sounds like an absurd amount of soup until you realize just how many seafood-loving beachgoers are here to go to town on the offerings. walking in you're handed three chips to vote with at the end of the day; best white, best red, and most unique. The New England style (aka the best kind) is on the left side, the Manhattan-style is on the right. For me, K2 (Kubel's Too) was the winner this year, but the Chegg ran away with first place. As for the red, The Black whale stole the show in my opinion, though Lefty's (the winner) was pretty solid as well. As for unique, Woo Hoo did an icecream that blew my mind, but alas, they didn't win*. So remember how I told you the place was packed, and that there would be a caveat? Here it is. 15$ more gets you VIP tickets, letting you in an hour before the hoards can, in which time you can leisurely try all the chowder you want while simultaneously knowing deep down you're better than everyone paywalled outside the gates. For real though, this upgrade is absolutely worth it (even for access to the exclusive beer tent alone - the beer isn't any cheaper but you can get it faster). ______________ Either this contest is rigged, or I'm a bad judge....ok I'm a bad judge, but hey I still had fun.

This was my first year coming down to celebrate Chowderfest. Previously, I always was stuck working…read morethe weekend (#hospitallife). Once October hits, a lot of the usual tourists aren't around. The traffic lights flash red and yellow instead of their usual red yellow green. There are way less people taking up the tables at the OC and Mainland. But then you drive toward Chowderfest. The lights are up, the puttputt courses and mini fairground rides are teeming with kids and adults. You simply cannot find parking anywhere in a 5 block radius. We visited both the merch-mart on saturday and chowderfest on sunday. Both days were crowded but really fun. You get a beer mug for $3 to use all weekend. Beer, wine and vodka soda cans are $7 but you ideally purchase tickets and just hand them over instead of waiting on the pay line each time. There are bands playing while folks dance and sing along. Sunday is clearly the star of the show. Vendors set up with hundreds of gallons of chowder for the people to judge. You are handed three token when you walk in, a white, blue and red. Once you've made your rounds, you go to the voting tent and can vote on your favorite New England chowder, manhattan chowder and most unique. We had to hit up the new england section first. There were so many delicious vendors slinging rich, creamy cups of chowder. You make your way through, sampling as you go. Many people have cup holders but I was enjoying the sip and walk so none would get cold before enjoying them. Next we made our way through the unique category. There were clam chowder ice cream, poblano pepper chowder, lobster bisque. All were super delicious. Lastly, we hit up the lighter tomato based chowders. They had such delicious tomato vegetable bases. All of the categories were so difficult to choose from. I had such an incredible time. You don't realize how much variation people can put into specific food items until you try them all in a row. I am so happy that I finally had a chance to experience Chowderfest weekend! And I am SURE the restaurants flew through their hundreds of gallons of chowders.

Amazing experience with all 3 of my kids! We did camps and lessons and all the instructors were…read morefantastic! We also rented beach cruiser bikes for the week. The staff was so helpful and friendly. This is our first stop for our family's next vacation in LBI!

We had a good experience with Jeff, Danielle, and Henry. With the private lesson, we spent a little…read morebit of time on the beach popping up and then hit the water. Caught some good waves even on a choppy day. All the instructors were friendly and we had a great time.

It's always good to stop and learn a little about the place you're visiting, even if you're mostly…read morethere for fun. LOVED the rules for teachers from 1915 that were posted in the reproduction school classroom (less crazy about the original copy of Little Black Sambo, but hey, it was 1915). Also getting high reviews? the whale jaw and the pre-historic Indian dug-out canoe. It's worth killing an hour here, to learn something about the history of the island.

My son and daughter in law were married at the museum and the setting was beautiful. Unfortunately…read morethe woman who was there from the museum was very pushy, and tried to tell everyone what to do. The bride and groom knew what they wanted and she kept trying to change everything. I had bought a very special runner and she refused to let us use it. She kept telling my son to get back into the room while he was welcoming his guests. I was in the limo with my daughter in law while she was trying to facetime with her dad who was in the hospital and 3 days after the wedding had passed away. And this woman was waving her hands at us trying to get us to get out of the limo. My poor daughter in law was so upset, I told her not to worry about her that we would not leave the limo until she was able to connect to her dad. The woman should be there to open the door and leave the bride and groom alone.

Fantasy Island is a great spot for some family fun…read more My boyfriend and I came with family and some little ones. Everyone had a blast. Tons of great ride options for all ages. The workers on each ride also did a great job. This place turns into a whole party at night - they even had a DJ. The kids really enjoyed themselves and it was great to see so many smiles all around. We didn't try the arcade since everyone was so tired from all the outdoor fun. Definitely give this place a try when the kids are bored, lots of fun!

I've been coming to Fantasy Island since i was a young kid in the 80s. I have visited throughout…read moremy life and regularly since I've had my own kids, now ages 9 and 12. I was there today and left extremely frustrated and disgusted. I know this place is a money trap- that's not my issue. I loaded $30 each on my daughter's cards and $60 on my own. They went through that money so quickly and this was a big activity for spring vacation so I added another $30 each to their cards. So $60 x 3=$180.00. In all, we played maybe 2 hrs and all the money was spent. We tried to get the 9 Wizard of Oz cards from the machine, only to find out one is super extremely rare and you can play a whole game to get the one missing card if you want but the game seems impossible. My issue is the 3 female staff members who were at the check out desk talking to each other most of the time and seemed annoyed when we came to get the incredibly underwhelming prizes. Turns out my 9 y.o. Had like 19000 points and wanted this tiny nothing toy and a slime that retails for $7.99 on amazon but cost 18500 points there. In the end we were like under 300 short for both and I asked if they could possibly overlook the pts and the two women were so incredibly rude. I get it- you don't owe me anything, I was just asking- but don't be rude. I've had other staff do this when it's not many pts and they can see you've spent a bunch of money. So my daughter put back everything and just got the slime which she had more than enough points for and the lady hands it over all rude like she was doing us a favor and didn't even mention she had like 600 points left. There was one younger male employee who was super cool and helpful. A little kindness and engagement goes a long way. Games are overpriced and the fun atmosphere from the 80s and 90s is long gone. They only care about money. Won't be back there again. Even my 9 y.o. Walked out asking why the women had been so mean to her, even before I asked for anything.

The service here is tops!! I love getting bath and shower…read moreproducts here. Natural ingredients and the scents are so relaxing. Tubbies are complete bliss!! I've also purchased face masks and hair shampoo here. I see they have classes here!! I wanna attend one of these this summer!! Paper Making with Botanicals : June 18 ! Chainstitch a Tote with Lily : June 28 How adorable!! Love the products here!! I will be back!

From the owner: Root is an eco-friendly & house plant shoppe on Long Beach Island, NJ. We are the first refill…read moreshoppe helping you use less plastic and refill common household products, along with providing a variety of items to live a healthy, low waste lifestyle. Root also carries personal care & ritual products to enhance your selfcare routine. We also host classes & drop-in for all who want to play in the dirt and get crafty!

I've been playing mini golf here since I was a wee lad and it has always been my favorite course on…read morethe island. As someone with a house in loveladies, we pass about 5 other courses to come down to Hartland and the trip is always well worth it. Going to tournaments Wednesday mornings run by the owner, Dave, is literally the best childhood experience imaginable, with tons of trophies, raffle prizes, and more for the price of playing a regular game of minigolf! After 25 years of coming here, I've only had great experiences with Dave. He's watched me grow and always greeted me with a smile when I'd come back after a while away. No creeps on this course, just some good ole family fun :)

All the staff here is absolutely amazing and so helpful! This is definitely the place to be if…read moreyou're looking for a friendly welcome. The blonde with the coolest nails that I've seen a few times is especially kind and helpful!