Goodbye Binns & Bonita Motels

[anticondo]

Add the Crown and Carriage Stop motels to the list of motels that used to accomodate dogs. I wonder if there are pet restrictions for the new condo's?

[wildre]

Condo's have rules, from what I've been told, they all have to allow dogs. However in most cases only owners can have pets not renters.
It depends on their by laws.

re

[Al Alven]

I'm guessing we're never going to see a "Doo Wop" PetSmart built in the Wildwoods, huh?

[FlyinGN]

*WOOF WOOF*

[organator]

It has been a while since I have heard about the future of the Binns and Bonito. Does anyone know what is happening, if anthing, with these two hotels. I agree with an ealier comment about the poor shape that these hotels are in. Any word??

[foulal]

HOW bad is the Binns?

[crazyaboutwildwood]

I dont think the Bonito is as bad as the Binns. I know the Binns was 50.00 a night so it cant be that nice. I know for a fact that they are not friendly!

[hulk007]

Just driving past the Binns makes my skin crawl. I have never heard anything good about it.

[helen]

I totally agree the Binns is scary

[fuzzyscorpio]

From last weekend--note the "Midweek Special--$50--Any Room" and "Now Taking Reservations" signs. I wish I could have gotten a readable shot of what I saw through the window, which was a big space strewn with a jumble of shabby furniture, draperies, lighting and other detritus.

That's the south end of the building. On the north end is the lobby entrance, where a sign heralds "The Newly Renovated Binns Bonito Motel." I wandered in and attempted to question the young guy at the reception desk, and he acknowledged hearing about some "drama" surrounding the property in the spring, but was quick to inform me that he'd only been down for the summer and didn't know much. Mostly he was interested in whether he could bum a light from me

I'm unfamiliar with the details of said drama but this place gives me the heebie-jeebies, too, and the Bonito behind it just looks like your ordinary L-shaped two-story dive, at best. They're an apple and an orange glued together, and probably rotting, too. Although I'm a huge sucker for old motels, I'm inclined to think Wildwood deserves something better than the Binns Bonito, especially in such a prime location, at this point in time.

[Al Alven]

I have very mixed feelings about the Binns and Bonito motels.

My family has always taken two main trips to the Wildwoods every year -- one early in the season (in North Wildwood) and one in late August, where we would generally stay at the Skylark.

The Skylark, of course, is located directly across the street from the Binns. So, I've spent plenty of time informally inspecting that motel. The place certainly has its negatives, as we all know.

From the outside, the place looks very worn and tired. I have had a few negative experiences with the staff (I'll go into detail if anyone would like, but it's not essential), and my one visit to the motel's reception desk, like Kathi's, was extremely peculiar.

One thing I can honestly say is that the Binns and Bonito are in better shape now than they were a few years ago. I'm not sure whether the motels have new owners, but the new management that has taken over recently has defintely made some improvements.

One thing the Binns really has going against it -- and something I think you really have to consider when thinking about its condition -- is that its back faces Atlantic Ave. It's just the way the place was built years ago.

Now, walk around Spencer or Spicer and take a look at the "front," and it's really nothing to get excited about. But, take any motel, really, and turn it backward and it would probably look much worse. Turn it backward on one of Wildwoods' main drags, and it looks even worse.

If you walk around to the "front" of the Binns, you'll see that the motel faces the Bonito directly. The Bonito is actually a really neat, overlooked little place. It has one of the most underrated signs on the island (really!) and a very cool angled balcony design on the main building.

Perhaps its also because I'm a sucker for nostalgia, but the one aspect of the Binns I have always liked are the large twin BINNS rooftop signs on the north and south end of the building. They can be seen a long ways down Atlantic Ave., and are generally maintained very well.

They are nothing terrible fancy, but they do represent some of the oldest signage in Wildwood, and are classics in their own right.

Now, having said all of this, I certainly wouldn't be heart-broken to see either of these motels, particularly the Binns, go.

However, I think we should be extremely concerned about what would/might replace them, as this is one of the areas of the Wildwoods that has not been overrun with new development, and continues to maintain its original charm.

[hulk007]

In better shape now? That's a scary thought.

[Al Alven]

Trust me, Hulk... if you could have seen the shape the Binns was in a few years ago , you would appreciate the strides it has made.

I understand it's still an eyesore to most, but it actually has come a long way... at least from the outside. The inside, I really can't speak for.

[fuzzyscorpio]

alalven said:

One thing I can honestly say is that the Binns and Bonito are in better shape now than they were a few years ago. I'm not sure whether the motels have new owners, but the new management that has taken over recently has defintely made some improvements.

I'm glad you brought your better-informed perspective to this. I haven't followed the condition of the Binns or the status of its ownership/management/operation over the years. When I saw all that junk piled up inside on the ground floor last week, and the "$50--Any Room" sign, I wasn't sure if I was looking uphill or downhill, if you know what I mean. I hope the owners have been actively working to rehabilitate and update the motel and not just doing the minimum required to hang on until they get their price or get permission to redevelop the site, as the case may be. And that their improvements will attract a better class of employee eventually

One thing the Binns really has going against it -- and something I think you really have to consider when thinking about its condition -- is that its back faces Atlantic Ave. It's just the way the place was built years ago.

I completely missed that. What does the west face look like? Do you happen to have a picture of it?

If you walk around to the "front" of the Binns, you'll see that the motel faces the Bonito directly. The Bonito is actually a really neat, overlooked little place. It has one of the most underrated signs on the island (really!) and a very cool angled balcony design on the main building.

So, were these two properties always owned by the same interests then? They seemed so dissimilar I assumed someone had bought them both fairly recently.

Your reference to "the main building" surprises me because I recall the Bonito as a single L-shaped structure. Seems I need to take a much closer look at both of these places...

Perhaps its also because I'm a sucker for nostalgia, but the one aspect of the Binns I have always liked are the large twin BINNS rooftop signs on the north and south end of the building. They can be seen a long ways down Atlantic Ave., and are generally maintained very well.

They are nothing terrible fancy, but they do represent some of the oldest signage in Wildwood, and are classics in their own right.

Definitely.

Now, having said all of this, I certainly wouldn't be heart-broken to see either of these motels, particularly the Binns, go.

However, I think we should be extremely concerned about what would/might replace them, as this is one of the areas of the Wildwoods that has not been overrun with new development, and continues to maintain its original charm.

Hmmm... You wouldn't be losing your enthusiasm for a highrise in this particular location, would you? Or are you just worried that the original plan will somehow end up giving way to more vinyl boxes?

[videoventures65]

I got to say the area looks scary. We walked by last month on our way to Juan Pablo's for dinner--made sure we walked another route back when it was dark---just a bad crowd hannbing out in that area of those 2 motels.