Brown Room Congress - CAPE MAY

My bf, his family, and i love congress hall. in terms of a summer crowd, you get what you get but in the winter (holiday season) its purely a lovely jersey crowd. the servers and staff are welcoming, friendly, non-hoity toity as are the guests who happen to be in town. good conversation for all AND they carry GREAT mezcal. lovely historical exterior and preserved yet updated interior. low-key dog friendly- (thats if your dog is VERY well behaved… why would you even bring him/her out if he/she werent.. COME ON). be a considerate human and pick up after him/her when youre here, PLEASE, dont spoil it for the rest of us.looking forward to enjoying Congress Hall for the decades to come.

I’ve been going to Congress Hall in December for years. It costs a fortune but I don’t care. The beds are fabulous, the breakfasts are excellent, the coffee is Le Colombe (delicious). I feel like this year the staff was even friendlier than ever. The valet that took care of us is so nice, knowledgeable and efficient. Our stuff was in our room before we even checked in. The hostesses and wait staff at the Blue Pig were lovelier than normal. The coffee person at the cafe was sweet as ever. Every single person we met that worked there was happy. Hospitality is a tough business. What a wonderful week! Can’t wait to go back!

They have stools attached to the wall to fit more people, but they are not as comfortable as the old style chairs they had before. A server for the entire room as last year. You have to wave your arms to pay attention. They had other employees, but they either talked to each other or focused on people they seemed to know at the bar. The Blueberry cocktail was fabulous. The fireplace and the live entertainment were the saving grace.

Usually I don't write reviews, but this time I write a long one because of a wonderful experience we had. We had dinner at Blue Pig Tavern in Congress Hall. The occasion was the celebration of my birthday. We happened to go there because we were just a few blocks away and we didn't want to drink and drive. Long story short, just like we were near the Broiler room (cellar we ran in Megan. Apparently she works there and we ran into each other several times during our meal on the ground floor. She presented herself cheerfully and showed us the history of the hotel, the foundation, the interesting anecdotes, the historical hallway, the handwritten menu. How is she interested in history, hospitality and hotel management. My wife and I were in many places at many levels in many hotels, but we never had such a personal experience in the congress hall with Megan. I am sure that the way she delivered the stories was not practiced a thousand times or even, but the commitment she gave us unforgettable. I think we have people like Megan who are really passionate about what they do, making it hopeful about the hospitality business in the USA. You can have people who do the job and go through the movement, and you can also devote people who devote time and energy to you and you feel special. Megan is the last. She doesn't get any tips or nothing, I'm sure she was very filled after she shared her knowledge with us. We were not in the Congress Hall, but I am sure that the Congress Hall will be the place that we next time not only have because of the history, but because of the experience we had this time. She was attentive, helpful and funny! Thanks Megan! Thank you. Congress hall!

I live 4 miles away and my wife and I use to go to the Brown Room 2 to 3 times a week up until Covid hit at which time they shut down like every other place. When they reopened they did so with some crazy rules. For example, you needed a reservation to enter and sit at the bar. When they ended that nonsense, you were then allowed to sit at the bar without a reservation but you needed a reservation to sit on one of the couches or chairs. You can now sit anywhere without a reservation. Now, if you need to use the restroom you can go directly through a door located in the Brown Room which leads to the Blue Pig Restaurant, the Boiler Room or the restroom.The establishment decided to make it difficult to return, so they removed the door handle on the other side which means you now have to walk through to the lobby and around to get back in the Brown Room. At first I thought it may have broken but when I asked the server about it my wife and I were told it was done intentionally to cut down the foot traffic coming through. They did away with their weekly Happy Hour and their new chef decided customers could no longer order food from the Blue Pig menu, they now have a very limited menu of snacks. We were told if we wanted Real Food we can go into the Blue Pig Restaurant and order the food to go and then bring it into the Brown Room, if I can bring in takeout food then why can 't I order a pizza from a local pizzeria. The bar use to be a great place for locals to stop in after work, grab a bite to eat, drink and socialize.