Ramada Hotel, Versailles Ballroom Announce Closures In Toms River

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Ramada Hotel and the Versailles Ballroom in Toms River have shut down after more than 30 years in business, the company announced, making way for the property's conversion into office space.

The Wyndham property posted messages on its Facebook page and other social media sites saying the hotel, which sits on the Toms River-Lakewood border near the intersection with Route 70, announcing the permanent closure as of Wednesday. The hotel opened in 1989.

Westwood Two LLC, whose principle owner is Maurice Rosenberg of Lakewood, reached an agreement with Mazel LLC and 70 East LLC in March to buy the property, according to records filed with the Ocean County Clerk's Office.

Westwood Two told the Toms River Planning Board it wants to convert guest rooms into executive offices, according to a Shorebeat report.

In September, Westwood Two appeared before the planning board seeking a change of use from the hotel to office space. The plan, which was approved, was for it to convert 100 guest rooms to 100 executive offices, but the Shorebeat report said the banquet facility would remain in operation, along with some extended-stay rooms.

It is not clear who will be operating those, as the Ramada's closing message indicated people should go elsewhere for banquet facilities and hotel stays. The Versailles Ballroom, which was the hotel's banquet facility, also posted that it was closing down.

The ballroom had a liquor license associated with it that was just renewed in June by Toms River officials. The license has a restriction that it "shall not be renewed or transferred except for or to a hotel (or motel) containing at least 100 sleeping rooms," according to the minutes of the Toms River Township Council meeting where it was renewed. The site plan described at the planning board meeting would leave the property with fewer than 100 guest rooms.

Messages left for Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, Ramada's parent company, seeking comment on the sale and closure were not answered. The Ramada had received multiple bad reviews from guests in recent years, with complaints of broken air conditioning, bugs in rooms and even a bloody mattress.

"The Ramada Hotel of Toms River is now closed. We thank all of our patrons and guests for over 30 years of business," the Ramada post said, and suggested another Toms River hotel for guests.

"After many happy decades of serving the community, the Versailles Ballroom has closed its doors," the banquet facility's post said. "It has been our pleasure to celebrate with you."