Congress Hall is a historic boutique hotel on the Jersey Shore that used to be called the Summer White House — now it attracts families and couples in search of the quintessential beach town escape

Congress Hall is a sophisticated, historic escape in Cape May, New Jersey. This charming beach town is revered as an idyllic summer destination but has year-round appeal. Set in the center of the action with tons of activities and programming, Congress Hall can keep both adults and kids entertained for days on end. The food on-site is also excellent, using farm-to-table ingredients from a local farm that you can also visit.

Though the vintage quality of the hotel means there can be some quirks (thin walls, sloping floors), most guests easily forgive the shortcomings, knowing that they're staying in America's first seaside resort. There's a reason why families return to Congress Hall year in and year out.

Who stays here: Savvy couples and families looking for a classic coastal beach vacation and want to be in the middle of all the action. Most guests come from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, from New York City to Washington DC.

We like: The quirky design that preserves the rich history of this iconic hotel. I loved the old-fashioned elevators, vintage birdcage, and the hall of flags lined with old photos and framed articles. I could have spent hours taking in all the history.

We love (don't miss this feature!): Cape May's beautiful beach. It's great at every hour of the day, whether taking a sunrise walk, lounging under the sun, watching dolphins frolic offshore in the afternoon, or enjoying the sunset views.

We think you should know: The 5% resort fee can add up, depending on the cost of your room, but it includes a lot of amenities and activities.

We'd do this differently next time: Instead of an ocean-facing room, I'd book a cheaper town-facing room. Ultimately, I found that we didn't spend that much time in the room or looking out the windows at the ocean to make the added cost of the view feel worth it.

Congress Hall is a top-rated hotel in Cape May, New Jersey, ranking 12 out of 37 hotels in Cape May on Trip Advisor and holds a Booking.com review rating of 9.2 out of 10.

Former guests love the restaurants, hotel history, the beachfront location, and the unique charms. One reviewer writes: "Entering our room really felt like stepping into a guest bedroom at someone's house. That was a nice experience after having stayed in so many different hotel rooms. You'll notice upon walking in the upper levels of the hotel that the ground is slanted and the hotel is not level, which just adds history and character in my opinion."

Unhappy guests feel differently about the historic charms, writing, "I understand there is historical value but certain upgrades can be done without losing the historical appeal." Others expressed disappointment for the pools saying, "Never understood why the adults, who are paying for their stay, are expected to be happy with an adult pool the size of [a] small residential pool."

Cape May is made for walking or riding bikes (our advice: park your car and forget about it for the rest of your stay). Congress Hall's bike shop rents out yellow bikes and vintage-style surreys to explore the area.

Just across from Congress Hall is Cape May's famously wide beach, which has gorgeous light sand. There, you'll see dolphins frolicking offshore. When you're done with the sun, the beachfront Family Fun Arcade has old-fashioned games like Skee-Ball. Across the street is a putt-putt golf course.

Downtown Cape May looks a lot like Disney's Main Street USA, with a pedestrian-only zone lined with brick pathways, cute boutiques, and candy stores like the red-and-white Cape May Sweet House and Fralinger's, which has been selling saltwater taffy and seafoam fudge since 1885.

There are plenty of local restaurants to consider too, from The Rusty Nail, which feels like a Caribbean beach shack with picnic tables, fire pits, live music, and fresh seafood; to the Ebbitt Room, which offers upscale farm-to-table dining.

I preferred getting my exercise with walks on the beach and through town, though there is a small fitness room with a few machines. Guests may also use the nearby fitness center and sauna at the Sandpiper Beach Club (again, included in the resort fee), one of the largest gyms in the area with strength training and cardio equipment.

The resort fee also includes free guided history tours at the hotel and tours of the area, as well as free shuttle service between Congress Hall and the nearby 62-acre Beach Plum Farm, where kids can feed the chickens and explore the gardens.

On the hotel's sprawling lawn, you'll find classic Adirondack chairs as well as two pools (one is adults-only). Curiously, the kids' pool is much bigger than the adult pool. Even though the pool was crowded on a hot summer day, we didn't have a problem getting chairs as the hotel limits access to hotel guests only.

It was a lovely pool with a perfectly adjusted temperature — not too warm and not too cool — and it got more crowded and fun as the day went on. All the kids enjoyed playing with each other, and we were able to order food from a surprisingly extensive menu, including cocktails and mocktails.

As mentioned, Congress Hall is just across from Cape May's beautiful beach. During summer, the hotel provides lounge chairs, umbrellas, and towels on the beach, though, for an extra charge, you may also rent one of the private yellow-and-white striped cabanas for the day, complete with food and beverage service.

Besides the restaurants, there's so much to do at Congress Hall, and the hotel adds a daily resort fee of 5% of the room rate to cover their long list of activities and perks including free valet parking, Wi-Fi, and beach access. The town normally charges travelers an entrance fee to enter the beach during the day, but for hotel guests, it's included in the resort fee.

I'm usually not a fan of resort fees and it was a little odd that someone paying for a cheaper room in winter would pay a lot less for their fee, but since the fee included so much programming and perks, it didn't bother me as much. When I asked the hotel about the difference in price for winter versus summer guests, they made the point that as a percentage, it correlates with the services. For instance, beach tags in Cape May range from $6 per person per day to $20 per person per week. In the winter, there's no charge to go on the beach.

The resort fee also includes activities like bonfires with s'mores, croquet on the lawn, beach yoga, bootcamp workouts, and more. For kids, the hotel offers a long list of dedicated activities — and not just in summer. There's lei making, birding, hayrides, slime making, dive-in movies, and the list goes on.

The farm-to-table menu at the Blue Pig Tavern was impressive, using fresh ingredients sourced from Beach Plum Farm, including roasted beets, tender mixed greens, sautéed spinach, and more. It was delicious, but again, word to the wise: Don't leave dinner planning until the last minute on a busy summer evening.

When we were driving through Cape May on the night we arrived, we passed an open-air restaurant with diners sitting under twinkling lights and made a mental note to return. It turns out this was the patio dining area for Congress Hall's Blue Pig Tavern, which is named after a gambling parlor that was located in the hotel in the 19th century.

But we made a big mistake. We didn't make dinner reservations in advance. It never occurred to us that guests wouldn't get preferential reservations, and when we tried to book a table at Blue Pig Tavern at 6 p.m. on Saturday evening, we were told that the restaurant was booked until after 9 p.m.

Although the brick-oven pizza at The Boiler Room — the other restaurant at Congress Hall — has an amazing reputation, I was in the mood for seafood. We begged the host for an earlier table, who took pity on us and said she could squeeze us in if we would wait about a half-hour. We happily waited for our turn at Congress Hall's Brown Room, the first cocktail bar to open in Cape May after Prohibition.

There was one other drawback to the guest room. During the day, we could hear the voices of people talking on the veranda below. If we were people who went to bed early, the voices could have been an issue, but by the time we went to sleep, the noise was gone. Otherwise, the room itself was very quiet, and we slept like babies, thanks to the plush bedding. Our daughter, however, decided she liked our King-size bed better than her cot and decided to dive into bed with us during the night. No matter: the bed was big enough for three.

The room was also equipped with a writing desk, sitting area, large flat-screen TV, and free Wi-Fi. There was no coffeemaker in the room, but I didn't mind, as I enjoyed going down to the cafe in the morning to get cups of coffee to go.

Standard rooms have some of the same features (large flat-screen TV, Wi-Fi), but not all of the standard rooms have a writing desk and sitting area. Also, the standard rooms come with a variety of bed types, including King, Queen, or two Queens. As this is a 200-year-old hotel, room sizes vary, but a Deluxe room can be up to 50% bigger than a standard room, often with better views. There are also a few junior suites, which are huge and have a better location, with full-on ocean views, but much more expensive rates.

I checked rates for a random weekday this summer in June, and Trip Advisor listed the cheapest standard room with two Queen beds and a town view starting at $265, while a King Deluxe with a town view started at $303, a King Deluxe Oceanfront room started at $332, and a Junior Suite Oceanfront started at $409.

Since the paned-glass windows in my room were on the smaller side, I didn't spend much time looking out at the ocean. I have a feeling the rooms facing town would have been quieter and definitely cheaper. As such, next time, I'd opt for a town-facing room, or if money were no object, a Junior Suite. I'd choose more space and prime ocean views any day.

Congress Hall's rooms are set down long hallways in the yellow, L-shaped hotel. Some overlook the ocean, while others offer views of town.

We booked a King Deluxe Oceanfront room, a mid-tier room that cost $596 per night, which is higher given that we traveled in peak season. Deluxe rooms provide more space over a standard room, plus better amenities, such as a larger bathroom with a separate glass-enclosed shower. Some Deluxe Rooms have Jefferson doors that open out onto a private balcony above Congress Hall's veranda, though these rooms cost more.

Instead of a modern-day key card, the room was opened with an old-fashioned metal key, which you rarely see at hotels today. The actual door to our room was set behind a slatted door that reminded me of something you'd see in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

The room had plenty of style including a beachy color scheme with aquamarine walls, striped wall-to-wall carpeting in shades of blue, white and black vintage-style furniture, and chairs upholstered in a chic floral fabric. The Colonial-style King-size bed was heaped with a fluffy duvet, loads of pillows, and Belgian cotton sheets. Because we were traveling with our daughter, the hotel also set up a comfortable cot in the room for her.

The bathroom reminded me of the ones in my grandmother's house — but better. There was a clawfoot tub, porcelain pedestal sink, and vintage tiling. Only, grandma didn't have a separate steam shower.

There was also a basket of all-natural bath products sourced from natural herbs grown at the nearby Beach Plum Farm, which is also part of the Cape Resorts group. In addition, the hotel supplies fluffy terrycloth robes and a hairdryer.

There was one downside to the bathroom, however. It was challenging to shut the door completely since it was slightly warped. This was just one of those vintage details given the fact that this is one of the oldest hotels in America. Bothersome, yes, but easily forgiven.

The friendly front-desk clerk gave me info on the hotel and the town, including a welcome booklet that looked more like a high-end travel magazine.

We went up to our room, dropped our bags, then made a beeline for the veranda, where we ordered some much-needed cocktails (and a mocktail for our young daughter). It was a welcome relief after the long drive.

My husband brought the car around to the front of the hotel and happily valeted it (included in the rate) for the rest of the weekend while my daughter and I went to the front desk to check-in. It was late by the time we arrived, so there was no line.

Many hotels these days look the same with their cream-colored fabrics and sleek modern furniture. I was impressed by Congress Hall's one-of-a-kind design with whimsical, colorful accents. The lobby was painted bright green and dotted with old maps, furniture upholstered in vintage-style fabrics, and a piece of artwork with a massive anchor made out of shells hung over the tiled fireplace.

We made the mistake of driving from New York City to Cape May on a rainy summer Friday night and what should have been a two-and-a-half-hour drive took almost five hours, due to rush-hour traffic plus a few wrong turns.

Then, for some reason, the GPS led us to a parking lot behind the hotel. We were thoroughly confused. Why weren't there any doormen or porters? We lugged our bags along the veranda and finally located the lobby where we were informed that we had come in through the wrong entrance and were parked illegally in a spot that belonged to a neighboring hotel.