This is not a beach resort. It is a golf resort. You can go to the beach from there as someone posted above. Cape May is a great day trip. Long Beach Island is a 20 minute trip with beautiful beaches. Smithville is a fun shopping destination. There's are several parks and wildlife sanctuaries. You can whale watch in Atlantic City. You are in The Pine Barrens. There is a shopping outlet in Atlantic City. Lots of great restaurants. Old Homestead, The Palm, Wolfgang Puck, Il Mulino. Fun bay and beach front venues.
Contact the local tourist authority for more info.
You live in NJ.
NJ is not at all like Aruba.
Absecon is under 90 minutes from Jersey City.
So it will be very "New Jersey" like.
I live in NJ and trade into the Fairways every summer. This year I'm going down for three weeks, one in July and two in August. I also frequently go down in the winter and Spring. For instance I have a week in April reserved and I went down this November as well. My daughter and her friends are going down at the end of January for the weekend. Everyone I take there loves it
The rooms have been completely refurbished with all new appliances and furniture, paint, bedding, pots, et al. Even the air-conditioning has been done over.
There's a new sprinkler park for the kids but the main pool IS very small. There's a gigantic indoor pool and the amazing Elizabeth Arden Mineral Water Spa pool (adults only). The kids seem to all play together. It's really quite charming. My 7 year old grandson loves it there.
There's a small grill that serves pool grub and a nice little coffee shop at the Arden pool. The market place is ridiculously small and a waste of money and time.
There's a big new Shoprite less than a mile away as well as a Starbucks, a very cheap liquor supermarket, and a very sweet ice cream parlor all in the vicinity of the Shoprite.
I love that I can drive 1.5 hours and escape central NJ. The piney's are a whole different world from here. I don't play golf or tennis but I still like the resort more than say, MGV.
You can't compare the Fairways to Aruba. It's much smaller, but for me that's okay. There's no problem with towels on chairs at 6am or fighting for shade. There's plenty of shade by the pool or in the picnic area
There's a great Greek restaurant right outside the resort. The best pancake house in NJ and the best clams and crabs at Osyster Creek.
The beach at Brigantine is very nice. Yes, it costs money but most NJ beaches cost money. If you want a free beach go to AC. I don't like that beach but my grown kids say it's fine for what it is.
The casinos are fun. There's great food inside the better casinos like Cesars or the Borgata. There's a nice outlet mall near the back of Cesar's too. The Borgata has the best air filtration system since AC still allows smoking, yuck!
You'll like the people you meet there in August. Almost all of them are NJ folks and you'll feel comfortable with them.
Don't compare the Fairways with Aruba. The resorts couldn't be more dissimilar. Each has its own reason d'ėtra. I love the place. I feel at home there. I can't wait to get there in April for my next trip down.