Meet... The berlangieri FAMILY
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wenty-five years ago, Jon Berlangieri would whisk his girlfriend Joanne off to Wildwood for short, seaside vacations. One getaway weekend, the couple decided to day-trip to Cape May and, instead of leaving with a trinket from the Washington Street Mall — okay, in addition to the mall souvenirs — the couple left with a new-found love for America’s Original Seaside Resort. “We didn’t know how much we’d enjoy the quaintness of the town,” Jon said. Now, the landscape and tree service company operator says his 15-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter “know nothing of the Jersey Shore except Cape May.” Based in Caldwell, New Jersey, Jon and his wife have been taking their kids to Congress Hall since before the hotel even opened. “We used to walk through the downstairs while it was being refurbished,” he said. “The kids were infants. I can remember riding bikes in the surrounding streets, my son falling asleep in the back. Now, they know just about everyone at the hotel.” In fact, the family’s built such great relationships with the Congress Hall staff that milk and cookies greet them each time they arrive. And if they ever leave any important cargo behind, the front desk crew keeps it safe until they can retrieve it. “My daughter bought
a hermit crab,” Jon said. “And we were a decent way up the parkway before we realized we’d left it behind. They took care of it until we could get back. It’s a pretty funny memory.” But it’s the time spent with one another that provides for the fondest memories. In the off-season, it’s games of Go Fish played with Jon’s daughter in front of the Brown Room fireplace, or a room service-inspired feast of brownies and ice cream for the whole family in front of the television in their room. “My daughter loves the window seat the most,” Jon said. “She used to sleep there when she was smaller.” During the summer, the family spends the whole day together in the pool, where they’ve met dear friends over the years. “We met a family whose children were seven and eight years old,” Jon said. “Now, one of them is graduating college.” No matter the time of year, the Berlangieris find comfort in the calm at Congress Hall. “It feels like a private island escape,” Jon said. “Where we live, you can’t go more than block without a red light. Congress Hall is a break from the congestion. It’s a hidden gem on the Jersey Shore.”
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