This Old Wildwood House

Many people dream about living in a small village, filled with quaint cottages, walkways and shrubs. Michael Polizze not only lives in one, but created one!

On 5300 Atlantic Ave, there sits The Ala Moana Motel, Ala Moana suites, Ala Moana Cottages, Quiet Cottage, Beach House and the Tiki House. All of the buildings have a beachy, relaxed feel, and are impeccably detailed as well as pristinely clean and maintained.

Michael and his wife Patricia started the whole project by purchasing the Ala Moana motel in March of 1999, and renovating and refurbishing it. Michael was a Union Carpenter, and put his skills to use by designing and helping to construct and remodel every area of his property.

Gradually, the Polizzes acquired other homes on the block, and while other contractors were demolishing the old Wildwood homes, Michael revamped, refinished, and rebuilt them into the cluster of 6 buildings that form the Ala Moana Resort that you see today. The Ala Moana means “path to the sea” in Hawaiian, and was the motel’s original name, so they kept it and used it throughout the rest of the properties. Patricia handles the rentals, and as Michael proudly boasted, “She answers every single phone call that comes through here, of 1,000 phone calls she will answer every single one! She is very important.”

Michael is the mastermind behind the project, the one with the vision. “I am a detail fanatic; I like everything to have detail.” He meticulously maintains and inspects the whole premise. He holds everything to a high standard - and he doesn’t miss a thing.

Each building has a slightly different look, feel and personality, but they have enough similarities that you can tell they are all part of the same resort. The palm tree motif runs through all the buildings, effectively tying all the separate areas together - the Motel, the Suites, the Cottages, the Tiki house, the Beach House and the Quiet Cottage and giving them a cohesive, small town feel. All of the rooms are coordinating, with the same soft green and beige paint, marble bathrooms and accents, and wood furnishings that give you the island feel. There are little stone paths that connect all of the areas together in the backyards. The backyard areas between all of the properties are grassy little getaways with barbeques, picnic tables, and lush landscaped little areas tucked in every corner that connects them all together.

Most of the buildings are the original structures, just gutted and redone, and some lifted up to allow more parking space. This was a great way to keep some of Wildwood’s original buildings intact, but give them a whole new life and look. “It is important for the island to keep businesses here,” Michael said.

Michael Polizze spent his summers growing up on the island, and thinks of the island as his home. The Polizze family, including Michael and Patricia’s two kids, Valerie and Nicholas, live in Cape May Court House but move into the owner’s quarters at Ala Moana Resort in May to spend the busy summer on the island. What makes the Ala Moana different from the others is the thought, care, and hard work the Polizze family puts into the running and maintaining of their properties. The Ala Moana Resorts’ charm, quaintness and quality make them a thing of beauty, and an asset to the island they are built on.

Of all the buildings he owns, even though he can’t pick a favorite, Michael will admit that the ‘Tiki House’ was the most unique to construct.