Not many resorts can brag they've been around almost a century, but along the shoreline of Reed's Bay and with an eye-popping view of the Atlantic City Casino skyline sits the renowned Seaview Resort and Spa (609-748-7660, dolceseaview.com), and it can make that boast. In May 2009, Dolce Resorts purchased Seaview, and an upgrade is in the works. Immediately, over a quarter of a million dollars was invested into modernizing the guest rooms by adding flat-screen televisions and other amenities, and an aggressive agronomic program culminating in a hoped-for Audubon Certification was undertaken for the golf course.

Dolce Resorts is bringing an uncanny international eye to Seaview. “We manage either resorts or conference centers around the world,” says Michael Tidwell, director of sales and marketing, mentioning the Dolce presence in Canada, Germany, France, Belgium, and Spain, as well as more than a dozen locations in the United States. We know what we're doing when it comes to resort hotels, he implies.

And at Seaview there's much to like. In addition to the 297 guest rooms, which includes 19 suites (two of which are Presidential size), there's more than 27,000 square feet of flexible meeting space that can be broken into 26 meeting rooms and 16 breakout rooms. Formal dining facilities seat up to 500 guests, and a main dining room overlooks the historic Bay Golf Course. On Sundays in the dining room, the well-known champagne brunch features numerous service stations, a complimentary glass of champagne, and live piano, and on Fridays guests can enjoy the weekly seafood buffet with fresh-caught catch and a wide assortment of other delicacies.

But individual attention isn't overlooked, either. Cocktails are served in the Lobby Lounge or on the adjoining seasonal terrace, and for more intimate dining, the brick-lined, pub-style Grille room just off the lobby serves casual and classic fare throughout the day.

In the tradition of a fine resort hotel, Seaview’a Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa, offers a variety of luxury-style treatments including massage, facials, manicures, and pedicures in a 12,000-square-foot location with 20 treatment rooms. Special full-day or half-day spa experiences are available. And to cater to the opposite sex, the Red Door Men's Club features plenty of relaxing and rejuvenating services.

It is with its golf courses, however, that Seaview has earned a special place in the golfing world. Golfers can choose between the links-style Bay Course, which skirts the edge of Reed's Bay before it feeds into the Atlantic Ocean, and the more parkland-style Pines Course, which maneuvers through the New Jersey pinelands to the west. Both courses date from the 1920s: the incomparable Scotsman, Donald Ross, designed the Bay Course, and William Flynn and Harold Toomey, who specialized in working for private country clubs, designed the Pines Course.

The Bay Course is shorter, plays to about 6,300 yards, and is “wind-swept, with shot-making into the greens at a premium,” according to Steve Havrilla, the director of golf. Yet “it’s a fun place to play, user friendly, and the greens tend to be quite undulating.” For those with an interest in history, he adds, Sam Snead won the 1942 PGA Championship here, and 60 years later Annika Sorenstam won the Shop-Rite LPGA Classic on the same layout. And in 2010 the LPGA returns for another edition of the Shop-Rite LPGA Classic after an absence of three years.

The Pines Course, on the other hand, plays longer at 6,700 yards, is tree-lined, and requires the golfer to think his or her way around. But the greens are much larger than on the Bay Course and not so undulating, though they are better protected. “You need to stay on line with the Pines Course,” cautions Havrilla.

Whether your interest lies in golf, lodging, or other amenities, Tidwell puts things in perspective. “This place has a presence, it's a destination, there's a lot of history here,” he says.