Whenever I tell anyone that my husband and I are spending our days off in Atlantic City, they laugh.

The uninformed have this image of the Jersey gambling community as a seedy haven for downtrodden losers and bus-riding senior citizens. This image was perpetuated by the 1980 Louis Malle feature film “Atlantic City,” starring Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon. That film was accurate then, but now applies only to an ever-shrinking part of the city. I’m hooked on Atlantic City not for the casinos but for the hotel experience.

The idea of hotel living was always very appealing to me, but it was way out of my price range. As a child, I thought Kay Thompson’s legendary character Eloise was the luckiest girl in the world because she lived in the Plaza. As a struggling mother of six, I daydreamed of the daily maid and laundry service. All-night room service was as close to a heavenly existence as I could imagine.

Because my husband works for a major Midtown hotel, I am very cognizant of the price tourists pay to stay in our fair city, and I admit that even though I live in New York City I’ve entered contests that offered weekend stays in posh Manhattan hotels.

Well, my dream has in a sense been fulfilled since the revival of Atlantic City. Folks, it ain’t what it used to be.

I was introduced to the casinos in 1992, when my bowling league ended the season with a bus trip to what was then Merv Griffin’s Resorts Hotel & Casino. It was fun because I won $200, but subsequent trips were not as fruitful. My husband, on the other hand, loathed the place and warned me not to leave the casinos, saying it was too dangerous. The crime statistics bore out his concern.

Two years ago, my daughter gave me an overnight stay at the new Tropicana Havana Tower suite as a birthday present, and the addiction began. The hotel room was luxurious and offered great ocean views for a price that was less expensive than an ordinary room in a Manhattan hotel. My husband’s opinion of Atlantic City underwent a dramatic change: He now loved it.

Everything in the casinos had changed. The machines no longer took coins but instead dispensed tickets that could be cashed at numerous kiosks on the casino floor. This solved the problem of hands becoming filthy from handling the coins, which then had to be trucked over to a cashier to be counted and converted to paper currency. Casinos now have penny slot machines that offer bonuses that are as much fun as video games, as long as you don’t lose your head trying to get one.

Most of the renaissance of Atlantic City can be traced to the arrival of the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in 2003. Offering the height of luxury to a more discriminating clientele, this casino prompted upgrades that are still going on at the older establishments. It introduced the casino customers to world-class restaurants and excellent cuisine at very moderate prices. The décor and ambience rival those of any of the private clubs I’ve had the pleasure to visit.

I’m writing this column in my room at the Borgata and loving every minute of it. Earlier, I was soaking my weary bones in the blessedly comforting whirlpool while my husband swam in the heated indoor pool. I hear it’s quite cold out, but the climate control in the hotel is set on perfect.

I can afford this decadence because my room is free. Once you’ve signed up for a free casino card, which is used to track your slot pay, the hotels will comp you a room now and then. Now I can hear the skeptics out there saying that because I’ve lost hundreds of dollars gambling, the free room is no bargain. Actually, I don’t always lose, but when you add up the costs of a night on the town, including a Broadway show, dinner, parking, and hotel, I’m way ahead of the game.

Spending a day or two in deluxe accommodations away from the hustle and bustle of the city can recharge one’s batteries. With all the laws being proposed in New York City that are supposed to be for our benefit but actually are chipping away at our little freedoms, I consider it absolutely necessary for my mental health. Try it. You’ll like it.