Unfortunately the hotel was right: because you booked through Orbitz, any changes to your accomodations or refunds had to be handled through Orbitz. That's one downfall of booking through a travel site like Orbitz, Expedia, or Travelocity.

However, I'm wondering where the screw-up came from. My first thought was that "oceanfront" doesn't always mean just that. (I live near Lake Michigan and I always laugh at the number of buildings called "lakeview" when they have no such thing.) But it sounds like there were two different properties. Did the hotel decide to do a last-minute bait-and-switch, or did Orbitz misrepresent? Hmmmmm.....

In the end, though, because you booked through Orbitz, Orbitz is the one who owes you a refund, and I think you are more than entitled to it. Have you tried calling them again, due to their e-mail link not working?

I hope you get this resolved. Please stop back with an update.