Hotel Review: Wyndham Garden Hotel in Newark-Liberty International Airport, Newark, NJ (EWR)

It’s been a while since I stayed at a Wyndham; as a matter of fact, I think the last time may have been on Groundhog Day in 2002!

I had to overnight at Newark Airport recently and as it turns out, they had the best available rate of $99. I had checked the Hotel Tonight App as well as Kayak.com and Hotels.com to find a better rate, but they all had the same rate. I did not however check the Wydham.com site.

I booked on Hotels.com for the rate of $99 plus taxes, picked up their shuttle at station P4 and headed basically across the street, but in Newark, that means a 10-minute ride. I sat right by the first row as there were a lot of people getting on the bus. Strangely enough, only two of us got in the queue to check-in. As it turns out, there is also a parking facility at the hotel so most of the riders were just picking up their cars while others were returning from shopping in the city.

Check-in

The hotel lobby is very airy and decorated in a red motif. Everything looked in its place and it was spotlessly clean. There is a snack area off to the left that is open 24-hours, plus a bar just as you enter and a hotel gift shop off to the right.

The wait for check-in was about 10 minutes as there were four persons in front of me. I was tempted to use the special Wyndham Rewards line, but I refrained.

I was checked in soon and was given room 555. I asked the smartly dressed check-in agent if I could enter my Rewards number and he rebuffed me by saying that I won’t get any credit as I had booked it using an agency. I politely insisted that I wanted my number in the reservation as it will serve to track it when I looked online. He asked me for it and as I did not have it handy, I asked if he could look it up; he said no. Disappointing, I thought.

It’s always good to join the Rewards Programs of each hotel chain you stay as the more points you accumulate, the closer you get to a free stay. Another way is to get a credit card from that hotel. Like most hotels, the Wyndams have their own card, The Wyndham Rewards® Visa Signature® Card, that gives you different benefits, some of which are shown below. Of course certain restrictions applies, so ensure you read the terms and conditions before signing:

• Earn 12,000 bonus points with first purchase
• Earn 3 points per $1 spent on every participating hotel stay
• Earn 2 points per $1 spent everywhere else
• $0 annual fee

Anyways, I got my key and headed up to the fifth floor in the very worn carpeted elevator.

The Room

A typical room and a bit nicer than I expected. I usually opt for two beds as those rooms are a bit bigger than the King or Queen sized bedrooms. I had a really tiny balcony with a view of the parking lot and the airport in the distance.

I also had a lat screen TV, a desk and a one-seat couch, plus an iron and an ironing board plus an in-room safe.

In terms of toiletries, there was shampoo, conditioner and lotion, which you don’t really see these days at all. So I was happy.

The Restaurant/Bar

I was hungry and headed downstairs to find something to eat. The Newark Airport area is pretty bad for food places outside of the hotel. I think there’s perhaps one hotel I stayed at which was close to other food places. In looking at the menu, I realized that a burger with fries would be the ticket plus a Guinness. It was weird as the guy wanted me to pay him for the food and then pay the bar for the drink. Odd I thought as they are a restaurant for the hotel. I told him I wanted it all in one transaction so he obliged a tad reluctantly.

Before long, I got my burger, fries and my Guinness and off to my room I went. Sorry I ate the food before I got a picture as I was so hungry.

Check out

As I had already pre-paid the room and had not been asked for a credit card for incidentals, I bypassed the counter and headed for the front door for the Airport Shuttle.

Have you stayed at this hotel? What are your thoughts? Please leave a comment below. Here are some more pictures of the room.