Howard Johnson Hotel Newark

Founds a Cheap deal online. Pretty much don’t expect a luxurious hotel.
Pros — cheap price, a shuttle to and from airport, shuttle service to New York City, a restaurant in the hotel, and check out is at noon.
Cons — location is in the industrial area, so you must commute to places of interest. Parking is 15 dollars a day do beware. A heavy smell through out the room and lobby, customer service was okay but certain employees were rude, give a good look at your sheets and blankets our rooms had stains all over them.
Overall an okay place to stay if you are just in the area for a couple of nights.
Overall not bad

The price is right, but you get what you pay for!
The shuttle was great, but upon arrival the hotel smelled horrendous (like someone smoked pot in a portable public toilet). To make matters worse, they tried to mask the stink with excessive cinnamon spray. The shower had some kind of mold in it and the water smelled funky. It was just a place to sleep before an early flight, but next time we will be spending money so my clothes and hair don’t smell like Glad spray.

This is the cheapest of the airport hotels we found. We got in to the airport at 12:30am. I called for the shuttle as soon as we got off the plane but it took is another 30 minutes to make our way to the shuttle pickup because we had to take the tram which runs slow at night. When we get to the pick up, the shuttle is not there. I call and they tell me it will be 15 minutes. We stand outside for 15 minutes with my cranky 3 year old at 1 am and no shuttle. I call again and this time the front desk is rude, tells me they are coming. We watch the shuttles for the other hotels go by at least twice, some 4 times before our shuttle arrives. The driver does not get out until I open the door myself and put my own things in the van. The hotel room itself is clean and was a decent night’s sleep. The coffee maker in the room doesn’t work and the breakfast here is not free, so that stinks. Will not stay here again.

Thought I was pulling into an underpass hangout. Ewwwww. Smells like really bad disinfectant-​trying-​to-​hide-​something even worse. Scared to put my luggage on the floor. My fault. Should have listened to bad reviews. Acted out of desperation.

I picked this hotel because of the free shuttle and the cheap price. I payed $ 75 for one night.
I came into Newark airport late (1am) and got picked up by the shuttle right away. the people at the front desk we’re helpful and got me into my room right away.
the room was a standard room and fairly clean.
there was a weird smell all around the hotel, my room included.
I just needed to stay for one night so it was fine, I wouldn’t want to stay longer than that.

Buyer beware, this hotel should be avoided at all costs, I saw a sign posted by the airport that said $ 59 for a room, I missed my flight and I was racking up a cab fare, why not, the name HJ, use to mean something. I got dropped off, only to find the cheapest room was $ 200, really $ 200. I asked if it was a suite or lake view,. Then the I don’t give a Sh… desk clerk said it should be $ 280, whatever. I was tired and asked for a referral for Some food, He recommended a local Chinese restaurant that delivered and they would bring beer. Wow, maybe a little reprieve. Next, the room had a very strange smell, great. I’m just hungry, I ordered a combo meal from «good friend» Chinese, cool 1 free egg roll with $ 10 order, I waited an hour and 15, only to final have a delivery man show up and ask for $ 28, my order was $ 9 plus $ 6 for beer. He didn’t understand and he couldn’t speak English, he said I ordered 2 combos, I assured him I was alone, he became more hostile. I was so tired & hungry, so I proposed, that I just take 1 order and pay 5 more than than the menu stated. He refused and left. I called the hotel desk only to be rebuked, «it’s not our restaurant », we don’t really care. Now I’m hungry, tired and mad. Ho Jo’s isn’t even Ho hum, they are considerably worse. I will never be back, I would rather sleep in the airport

If only zero stars were possible… Horrible hotel in a bad location. With the exception of one awesome woman there the staff is pretty useless. Housekeeping is especially bad. The Do Not Disturb sign is meaningless and when you do want service you are denied. Should it really take seven hours to get a requested roll of toilet paper???
Cleanliness is not a strong suit here. The towels have hair in them, bedspreads are dirty, and the walls are filthy. Not sure how a wall would actually accumulate that level of filth. Let’s not even start talking about the carpets.
The bathtubs deserve their own special mention. Aside from being dirty and stained they feel like the bottom is about to give out at any time. As if a crucial structural component is missing. I’m confident it’s only a matter of time before one fails and a guest falls through to the floor below.
Trying to speak to the manager about anything is an exercise in futility. He will only try to blame you. As if you are the cause of the filth, the ineptitude, and the rudeness. Avoid this place at all costs.

Therrible receptionist, rude, barely understand what he says and the shuttle service is terrible aswell! It runs every 30 minutes when the ride is only 7minutes away, after the driver is done with one round he would come back and sit back and watch tv while other people waits back in the airport. When i was leaving i came down at 0410 and was told that i have missed the shuttle and that i had to wait till 0430 for him to take me back, the driver came back at 0413 and came right upstairs and went into his room. The phone at the front desk its been ringing with people needing to be picked up but because the shuttle only runs every 30min they are forced to wait. As for me, im still sitting here writting this review while the driver is upstairs doing God knows what.

Terrible receptionist. He was extremely rude and not very welcoming.
There was no notification of guest parking fees when we booked our rooms. We ended up paying $ 40 for two cars. In retrospect, we could have booked a place that was much nicer with those fees.

Horrible place to stay! The employees all had an attitude and were not friendly at all. One of the cleaners was mopping the front entrance, and told my friend to move out the way just like that. I wouldn’t recommend this place whatsoever

Bed was as comfortable as sleeping on concrete, pillows unsubstantial. Shower doesn’t work-​front desk care. However, they do have a shuttle that picks you up from the airport. That would have been useful information when I told the phone operator that I was coming from Newark International. Wasted $ 25 on taxi– terrible sleep. At least the man that works in the hotel café was friendly.

You have to pay for public parking this hotel is awful the employes are horrible. My bedroom sheets had light blood spots on them it was horrible. Never again staying in !!

Awful place! The room smells horrible and I waited 1.5hrs for shuttle pickup. When I tried to call the hotel directly for the shuttle they never picked up the phone. Staffs were extremely rude and careless. Never come back again. I’d rather pay extra for a much better service!

Price was the only thing good here very rude employees and the kept trying to over charger us but we didn’t stand for that I wouldn’t recommend this hotel to anyone but like I said the price per noght before they tried to over charge us was good will jot use this hotel again

As the name implies, the hotel is against the airport, and it leases some of its spaces to non-​hotel customers for parking. However for hotel customers, it is $ 15 to park out front of the hotel which I thought was a hustle. I had business next to the airport, so I was the exception being a non-​airport hotel customer.
They have recently renovated the rooms and the renovations are obvious to someone who frequents HoJo’s or the Wyndham line of hotels. The restaurant in the lobby is independent of the hotel so there’s no complimentary breakfast, but the breakfast that is offered is substantial for the prices provided. The dinner was okay also; I can tell there’s not much in the area so the restaurant is good for what’s available.
The rooms were spacious and clean. The wifi was streaming well.

I was looking for somewhere to lay my weary head for 5 hours between flights at Newark Airport. So, top priority was a free shuttle and price. A quick search online threw up Howard Johnson, whcih was significantly cheaper than other near airport options.
I was lucky that trhe half hourly shuttle arrived about 5 mnutes after I got to the hotel shuttle stop at P4 station on the Airtrain. I was grateful to be on the shuttle as it negotiated the windy maze of roads north of the airport — not sure I would have found it on my own.
The area looks rather dodgy but I was pleasantly surprised when I walked into the hotel. They’ve made an effort to make the hotel look classy with some nice water features. The staff were also all friendly
Other than a slightly a medicinal smell, my room was also a pleasant surprise. It was clean, a good size with good amenities. The free wifi worked well
An efficient wake up call roused me in time for my return trip back to the airport. For the price, it’s good value

I work in the Newark Area 1 day almost every week and need a value-​oriented place to stay so I don’t spend too much money while I’m the process of earning it.
That’s how I originally chose this hotel for several of my trips. Well, the last time I stayed here I left a small shopping bag in my room and called after I had left the airport area to see if they would save it for me until I came back 2 weeks later, and they did. The employee who brought it to my room upon my return graciously would not even accept a tip. I am giving them a good review for serviceably running a good facility and for going the extra mile to take care of me as a customer.

Okay So I read the other reviews for this place and let’s just say I was scared. Especially after Jenny J.‘s post about the bra. Ick!
I stayed there this past week which is about 2 weeks later and all I really have to complain about is that I DIDN’T get a free bra. Those things are expensive, haha I’m kidding.
But in all seriousness I really don’t have much to complain about. I think some people are just a bunch of picky-​pickersons. There was everything you need to be happy in a hotel. The beds weren’t Sertas but they weren’t uncomfortable either. The bathroom was clean and there was a brand new literally out of the box flat screen TV (we had to wait to go in our room so they could finish installing it).
ALSO I forgot to mention that we had reserved our room in advance for two days in a row through Expedia but it would have rained the next day when we were supposed to go to NYC so we wanted to switch our second night that we stayed to later in the week so we could drive to Vermont instead. Expedia said they couldn’t do anything but ask the manager. We were expecting them to either say no or at best agree to it but add a fee or something. But to our surprise and delight they said it was fine and there was no extra charge. Which is why I am a fan and giving them an extra star because not every hotel would be as giving. What they lacked in a swimming pool and room-​service they made up for in customer service. :)

I’m actually writing this from the hotel, and let me just say I FOUND A BRA IN MY ROOM. Right on the floor, next to the bed, size 42D, brown and padded. After trying to unsuccessfully to ignore it, I finally took it up to the front desk. The clerk was watching something on his laptop with headphones, and seemed annoyed by the disturbance.
Me: (Tossing it on the counter, looking grossed out) «I found this in my room. Do you have a Lost & Found or something?»
Clerk: (Pause) «It’s not yours?»
Me: «Uh, no. Look at it!» (I’m on the petite side. Also, why would I bring him my own bra?)
Clerk: (Continues to stare at it)
Me: «So, my room was cleaned, right???
Clerk: «Oh yeah, yeah (stammering). The maid probably just dropped it, it’s probably from another room.. . «
Me: (skeptical) «Uh huh.»
I’m hoping it was the maid’s. Mysterious undergarments aside, this hotel definitely fell short of my expectations.
The airport shuttle took close to 30 minutes to arrive, but that was fine; it was nighttime and I hadn’t provided my flight information. The driver was the silent, staring type, but eventually helped me with my bags when I took too long trying to lift them.
Hotel looks impressive from the outside but dated from the inside. There’s definitely a down-​home feel; the back seats of a van rest casually in the hallway, stacks of paint buckets are at the base of the stairwell, and the drinking fountain, while missing the bar/​handle thing, still works just fine if you push the right spot.
Weird, my TV just turned off by itself. Anyway, the room is dated, but sufficient. There’s a microwave, fridge, and coffeemaker, which is nice. The internet is extremely slow but hey, it’s free.
I chose this hotel because I like the Howard Johnsons in the Bay Area, it offered a free airport shuttle, and it was one of the cheaper places available. While I don’t regret my decision to stay here, I wouldn’t do it again and I don’t recommend it.

It’s cheap.
You get what you pay for; hard beds, crappy pillows and rough towels.
It’s far from everything else but there is a free shuttle to the airport. From there you can hop on a train to head anywhere else.