Newark Gateway Hilton
You
can reach the lobby by a covered walkway form Newark Penn Station, so
no need to go outside, which is nice, especially if it is raining.
This and the good connection by PATH to Downtown Manhattan are one of
the big advantages of this hotel.
It was a little bit before
14.00 as I arrived in the hotel. The check-in took only some minutes,
but I was told, that no room was available in the moments, as they
were fully booked the last night. I decided to wait some minutes and
voila a room was available after a five minutes wait. I have several time experienced, that you are told, you are to early, no room is ready, but if you wait some time you get a room after some minutes already I requested a late check out for the Sunday, but I get it
only to 14.00. Well, better that nothing.
The roof top pool
was closed (why, we had 18 ° Celsius?) and the gym is not very
big, but the facilities were okay.
There are two restaurants,
one sort of sports bar and a normal one. I only had breakfast on Sunday in the Sports bar, which was okay. You could choose between a
normal breakfast buffet or an extended American breakfast buffet for
12.75 US$ including taxes. I took the American breakfast and it was
okay, the service was friendly and there was only one other quest at
this time (7.45), another four guests arrive during the time I had
breakfast.
The hotel offers a 24 hour free shuttle service to Newark airport every
30 minutes. You are dropped off right in front of you departure
terminal.
Stays: 15 October 2004, 13 January 2006
Visited on RTW 2004 Trip, New York and Chicago Trip 2006,
direct link
Hilton Newark Penn Station
Arrival
Date: 15 October 2004
Departure Date: 17 October 2004
Room type
booked: Hilton Guest Room, Standard
Rate Plan: Net Direct Rates
Room Number: 319
Room
Rate: 98 US$ (+ tax and service charge)
Status
of Guest Program: Base / Blue
The Hilton Newark Gateway is a hotel built in the eighties (or late seventies) and the rooms are renovated some time ago, but there are some stains in the carpet and at the wall. The room was okay, nothing special, but a little bit dark. The furniture seems to be new, but the lamps have to be switched off at the lamp, no central possibility to switch off. A working
desk with telephone and LAN-Connection was available. The air ccondition made a lot of noise and either was to hot or to cold. An arm chair and a small table were available and the room was not as small as I had expected remembering all the threads about this hotel.
The bathroom is a little bit d ated. The tea and coffee facilities are in the bathroom, which I first thought was annoying, but as I prefer to have a coffee or tea in the morning it was nice to have it right there. The bath had a curtain, which
was somewhat dirty at some parts and so was the part where it was fixed to the wall. There was some small room before the bath with a sunk. The hairdryer was not very good; it was old and became hot during the use. Perhaps they should renovate the bathrooms in the nearby future.
The hotel is okay to me; it is nothing special and there are probably better Hilton Hotels, but if you leave / arrive at Newark Airport and stay only a few days (and do not want to do Hotel Hopping) it is a good choice, as you
could use the PATH to travel to Manhattan. Also it cheaper than a downtown Manhattan hotel and the ride with the PATH is okay.
Interesting to me, I joined Hilton Honors some years ago, but did not stay in Hilton Hotels for the last two years. So my account expired and I could not log in. I tried to register new, which was also not possible, as the Homepage told me, that the users with this handle and e-Mail still exists. So I thought I am not a current Hilton Honors Members,
but as I get the Confirmation-Mail without creating a new Hilton Honors Account my HH number showed up and later I could log in again. It seems, that your account is reactivated automatically (but your past stays are gone) if you book a room with your registered E-Mail address.
Arrival Date: 13 January 2006
Departure Date: 14 January 2006
Room type booked: Standard Room (got Executive Floor)
Rate Plan: Net Direct Rate
Room Number: 9008
Room Rate: 98.00 USD (excl. taxes)
Status
of HH: Gold
I checked it at 17.00 this time. All three members of check-in staff were checking in or out other guests so I had to wait a few minutes before it was my turn. Once it was my turn I was greeted friendly and they must have noticed in their reservation system my stay in 2004, as they greeted me with “Welcome back at our Hilton Hotel, Mr. Klein. It is
nice to have you with us again“. But check-in was a little bit chaotic this time, as they could not find the prepared folder with the Key card. So they prepared a new one but forgot the breakfast voucher. They noticed it and looked for the voucher and found the prepared folder. It should not happen but it could and if they tell me what the problem is, it is okay to me. If there seems to be a problem and you as a guest got no information this is in my eyes not a good handling as the guest is aware of the problem
and should know about the reason. Unfortunately they forgot to program “Executive Floor Access” to the Key card, so the elevator does not work. Well, not a good start at all.
The room as on the 9 floor. Executive Lounge was closed
during the weekend as I was told during check in. Therefore you got a voucher for the use at the
breakfast buffet at the “Market Bar & Grill Restaurant”.
The room was decorated in the same way the room I had 2004. But it seems to be a bit larger. The reason therefore was a smaller bathroom.
The bathroom of the room in 2004 consisted of two rooms, one room with a wash basin and the normal bathroom behind. This time the first room was missing but the bathroom was newly renovated and very nice. A bathtub with shower curtain and a nice country side inspired interior was a nice surprise. Everything
looks nice and there were towels for two persons and an additional third large towel.
Two bottle of water was placed on one of the
bedside tables.
Turndown service was not available. Again the air condition unit was noisy and I turned it off. This unit should be replaced in the near future.
Breakfast was served in the restaurant and there were only a few guests. I ordered the American Buffet and told the restaurant staff to charge the difference to my room. To my surprise, they told me, they will cover the difference and I could use the American Buffet without additional fee. Nice touch …
Despite the problems of the check in a nice stay. The new bathroom is really nice and the rates are very low during weekend. I will stay there again definitively, as you could reach WTC by PATH in 20 minutes and you save a lot of money if you stay in Newark instead of Manhattan. On weekday, the rates are more expensive and I doubt I will stay there in this time. But on weekday, Manhattan is also more expensive.
