TRYP by Wyndham Newark Downtown

One night spent laying down to catch an early flight. Free airport transfer. The quadruple room was cramped. We hadn't expected to sleep in two beds.

We stayed here before and it was great. This time, there were no coffee cups by the coffee machine in our room or little creamers. I asked for cups and had to wait 10 minutes and apparently there's "no creamer" and the kitchen was closed. Scheduled the 5 AM shuttle… Was happy to see the shuttle was here at 10 minutes prior, but the driver was too busy on his phone and told us we couldn't even load our bags until 5 AM. He watched us bring the bags outside and then we had to bring them back in. It's just a little things.

Booked this place for the favorable location within walking distance of the PATH train to Newark, and it was the lowest price in that area of Newark I could find booking close to the date of travel. The rooms I stayed in were clean and well-maintained. That said, I had many issues with this hotel. The sensor for the room's lock was broken or out of batteries and made it very frustrating to try to get into the room. The hotel tried issuing new keys and sending someone to fix it, but I did not notice a difference. At the end of the trip, I was rubbing four keys all over the sensor hoping it work would for a split second and open the door. The room's safe was out of batteries, meaning a new code could not be set, and it could not be locked. I put the do not disturb sign on the door for the trip to keep anyone from coming in, which reduced the quality of the experience. The valet experience was mixed. Seth was the best valet by far and was the nicest person I met in New Jersey. When he knew we would be out in the rain, he offered us his umbrella and let us keep it. He also got us on the hotel shuttle to the PATH station so we wouldn't have to walk. I tried to give him a tip, and he refused. He far outshone the hotel staff and the other valet, who ran over to the exit as I was driving away at the end of my trip so he could scan my ticket against the machine meant to be used by the person in the car and ask me if I would tip him. Travis, the shuttle driver, was also a cool guy, and I felt bad for him listening to him get yelled at over the phone by his boss, Danny, for a misunderstanding that Roberto (hotel front desk) could have defused but seemed to not care enough to do. Biggest Issue ----------------------------------------------------------------------- I booked a king room for multiple nights, and Diego (hotel front desk) didn't have the room when I arrived, instead placing us in a queen room. After complaining to the booking service, I was told by the booking service support that the hotel would offer complimentary breakfast as compensation for the mix-up, which I considered satisfactory, as we would also be moved to a king room for the remainder of the stay the next day. However, the hotel would then handled this situation poorly and rudely. I was told the complimentary breakfast was noted in the system, and the man at the front desk in the morning, Roberto, neglected to mention it while handling the room exchange and was going to let me walk away, except I remembered. He took me and my traveling companion to the hotel's restaurant and firmly told me that only one of our breakfasts would be free, leaving me to either watch my companion eat alone or pay for a clearly overpriced breakfast "buffet" that consisted of cereal, juice in cups the size of pill bottles, croissants about as thick and long as two of your fingers, some potato cubes, and bacon. When I reached the register to pay, the cashier, Israel, did not give me change. He seemed confused as to why I was standing there waiting until I asked for my change, at which point he told me he didn't have coins. I offered to pay with card instead, and he protested that he had already input cash into his POS system. I didn't budge, and he eventually gave me a defeated look, walked to the register behind the bar, and gave me my change in pennies, which he miscounted. Perhaps it's a culture difference. Where I am from, we conduct business honestly and do not attempt to steal money from each other at every opportunity. We don't ask for tips; we earn them, and we aren't rude to customers. If, like me, you are using Newark as a cheaper place to stay while exploring New York City, and your travel budget has restricted you to only using the PATH train and not being able to pay for parking at the station or a taxi/shuttle there, then I recommend keeping this hotel in mind as a last resort if you are unable to find suitable accommodations at the several other hotels within walking distance to the PATH station.

This hotel is clean, was an a great rate and overall no complaints. I felt comfortable walking the area. I even liked the option of the shuttle to and from the airport.