Jana H.
Yelp
At Least All I'm Doing At This Place Is Sleeping!
The Good: The Courtyard Marriott in Downtown Newark is prime place to stay for those doing business in the area, catching an event at the Prudential Center, going to a Red Bulls game and or visiting the Rutgers Newark, UMDNJ and NJIT campuses. You can easily get to those locations from the hotel, not to mention the Newark International Airport or Newark Penn Station (free shuttle to Penn & EWR). Above all, this hotel is an okay place to stay if you are going to be busy all day and need a place to crash at night, but not necessarily a great place to explore / relax in.
Location: Close to the Prudential Center, University Heights, Newark Penn Station, The Airport (10 min drive), Red Bull Arena (less than 2 mi.) etc.
Shiny & New: The Courtyard Marriott Downtown Newark is the first NEW hotel built in Downtown Newark within the last 40 years. AKA everything is new, clean, up-to-date and in working order.
Nice Hotel In A Not-So Nice Area: To put it nicely; The City of Newark isn't the most glamorous place to be. However, this hotel is beautiful, clean, well-kept and probably not something you would expect to find in Newark. But, once you leave the hotel, you are smacked in the face with the realities of a big urban city struggling to become a better place at a snail's pace.
Housekeeping: The rooms were clean and tidy the entire week my friends and I stayed here! However, they missed leaving some key toiletries the day we checked in.
Food: The food in the hotel is pretty decent. Not amazing but not bad in terms of taste and price.
Price: Depending on the day of the week, time of the year and what events are going on, you can typically get a room here for cheap. Cheaper compared to staying directly in NYC or directly next to Penn Station.
Transportation: As mentioned, the hotel provides a free shuttle to and from Newark Penn Station and the Airport (EWR). It stops at each location ,once an hour form 5 AM - Midnight Plus, it's only about a 10 minute walk (1/2 mile) from the hotel to Newark Penn Station (only do this during the day if possible).
The Ugh...:
If you miss the shuttle from Newark Penn you will have to wait an hour until the shuttle comes back! If you call the hotel, they will send a cab service to pick you up. However the cab company charges by the fare/ride and not by the distance. Prepare to pay $8.00 (excluding tip) to go the half mile from Newark Penn to the Hotel (not good at all)! If you want a cab, I suggest calling the hotel to arrange this for you. Often time the cab drivers won't take you to the hotel (unless done through the hotel) because it's too short of a ride/ fare.
You can walk to and from Penn Station but it's not the most pleasant / safe walk in general, let alone after dark.
Not A Great Area: Newark is just Newark. There are positives and negatives to every city, however there's not much to do around the hotel, especially if you want to be safe. The only "good" restaurants you can really go to near the hotel (walking distance) are Dinosaur BBQ, Brick City Bar & Grill and The Edison Ale House. Venturing out to Broad Street is fine but I wouldn't suggest it after dark and especially after dark on the weekends. If you plan to venture out and about in the area, I suggest going in groups. The bigger the group, the better (this rule applies to any big city). The good news - a Joe's Crab Shack is scheduled to open next to the hotel in the near future.
Terrible Customer Service: The staff isn't friendly in the least bit! You get a dose of friendliness when you check in, check out and order food from the café. Beyond that, the staff is pretty darn rude! I personally prefer Marriott's and I'm a Marriott Rewards Member, but this location serves up the absolute worst customer service I have ever experienced at any Marriott, let alone a crappy gas station connected to a McDonald's in the middle of nowhere. If this were my first time staying at a Marriott, I probably wouldn't want to stay at another Marriott hotel in the future; based on the customer service. My friends from out of town mentioned that if they visit Newark again, they will not be staying at this hotel primarily due to the lack of customer service.
I'm happy that this hotel opened in Downtown Newark! I personally believe that this hotel will help to slowly revitalize the City of Newark; a step in the right direction. However, the Courtyard Marriott Downtown Newark desperately needs to invest some serious time into training they're employees along with giving them a cup of coffee and some sunshine!