Give us a smile!

I stayed for 4 nights over Christmas last year, and whilst the room was clean and comfortable (apart from the fact that you are by the freeway and the windows aren't double-glazed) and the shuttle bus drivers were wonderfully friendly, I found the front desk and restaurant staff to be very brusque - almost rude - and rarely with a smile. On the whole, okay for somewhere to rest your head but if you want to be made to feel special, probably not the ideal hotel.

Don't rely on the free shuttle bus!

We stayed at the Meadowlands Plaza for 3 nights and were impressed with the size and cleanliness of the rooms (the king size beds are huge!)

The complimentary American-style breakfast was a great way to start the day -plenty to choose from.

The only problem was the hotel's free shuttle bus service (which takes you around Secaucus). As we had previoulsy read about problems we were initially impressed with the service until our second night the bus failed to collect us from the train station. We had called in advance and were told it would be half an hour, it didn't turn up. We called again and were assured it would be there. It never turned up and i hate being lied to!

We ended up getting a taxi which costs $10 -not too much at all but it would have been nice if we hadn't sat waiting for the hotel bus for over an hour!

So overall, the bus service was fine going out in the morning but unreliable picking up in the evening.

The train station was great for getting into the city, NY's Penn Station is the next stop so no problems there.

Pleasently Surprised

My wife and I stayed 10/15-10/17, as we were coming to visit NYC. We arrived in Secaucus around 7am on 10/15. Wanted to eat breakfast, could not find any national/regional chains (i.e. waffle house, denny's, ihop, etc.) and the few places we could find did not appear very appealing. Anyway, we called the hotel and inquired on an early check-in, they were very accomodating and allowed us to do so around 9:30 am and also immediately notified us that the FREE breakfast buffet would be ending at 10am. This was a wonderful surprise, considering that is most likely reserved for customers that stayed the night before. All-in, the standard 1 King bed room was far bigger than anticipated, breakfast a blessing (nothing else in the area) and the shuttle service was WONDERFUL to have! My only complaint is that the breakfast items could have been hotter.

Good value

My wife and I stayed at the Meadowlands Plaza for our five day trip to NYC. We were both very pleased with the room and the location. I would highly recommend to anyone visiting NYC to consider this as a cost efficient alternative.

Here's a quick pro/con for your assistance.

PROs

-The location was a half hour trip to the heart of the city and that includes a ten minute walk to the stop, waiting, and the actual ride to NYC. All for only $2.30 each. As well, several other hotel shuttles drive by and will pick you up. I assume its for free, we gave the driver the $2 we would have spent on the bus anyway, but many others did not.

-There were clean rooms.

-Free hot breakfast. We ate at 9a and didn't have to eat again until 2p. This saved us a lot of money on breakfasts in NYC.

-$99/night if you are a CAA/AAA member and free parking.

-The shuttle was there to drive you around town.

CONs

-Although close to NYC, we wished that we were in the city at times, as its a little far to go back to your room if you are tired for an hour.

-There was nothing around the hotel. We bought some wine in NYC before we went back, but had no corkscrew. The hotel couldn't give us one and since the hotel is in the middle of nowhere and it was late, we couldn't drink the wine.

-We had a problem with the TV in that some channels would come in some nights and not others. Also, you would change the channel and go right back to it and it would disappear. Weird. It wasn't that big a deal to us, but something to consider.

-Our toilet kept plugging and not flushing properly.

-Hotel staff was pretty good (quick to rectify the plugging when we reported it) but we did have one person who had the vacant stare that others talked about when i mentioned about the tv in case it was a problem for the next person.

Again, I would absolutely recommend this to anyone wishing to visit NYC. It was a great hotel with only minor shortcomings.

Good place to stay !

We stayed there for 3 nights and had a very nice, spacious room.

Breakfast is unbeatable, although they write" continental breakfast" they offer you a full American breakfast !

Shuttlebus took us to the nearest bus stop to get on the NJbus to New York City, and picked us up whenever we called for (toll free !!). Staff is very friendly and helpful.

Not what we expected

OK if you have a car, which we did'nt, staff not that helpful. Bar and restaruant not open, free bus service took you to certain places.

For breakfast you had to eat with plastic knives and forks and eat off plastic plates and cups!!!! Rooms were clean.

Very worthwhile

I arrived with a guest at the hotel on the 30th of December for a three night stay. The hotel was very clean and the rooms were very large and well kept with a price that could not be beat. In addition to this, they offer a very large complimentary breakfast buffet that was just the ticket before taking a trip into the city.

The only problems were that the staff seemed very vacant and, at times, quite rude and unaccomodating and the complimentary shuttle service was anything but that. We were almost never able to utilize it and ended up walking to the hotel from the bus stop almost every day and night. Lucky for us we didn't find the area to be that unsafe or dangerous and never had any problems.

Overall, I would definitely stay at this beautiful property again. I would just bring better walking shoes and a thick skin for the staff.

Worth the risk

Decided to stay in Secaucus and save some$$. We were taking an impromptu trip and showed up in Secaucus without a reservation. All of the local chain hotels were filled due to a convention. We decided to try the Meadowlands Plaza and it worked out just fine. Large, clean and quiet rooms. The price was great too! Only complaint was that the hotel shuttle was not very reliable. We just decided to take a taxi from the hotel to the NJ Transit bus stop about a $5.00 fare including tip.

The bus takes you right to the NY Port Authority Terminal near Times Square for $2.10. No headaches with traffic or parking. Would stay accross the river again and here again.

3 out of 4 not bad

Arrived April 21 for a 4 night stay at the Meadowlands. The first 3 nights we had no issues, the rooms are very clean and well kept. Shuttle service around the hotel area was great along with the full American breakfast each morning. The 4th night of our stay the hotel had a sprinkler system break flooding the first 4 floors. The frontdesk was not very helpful and had no idea when the problem would be fixed so we could return to our rooms. After waiting an hour and seeing that the issue didn't look like it was going to be rectified for about another 3 or 4 hours we decided to checkout and head back home. We received a full credit for that night with no problems. I would stay here again and write this accident off as an unforeseen circumstance.

Secaucus - Meadowland Plaza Hotel - thumbs up!

I stayed at this hotel for one night, arriving to find out the non-smoking, double bed room I had reserved was not available. It was frustrating as I was chaperoning 3 kids and we needed 2 beds. Finally we got one although the front desk people were not very nice about it.

I thought, fine, we just need a clean, safe place to stay.

The room turned out to be very clean, larger than I thought and we were very happy with it. It was a quiet floor, too. In fact, the entire hotel was quiet. In the morning they offer a full, complimentary breakfast which I didn't realize so that was a nice surprise. Food was great and you could eat all you wanted. You just show your room key to get in.

The hotel offers a complimentary shuttle to surrounding areas and they recommend you take it vs. walking to stay safe. We had a car. We went to our workshop that day and I checked out with no problems at all. The day shift was far friendlier!

I would stay again!