Hotwire Hotel: 3* Newark (Ft Lee-Hackensack) Radisson Saddle Brk

[dahammer]

Got a great geography lesson today courtesy of Hotwire!! I found out that Saddle Brook is part of the Ft. Lee-Hackensack zone. I thought this 3* with Restaurant, Pool, and Fitness Center amenities was maybe the Crowne Plaza in Englewood, but after I bought the room, I was disappointed to find out that I would be staying at the Saddle Brook Radisson. The property is barely a 3* and is in a convenient location at the intersection of Rt. 80 and Garden State Parkway, but the morning commute across the George Washington Bridge will be bumper to bumper. The rate of $63 plus $14 for tax and fees makes my "walk out" price of $77 a great deal compared to the internet rate w/taxes $158. The Indoor pool looks like an army barracks, jutting out into the parking lot as an afterthought. Didn't try the restaurant.

[thereuare]

I drove by this property a few weeks ago with my wife and commented that it is a 'dog of a hotel' and it didn't look very good from the outside.

Hotwire does have some BIG zones in this area, the "North Bergen County-Rockland County" zone being one of them... although the way the map is drawn it doesn't appear to be as big as it really is.

FYI, one advantage is that you're close to the "chicken parm hero" place :) I don't know anything about that little pub across the street.

[dahammer]

had many problems during my stay and would not stay here again if given the choice. Several little annoying things that add up to wreck a stay: light bulb missing, filthy windows, paper thin sheets, no ice maker on my floor, closet door off it's track, door latch to get into room was difficult to open, missing remote control, not to mention the "dust bunnies" under the bed....but the worst was the problem with the WiFi system. It took 4 phone calls to tech support to determine that several of the WiFi antennas were not connected to the network, although I received a signal. If I walked to the end of the hall, I could make a connection, but I found this out too late. I was not even able to access the signal in the lobby, but ran into another guest that had been staying here for 3 days, and had the same issues with the WiFi. This hotel just installed the WiFi system a few months ago and they don't seem to have staff on hand to maintain it. I had to suffer the indignity of using dial up to get some work done (how about 2 hours to download a 16 meg file) and to the credit of the hotel manager, all local phone charges were removed from my bill and I received a free breakfast.

To make matters worse, I forgot how close I was to the local joint that serves a great Chicken Parm Hero and settled for some takeout Chinese!! :)