Hilton Garden Inn Secaucus / Meadowlands

Walking through the lobby of the Hilton Garden Inn, one immediately picks up on the hotel’s garden motif. With floor-to-ceiling windows and large skylights, the lobby feels like a sun-filled atrium. The fireplace mantle is adorned with potted plants, ceramic bird figurines, and silver lanterns holding white candles. Billowy curtains hang from the room’s four columns, along with white lanterns for added brightness. The entire atmosphere exudes that zen-like feeling one gets from being in a garden. 

A New Jersey suburb about five miles from the Lincoln Tunnel, Secaucus is a transportation hub in the middle of a marshy region known as the Meadowlands. Secaucus Junction, a railway station with service to New York and other parts of New Jersey, is about four miles away. Additionally, the NJ Transit bus, with service to New York Port Authority, stops just behind the hotel parking lot. The Meadowlands Sports Complex is nine miles from the hotel, making it an ideal spot for people who have come into town for sporting events or concerts. Besides its convenient location, Secaucus doesn’t really have much else going for it. Visitors will find a few suburban strip malls, office complexes, and a dizzying array of highways in the immediate area surrounding the hotel.   

After seeing the bright, airy, and all around incredible lobby, rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn are a bit of a let down. Besides a few upgrades that were made in 2015 -- sleek new bathroom tile, new lamps on the nightstands, new bedding, and a fresh coat of paint -- rooms still feel dated thanks to popcorn ceilings, tired furniture, and traditional curtains. Dated decor aside, rooms are exactly what one might expect from a Hilton Garden Inn. Equipped with flat-screen TVs, Keurigs, mini-fridges, and microwaves, rooms have all the comforts of home and are impeccably clean. Desks have comfortable ergonomic chairs, plenty of lighting and outlet space, and a large surface area. Bathrooms are a bit mismatched, with dated wallpaper, traditional granite counters, and sleek new tile floors, but all of the necessities are present. There’s a shower/tub combo, wall-mounted hairdryer, and Neutrogena bath products.  

For a relatively small hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn Secaucus/Meadowlands is loaded with nice features. The breakfast bar, adjacent to the lobby, is a real standout. For a fee, guests can choose from a few hot items, like pancakes, waffles, and eggs, along with cold items like fresh fruit, assorted pastries, and cereal. Of course, there is coffee, milk, and juice as well. Guests who might get hungry outside of breakfast hours will appreciate the 24-hour Pavilion Pantry, which sells everything from small toiletries and snacks, to beer, wine, and microwaveable meals. Just off the lobby, there's a minuscule fitness center with three machines and a few free weights. The fitness center overlooks the heated indoor pool and whirlpool, which, though small, is a tough amenity to find at this price point in the area. The business center is well equipped with two computers, a printer, a fax machine, and other office items like a paper shredder and a pencil sharpener…just in case you decide to bring along your pencil collection. The Hilton Garden Inn also has about 1,200 square feet of meeting space -- ideal for corporate functions, but not big or grand enough for weddings as the hotel’s website suggests. And, to top it all off, there is free parking and Wi-Fi, but the Wi-Fi is slow unless you upgrade to the charge-per-day rate.