Hilton Garden Inn Secaucus/Meadowlands

It was nice and clean.

I loved the way I was greeted by the manager Jashira she was so pleasant and made us feel welcome in this place of business

My wife and I were visiting our son in New York City and chose this hotel for several reasons, mainly to avoid Manhattan hotel prices and outrageous parking fees. We figured we’d found the perfect hack: stay just outside the city, save a bundle, and enjoy a quick, easy commute.

First, let me say the hotel itself was excellent. The staff was friendly, the room was clean and comfortable, there was free parking (a beautiful phrase to any traveler’s ears), and complimentary coffee in the lobby to help you brace for the day ahead. No complaints at all about the property.

Our grand plan revolved around the “easy access to public transportation.” On paper (or ChatGPT), it looked fantastic. The idea was to take a bus to the Port Authority Bus Terminal and then hop on the subway to Penn Station, where most of our activities were centered. Simple, right?

Well… that’s where the adventure began.
Getting to the bus stop involved trekking through snow, mud, and part of a Home Depot parking lot before reaching a stop planted at the corner of a very busy intersection. What looked straightforward on the map turned into a route that felt like a shortcut suggested by someone who had clearly never tried it themselves.

Standing there, we quickly realized this was not the kind of area we’d be thrilled to navigate on foot late at night after a long day in the city.

Financially, we had planned this with spreadsheet-level optimism:
$4 each way on the bus
$3 each for the subway
$7 per person each way = $28 per day for the two of us
Three days = $84 total

Cue the record scratch.

We pivoted to Plan B: taking the 9 minute train from Penn Station to Secaucus Junction via NJ Transit, then grabbing an Uber to the hotel because it was too far to walk. The train was about $5 each, and the Uber averaged $20–$25 plus tip.

Our tidy $28 daily transportation cost suddenly ballooned to about $72 per day. Instead of $84 for the trip, we spent roughly $194 getting back and forth! So much for the “we’ll save so much money!” strategy.

Bottom line:
The hotel itself is a great value; clean, friendly, and comfortable with free parking. But if your plan is to rely on public transportation into Manhattan, be prepared for more logistics, more time (about an hour+ each way), and significantly more cost than you might expect. What looked easy online felt very different under real-world conditions.

Would we stay here again? Yes! If we were visiting NYC? Nope!

As budget travelers trying to outsmart New York City… let’s just say New York won that round.

It was very clean excellent breakfast food.

The staff were friendly and helpful. The hotel was clean. The pool and hot tub was fun.

The staff was nice during check in.

Room was clean and the bed was comfy.

Convenience to a lot of things. Parking was easily accessible. Breakfast should be included in the price

Room was good, clean.

Service warm and friendly during check in and breakfast

Clean convenient