La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Secaucus Meadowlands

The staff stayed friendly and understood how frustrating the repeated key-card problem was. Unfortunately, we had to go back to the lobby every day to reset the card after exploring, and twice we made several trips up and down before it finally worked. Only one elevator worked, and the pool was unavailable too. We knew the hotel was outside New York and were fine with that for the budget price. The bus into the city was manageable outside rush hour. Our room was spacious, but looked worn and wasn’t clean: the floors were dirty, with visible stains on the curtains and bedding. The lobby seemed dated and smelled musty, while our floor had broken doors and a neglected, almost deserted feel. The man at reception was friendly but abrupt. We weren’t expecting luxury, but the dirt and ongoing maintenance problems made this a disappointing stay.

The bed bug bites are what I’m left with from what was meant to be a nice Christmas trip to the city. They’re all over my body, dozens of itchy red marks, and I can’t relax. At first I thought the cluster on my arm might be something else, since bites can take a few days to fully show. I hadn’t seen the earlier reviews about bed bugs, so please take this as a warning. I’m outraged and appalled, and the photos show just some of the bites, both clustered and on their own. The room was freezing, with a cold draft coming in around the window area, and the thin comforter wasn’t enough. We asked the front desk for two more. The beds were hard, and the pillows were so old, dingy, and hard that I slept without them, on the mattress. The wallpaper was peeling in the corners, with black mold visible throughout the hotel. It feels run down and badly managed. The fire alarm beeped every 30 seconds day and night because its battery was low. I reported it more than once, but no one came to fix it, even though it kept us awake. There’s shampoo but no conditioner. The hotel didn’t even have the bare minimum. This place was a nightmare, and I can’t believe I paid to stay here. After the many similar reviews, how can they let this continue? Don’t book if you want to relax, unless you want to come home with lasting consequences. Shame on them.

We were stuck staying here over the holidays because nearby places were insanely expensive, there were no last-minute options, and we didn’t have a rental car. The hotel is near the city and a bus stop, but I wouldn’t trade my health and safety for that convenience again. There are other hotels in the area. I stayed at this La Quinta by Wyndham from December 27-29 and came away with lots of bed bug bites. I’ve since learned people have reported bed bugs for seven years, and it’s still infested. The property was in shocking disrepair: peeling wallpaper with visible mold on several floors, loose or falling fixtures, and an HVAC unit barely secured in the wall. I could put my hand through the gap and touch outside, so freezing air blew into the room all night. The fire alarm had been beeping for days from a low battery. I reported it right away, and the front desk said it was in their records, but nothing was done. That’s a serious safety issue and shows inconsistent safety management. Breakfast was a mess too, with overflowing bins, staff unsure what they were serving, and guests told items were available even though they hadn’t been offered for over a month. The shower supplies were laughable: a tiny bar of soap, really only enough for hands, and shampoo without conditioner. We’d booked for three, but there were complimentary items for just one. We had to call, then go down ourselves to get more instead of having them brought up. For winter temperatures around 18°F, the bedding was practically nonexistent, just a sheet and thin, dirty blanket with visible marks. We had to request a comforter and retrieve it ourselves. I travel all over the world and have never stayed somewhere this unsafe, unsanitary, or disgusting. Between the bed bugs, mold, peeling walls, broken fixtures, inadequate dirty bedding, and badly managed breakfast, this is a health hazard and a nightmare. I’d avoid it. They’re breaking a ton of New Jersey state laws by keeping it in this condition, especially with evidence going back years of how run down it is.

I paid $245 for one night, and it felt like a rip-off. The pool was closed, so call first. Our room was sold as a suite, but there was no bedroom door or privacy. The toilet wouldn’t flush properly: I fixed the flapper chain and got one flush, then a maintenance worker did the same thing and it flushed once more, but didn’t work again until checkout. The seat was stained yellow, and the bathroom door wouldn’t close right. There was only one working elevator. We were on the eighth floor and waited about 20 minutes. The lobby smelled like cigarettes, the front drop-off road had huge potholes, and the front parking was always full. The second lot they sent us to rarely had spaces either. There were newer hotels for less money. I won’t stay here again.