Family Hotel Near Newark Airport: the Hilton Newark Airport

Airport hotels often get a pretty bad rap, but the Hilton Newark Airport Hotel is a bit of an exception as I consider it to be both a business and family hotel near Newark Airport . Located just a few minutes drive from the Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, the Hilton Newark offers luxury accommodation with the convenience of being close to the airport. The rooms are modern and comfortable, and the staff is fantastic. As you’d expect from Hilton, there’s plenty of bells and whistles, and an air of professionalism you won’t see in many other airport hotels. There is a great Winter Escape Package now available as well through which you get complimentary WiFi, 15 USD food and beverage credit and late 3:00 pm checkout at no additional cost.

In short, the Hilton Newark barely feels like an airport hotel. After all, most airport hotels are just there for people wanting a decent sleep between flights. However, the Hilton Newark Airport actually offers a level of comfort that makes it worth considering even for longer stays.​

Location and Transport

As an airport hotel, the Hilton Newark is pretty hard to beat for convenience. If you don’t have much luggage you can actually walk to it (forget if you have kids or are kind of a comfortable person), though like almost everywhere in the US outside city centers the infrastructure is for cars, not pedestrians.

If you’d rather not walk, they offer a complimentary shuttle service, which runs every 20 minutes making walking a less suitable option. The ride itself is about five minutes or so, with stops at Terminal A, Terminal B and Terminal C. The shuttle runs all day, everyday, so don’t worry about getting stuck at the airport overnight. The Hilton also offers transport into town. From the hotel, you can take another free shuttle over to the airport’s P4. From there, there’s regular trains into the city center. The trip takes around 30 to 40 minutes. From P4, it’s also possible to take a shuttle to the Jersey Gardens Mall, where you can dive into some shopping.

Amenities and Services

As you’d expect from a Hilton, there’s a great range of services and amenities to be had here. There’s a pool, wifi, 24 hour room service and a gym. Business travelers will appreciate the business center and meeting room. They even have video conference facilities, and express mail to your room.

The area around the lobby. As you can see it's rather nice and stylish.

Rooms at the Hilton Newark Airport

Now let’s get to the important part: the rooms. The stars of the show here are the Serenity beds, which are used throughout the hotel. These beds are supposedly professionally designed to be more comfortable than the average bed. After a night in one, I have to agree they’re pretty good.

The rooms themselves come in a variety of configurations – too many to list here. Nonetheless, the basic idea is that you have a choice of either standard rooms or suites. Most of the rooms feature either one king sized bed, or two doubles (we were in a double bed room). Along with tasteful furnishings, you can also expect wifi access and a coffee maker. Moving on, the suites are a cut above the rooms. Both the executive and presidential suites are designed in the art deco style, and come with a living area, dining area, dedicated office area and up to two bedrooms. In short, there’s much more room to stretch out, and every aspect is simply taken up a notch. Very luxurious.

Our room. we got there somewhat late and left early in the morning so I had no opportunity to take a picture with daylight.

Most of the rooms are wheelchair accessible. Also, it’s possible to book single day stays, which are perfect for crashing for just a few hours. They also offer a wide variety of special deals, such as combos including a room and breakfast.

Our room was very comfortable, clean and well maintained. I can’t say I had any problems. I was slightly concerned it might be a little noisy, especially given the proximity to the airport. However, throughout my stay sound wasn’t an issue at all ( I didn't hear a single plane), and I have no complaints in this regard what-so-ever. In fact I wish my flight hadn't been as early in the morning!

Dining

So, the beds are great, but what about the food? There’s actually three different on site dining options. The first is Amelia’s, a causal bar that serves up some pretty good food. It’s best suited for a light snack and a drink. Then there’s Edison’s Brew, which is a bit of a coffee shop. They serve Starbucks coffee and a nice variety of pastries- it is here that we got our take away breakfast slightly before 6:00 am. Finally, the Newarker is the place for sit down meals. They’re open breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food is of Hilton’s typical high quality, though it’s a bit on the expensive side. The breakfast buffet is great though. 

The Newarker was closed while I was there but it is clearly high-end.

It may look like a sports bar, but this is what casual dining looks like at the Hilton Newark Airport. I could tell that patrons were having a good time.

Staff

A hotel is nothing without decent staff, so I really think it’s worth commenting on how professional things are over at the Hilton. I found the concierge staff extremely helpful, friendly and generally an asset to the hotel. Room service was prompt and check in/ check out was a breeze, however I did miss getting some help with the trolley as I had a bunch of suitcases to carry. Still, I find myself unable to find any big faults here.

Conclusion

In case you haven’t guessed by now, I’m very satisfied with my stay at the Hilton Newark. My favorite thing about it was how little the Hilton felt like an average airport hotel and how pleasant it was as a family hotel near Newark Airport. Unlike most cold airport hotels, I really felt this place had a little love and passion in it. This isn’t something you always see in brand name hotels, but it’s what made my stay so enjoyable. The staff are always there to be helpful, and contributed greatly to making my stay a good one.

Even putting this great vibe aside, the hotel is still great. Everything is well maintained, clean and professional. It’s also very easy to get into town, which good transport connections. The complementary shuttle from the airport is particularly useful, and just adds to the overall convenience of the hotel. Finally, as a Hilton, the hotel packs a great mix of amenities and services. While I didn’t make full use of all of these during my stay, everything from the pool to the (small but all right) gym looked impeccable.

Lastly, the dining options are great. Edison’s Brew is a good spot for a coffee, and I would have easily made my way for a few nightcaps over at Amelia’s had I had the time. Finally, the Newarker isn’t the cheapest place around and I didn't have the chance to eat in it, but it certainly beats airport food. In other words, I’d happily recommend the Hilton Newark to anyone passing through.