Red Roof PLUS+ Newark Liberty Airport - Carteret — Hotel in Carteret

Where do I start. Due to a death in the family and moving to a new apartment we needed to stay at a hotel for a few weeks. Im a Red Roof Reward member so booked for Cartert. The beginning of our stay was pleasant enough and after our initial reservation we started booking night by night since we didn't know how much longer we would need a hotel. Last Saturday night was sold out of the double room type we had but they had a king room so we booked that. |Sunday AM someone came to our door and said Since we booked a king we would have to leave the double. Okay, that's a hassle but alright just move us to a king. Ohhhh noooo! They said we would have to check out then wait till 3pm to check in again!!??? So after sitting and waiting in the lobby for check in... again. We had to pay the deposit... again... you can no longer "tap" on the pay terminal. You need the physical card. Can't pay cash.... ATM is out of service. After the stress of the day... got into our new king room. That afternoon I booked for the next night. Booked a double and then realized ohhhh no... I need to book a king or they are going to put us through the whole process again. So, booked a king. Tried to cancel the double but couldn't get on the site... just spinning. |A few hours later my niece surprised us by booking through booking.com and paid all up-front. |This AM rudely woken up again and they were now demanding the pet fee paid immediately for the 6 days booked. I thought they were paid on the pre paid reservation. Okay, no problem. But didn't have cash and the ATM was not working. Couldn't use my sister's card even through she's staying as the 3rd adult in the room booked. Wouldn't let us pay it "in a little while" so we could go to the ATM. Finally had to add my sister's name on the reservation and then could use her card. Okay, Finally. Yes, sure. Knock knock again. Now... since it was pre paid through a 3rd party we have to pre pay the whole pet fee up front instead of giving them the $15 each day. |Then berated at the front desk by the absolutely worst person I've ever run across. I was told since I had not canceled the other two rooms that I was going to be put on the DNR list and not be able to ever book again. I explained the situation as why we ended up with the extra two rooms and couldn't get on the red roof app to cancel. She said I had to call reservations immediately to cancel. I called and explained to the rep the entire story and he was like "wait, what" explained how absolutely horrible we are being treated. He said "hold on, im calling the front desk" five minutes he came back and said "wow" |I said "see what we've been dealing with". He said she refused to cancel it and that it wasn't her department and I should go back to the desk after 4pm?? Just went and she told me she would have management reach out to us.|Now, I've traveled all over the world. Ive stayed at many hotels. Both super economical ones and super fancy. But I have never ever been treated so horribly by anyone. Being constantly threatened to be put on the DNR list. Complete lack of customer service, lack of accountability, lack of even trying to care about your reward members. She goes out of her way to cause you difficulty and if you question her.... well its the DNR list for you. Now the hotel itself is fine. Both our rooms are clean. However, theres no lobby coffee as advertised on the website. The ATM has been out of order for the past 2.5 weeks and the laundry room has also not been open. |We are staying till next Sunday AM and then I will never return. In the meantime my niece, sister and I are...

TURN BACK. IT'S NOT WORTH IT. If you're trying to save money so you're considering booking a room here, listen to the others' reviews, including mine. In this review, I will cover everything that went wrong during my stay here.

While I was booking my reservation, the supervisor hung up on me. When I got there and talked to her in person, she had a massive attitude--condescending and unwilling to help, just as she had been over the phone.

Same can be said about the other front desk staff I interacted with during my stay.

Key fobs don't work. Front desk staff rolls her eyes at me everytime they're fixing up a new one for me.

Shower temperature requires an incredible amount of patience to be tuned to your comfort. Same can be said about the room's air temperature. This is not the worst thing, it can all be adjusted to your liking anyway. Remember though: the small things all snowball and avalanche into the complete destruction of your entire stay.

While I'm on the topic of the bathroom: the stains (are those bloodstains? creepy!! ok maybe not, that's probably rust--which is equally terrible) and the marks (did a werewolf stay here? what the heck) will have you convinced that you are in a horror film. You're gonna want to pray to all the gods you're well-acquainted with that there's no dead body in their water tanks.

Front desk management and staff are inefficient, and are unfit to work at the hospitality industry. They will ruin your day without trying, and it will be precisely because they don't try.

The front desk management and staff should truly look for other occupations instead in industries where taking care of people is not part of the job description.

If you got here and are still thinking to yourself: It's fine, I'm only here at night anyway, I'll be out all day; I won't interact with front desk staff anyway, I'll be in and out; I can handle less-than-stellar interactions; I'm quite patient with dialing the water temperature to my comfort; I'm extremely patient with air temperature controls as well; I don't mind an uncomfortable bed, I'll be able to sleep because I'm tired; I'm okay with a bathroom that's so dirty that it seems as if it hasn't been cleaned since the 2020 lockdowns, I'll clean it myself, I'm only here for quick showers and brief bathroom trips anyway; I don't mind having to get front desk to get my key fob fixed/changed multiple times throughout my stay,

then you are scamming yourself into thinking it could be worth it. Ask yourself again: do you think saving a little bit of money worth ... all this?

And an additional note: no, you will not save money, actually. They keep your deposit, and don't refund your money if you decide to check out early.

Plus no matter how well you handle the interactions with front desk staff, no, they won't give you back your money. Keep that in mind.

If, knowing all this, you still elect to stay in Red Roof Inn, remember that you will be paying some money not just for the accommodations but also for the inconveniences that come with it.

You'll try to minimize it as much as you can, but each little thing will build up and ruin your entire trip. I've said it before and I'll say it again: it is...

I booked this hotel based on the beautiful photos—it looked clean, modern, and family-friendly. Unfortunately, it was all a façade. What we walked into was basic, dirty, and worse than that—the staff, especially the woman at reception, made the entire stay feel uncomfortable from the second we arrived.

Check-in felt more like checking into a prison than a hotel. The woman on the desk was blunt, cold, and downright rude—zero greeting, zero effort, and definitely zero hospitality. She didn’t even look up properly, just slid the key across the counter and made it clear we were lucky to be getting that. No smile, no warmth, just attitude. She barked that if we wanted clean bedding, it would only be available after four days, and only if we requested it. That was the welcome. Yikes.

Throughout our stay, every interaction with staff felt like we were inconveniencing them. You couldn’t ask a simple question without being met with eye-rolls, huffs, or complete disinterest. It was clear they didn’t want to be there—and honestly, that feeling spread quickly into the atmosphere of the whole place.

We had to beg for basics like more toilet paper (only given one roll for the week) and fresh towels, which we never received despite asking. The level of customer service was shocking. It’s the kind of treatment that makes you want to leave a day early—but when you’re with kids, it’s not that easy.

And don’t get me started on the smell. The hotel claims to be 100% smoke-free. That’s either a joke or a flat-out lie. The stench of cigarettes and strong marijuana was thick through the corridors, and it seeped into our room. I had young children with me and was deeply uncomfortable with them breathing that in. The windows are sealed shut, so you’re trapped in it.

The fridge in the room was loud enough to wake the dead, and the rubbish was left in the corridors overnight and not cleared until well into the day—adding more to the unpleasant smells and grimy feel.

There’s no food service, just overpriced vending machines, and frankly, no sense of care or pride in the place. It’s a shame, because the prices are fair and the building could be lovely if someone actually gave a damn.

The worst part of this hotel isn’t even the smell or the mess. It’s the attitude of the staff—especially the woman at reception. If you run a business where people come to rest, relax, and feel safe, your staff should be welcoming, helpful, and professional. This was the complete opposite.

Unless the owners address the serious issues with staff attitude and the total lack of cleanliness and control over smoking, I wouldn’t recommend this hotel to anyone—especially families. Massive...