Motel 6 Elizabeth, NJ - Newark Liberty Intl Airport — Hotel in Elizabeth

I was flying out of Newark Airport with my pup. I needed a place to stay for 10 hours. I choose Motel 6 as it was budget friendly and their motto is “clean, comfortable rooms”.

I arrived to the property around 7pm. The scene that I drove up to was surreal. There were children running around the parking lot, adults loitering in the lobby and parking areas.

The first room I was assigned had curtains falling off the window and was facing that parking lot.

The second room I was given had curtains hung but..locks were broken, sheets were stained, mold in the bathroom grout and the tub was stained. There were red hair dye stains on the toilet seat and walls of the bathroom. The patches on the walls were unpainted and the door was held together with duct tape.

I unpacked my own linens (I was moving to Hawaii) made up my bed, moved furniture in front of my door and hunkered down for my night.

Around 9 pm I had to go to the lobby to talk to the front desk agent as he did not answer the phone. I told him about the room and he told me the room was fine. He then told me I was rude. He began speaking to a woman at the lobby desk in another language and I asked him to please speak in english. He yelled at me “he did not have to, it was none of my business”.

It’s now 11pm I have a flight at 0700 and needed to leave at 0500.

Well, 11pm is morning for the folks who live at this motel, life was happening everywhere. People running up and down the stairs, knocking on doors and yelling to each other, next to my room. Cars were beeping and engines were revving all around me. The noise drowned out the planes flying over us!

I slept 1 hour and at 0445 I drug my luggage down the stairs and saw men still loitering around. I looked for their shuttle to the airport and was shown to a van. He helped me with my bags and drove me to the airport(this was the highlight of my stay).

My complaints were disregarded by the Motel so I reached out to the customer care department. I was told someone would get back to me. A few days later we saw a credit of $30.00 (30%). I called customer care 3 more times, was hung up on twice and then was patched thru to the motel for a 3 way call with the “manager” and customer care. I was hung up on again.

I called the motel asked for a manager, was interrogated by the person who answered the phone and was refused access to a manager until I told him I was filing a BBB complaint. At that time the assistant manager, Kyote picked up stating she had been in a meeting. I heard her advising the person speaking to me as to what to say...?

She told me there was nothing wrong with the room and they would not refund my money. The money was already spent, it was not the issue, it is now the principal. She also hung up on me.

I went up the ladder to corporate. I got a corporate customer care agent (JoJo) who was empathetic but told me there was nothing he could do financially (not the issue anymore!)but the property disrepair would be looked into.

I am shocked at the apathy I encountered from the Motel 6 brand up to and including my contact with corporate and my discussion with Jojo.

I did not expect a luxury hotel just a Clean Comfortable Room as advertised.

I read previous reviews and tried to give this property a chance. Trust me, none of the reviews are exaggerated. Go anywhere else! Sleep at the airport if...

I don’t care how many stars I am allowed to give,I am giving this Motel 6 location a full ZERO down the line.Save your money invest in Crown Plaza next door. I stayed for a miserable week and got kicked out for insisting on a working toilet and a working tv,…oh yes and also the Front Desk guy Patel reprimanded me for not keeping my room tidy(not damaged,)…mind you,I am a working costume designer in Halloween season. My issues are as follows; For one,None of the staff speak English (yes I can say that,I am black and African,even I had to adjust to the nuances in the AMERICAN English). I get it,they are there to work like “servants” and Motel 6 is a 1 star motel, communicating is not necessary,BUT their English is either broken or no English at all.Goodluck explaining ANYTHING. Secondly,the front desk staff(except for this one dark skinned athletic fit guy that works night,they do not deserve him,he was the only one that could put in the effort to smile and help me get a cup or a spoon without bitching about it).The rest of them,very lazy,not helpful at all,can’t speak communicate,no diversity in staffing(all Indian men) and lackadaisical about their work. Thirdly they had to change my rooms three times, -first room,had a toothbrush stuck in the toilet(hence why it was clogged)they had to fix that,no apologies, -THEN the bathroom sink got leaky and we found out the pipes didn’t have a wash in it,when they fixed it,the whole place smelled like piss,No apologies. -On to the next room,all was fine and then the TV didn’t work.The front desk guy Patel with the glasses told me I have to wait till tomorrow to get it fixed(no apology,no coupon or discount for the inconvenience,just an order),I said absolutely not because my debit card works on Sundays and you got your money, so should your tv guy… -on to the last room,this one had no refrigerator,at this point, the glasses guy Patel told me I was kicked out(couldn’t extend my stay) because Motel 6 policy says a customer can’t stay more than 3 days(his words and I have never heard such a thing in my life before ) and also because my room was untidy(true story). Mind you I was never rude,threatening or frantic,never damaged the property or asked for much. I guess he had to punish me for making him get off his butt to WORK!you know like basic AMERICAN STANDARD customer service?!?! I am not doing this for a discount,coupon,free room,apology,nothing,…what I want is for people in Hospitality to understand,it doesn’t matter how low your Star rating is,you must always be mindful of customer service because you don’t know what people are going through or getting away from… You should try to make things better not worse. Motel 6 Newark is the first and last motel I have ever been in and they need to retrain their staff from top down and be mindful of the geographic location. For example,this is in the middle of a highway near the airport,it CANNOT be that much or unusual to ask to have simple things like disposable utensils at the front desk,so I don’t have to travel 25 minutes to buy a spoon from the local Wawa,they have nothing!…and free coffee is till like 9am,a tub of coffee is like $5 and that can run you a...

Tub Banged, Ghosts Slayed, Core Memories Made

Okay so here’s the tea, and by tea I mean the green liquid dripping from the motel showerhead that Eugene Labubu II insisted was “just ectoplasm” and then tried to bottle for his "ghost Etsy."

We booked Room 206 at the same Motel 6 because we literally don’t learn lessons. And because Shannon Debussy was like, “If we’re gonna get haunted, at least let’s get haunted with points.”

Let me just say:

We had the time of our LIVES and also maybe accidentally opened a portal in the bathtub. #oops #familyfun #bubblingdimensionhole

First red flag: when we checked in, the front desk person said “You’re back. Bold.” and handed us a key wrapped in a wet napkin. Shannon said “Kinda aesthetic?” and I said “Kinda biohazard.” We compromised by Purell-ing our entire hands off.

Room smelled like old root beer, fresh despair, and Bath & Body Works’ discontinued “Cursed Victorian Widow” scent. So obviously we were in love.

Let’s talk about the bathtub.

It banged. Constantly. From the inside. Like something was trapped beneath it, rhythmically trying to send messages in demonic jazz beats. Shannon took a bath anyway. She said it felt “like being held by a moist skeleton with something to prove.” She came out glowing. And twitching. But mostly glowing.

The tub eventually filled itself with beetles. We named them all Gary.

We tried to sleep but the walls kept whispering “Come play in the static” and Eugene started levitating above the bed like he was doing casual planks in hell. Honestly proud of his core strength.

The hair soap? Evolved. This time it was braided into the shape of a horse. A horse with human teeth. Shannon screamed. Eugene adopted it. It’s in his backpack now. We feed it mints.

The fridge? Unplugged. Still cold inside. And when I opened the freezer, it whispered “Don’t.” So I closed it. I respect boundaries.

The TV only played looped footage of us checking in. We never saw a camera. I waved once. My reflection didn’t wave back. He just stared. Judging me. Probably for my socks-and-sandals combo.

There was a shadow that followed Shannon the entire time but never showed up in photos. We named him Carl. Carl watched us play Uno. Carl hates when you skip his turn. Carl flipped the table. We still love him.

Breakfast was an empty waffle maker, a single cold hard-boiled egg, and a pamphlet titled “Why You’ll Never Leave.” We laughed. Took it to go.

Eugene now speaks in an ancient tongue but only on Wednesdays. Shannon started seeing colors that don’t exist. I got 14 mysterious mosquito bites in the shape of the Wendy’s logo.

And yet? BEST. FAMILY. WEEKEND. EVER. We made memories. We screamed. We bonded over the haunted ice machine. Shannon Debussy kissed me under the flickering hallway light while Crispin (our now-family ghost) played a haunted flute in the distance.

Will we return?

Already booked for Christmas. Carl’s...