Econo Lodge Woodbridge — Hotel in Woodbridge Township

Short answer:|Clean, comfy, reasonably quiet, low-crime pocket neighborhood, no pests of any kind. Perfect at budget prices."It's fine" is the worst anyone could say. No breakfast, no matter what you read online.||Overly long, in-depth description:|This is an Econo Lodge. That means you should expect basic and efficient, which is exactly what you get here. I give it 5 stars in delivering that, but real stars are based on any hotel. The Iselin Econo Lodge is very good at what it is, but that's never going to be a 5 star hotel. Keep that in mind. But it gets 5 stars because a level 2.5-3 star hotel stay is done very well.||Rooms are tidy, bathrooms fresh, with soap, body moisturizer, and hair care dispensers in the shower. Good water pressure, modern fixtures (undermount sinks, one-piece shower/tubs so no iffy grout). Bowed shower curtain rod so it feels roomy in there and no elbowing soggy fabric. Toilets flush effectively and seats/lids are stable.||There are small (not mini!) fridge/freezers and a microwave. Beds are quite comfortable, and yes the pillows are square, but there are at least two per bed, and they're really fluffy and supportive at the same time. Like big marshmallows stuffed in cotton. The blankets are layered between the topsheet and a rippled white cotton topper, so you get clean, fresh warmth.||We stayed here several times. There is no breakfast. Some sites advertise that (as of summer 2025), but the Choice Hotels (their parent company) website does not. It may be a recent change, a mix-up, or because the Days Inn it used to be offered it. Juice and coffee are available between 7am-11am, which is nice, but not a morsel, or even milk (Coffeemate pumps or powder). There are vending machines if you're desperate.||If your room is near the beverage area/main lobby, there will be lots of morning noise there even though there's no food. Otherwise, apart from localized room renovations, this is much more quiet than most traveler hotels. It's behind a restaurant, so difficult to see but farther from the highway, which means less road noise. Really the only noise comes from the hallways (or temporary repair work). The doors are strong, but not perfectly flush, so little noise dampening effect.||Only on our third stay did we see any even slightly questionable characters, and they were just using the hotel, nothing weird. Keep in mind New Jersey isn't a big homeless shelter state. Instead, they help people pay for hotel rooms. Generally, this is going to be at the extended stay hotels, where rooms may be as low as $70, but people avoiding troublesome spots will prefer a nicer budget hotel. So not really a problem. And since there's no food, everyone will be in their rooms anyway. The rooms have additional safety latches for when you're sleeping. Families and vacationer/traveling couples are common.||The neighborhood feels safer than most other non-luxury hotels in the area. It's tucked back off Route 1 right where it intersects with Route 9, so it would be an awkward spot for burglars. It also backs up onto a sweet little neighborhood of well-kept homes. Room windows overlook the parking lot (free for guests, and including truck spots), so any noise out there would attract attention. The family who runs the franchise are clearly experienced, no-nonsense professionals, equally attentive to requests and rules. They're friendly, but I imagine troublemakers wouldn't find harbor here. There's no elevator, but I'm willing to break my "never sleep on a ground floor" rule here, so obviously it feels quite safe. If you cannot climb stairs, be sure ground floor is available and acceptable to you.||People complaining the Econo Lodge doesn't have this or that are expecting an awful lot from a budget traveler's hotel. They have an icebucket, cups, tray, seating, bedside outlets, even those wall hairdryers if you need one. Good air conditioning, clean walls and ceilings (no leaks or crackly old bits), various lighting options. Blackout curtains and separate privacy sheers for daytime light. Laundry room with modern-looking machines open until 10pm, with wall vended mini detergent packets. If you need anything else, there is a 7-11 about a block and a half south, but turned away from the hotel so it doesn't encroach. Convenient but totally out of sight. You can let antsy young teens go fetch some ice cream or chips for a break from the adults. Alternatively, if you have young children or don't want to leave the property, Whole Foods and restaurants deliver to the lobby/front desk area.||New Jersey hotels are insanely expensive, then fees and taxes make it worse, so budget options are often lacking. I'll admit, I held off reviewing the Iselin Econo Lodge not just to gather more information to review, but because I consider this a valuable find. I grew up going to the Sheraton by Woodbridge Center (now Delta by Marriott) and the Hampton Inn by the GSP entrance, and this seems almost comparably priced to those prices from the 1990s! But no breakfast. So what. There's the amazing Original Pancake House just south off Route 1 at Parsonage Road by the Menlo Park Mall. I'd rather spend $30 there than an extra $30 a night for hotel bagels or steamed egg rounds with sausage patties. Really, go there. It's uniquely delicious. But there's also an IHOP right across from that mall also, if you don't like unique, don't want to wait for a table, or it's past 3pm.||There's a reason why this is called an ECONO Lodge. So if it's under $120 a room, especially during busy seasons, go for it. At $90 or less a night, it's a steal. If rooms are running more like $130+, do comparison shopping for any extra amenities you might prefer, but it still may be the best option.||For the hotel, I would recommend insulation around room doors and/or "be courteously quiet to our other guests" signs in hallways, plus a milk dispenser in the beverage room. Milk can be a quick, healthy snack to satisfy a child or adult, but nobody's going to...

Hector Patel, Front Desk Agent is always very nice, courteous, extremely professional, and friendly upon my arrivals. Despite, me typically arriving after 01:00 AM, he always provides me with a genuine smile and a very warm and welcoming demeanor- And not a, "Why are you here?" disposition. Upon my arrivals, he always get me quickly processed and checked-in and provides me with flavored sparkling water and snacks as a Choice Diamond Member. He is always happy to help and treat me as a valued customer and most of all as a human being. During my previous visit, someone mixed up the room television remotes which are clearly labeled on the back. Hector quickly grabbed his master key and quickly rectified the issue.

Although, there are other Choice properties available, I will generally drive 60 minutes out of my way to come to this location because of Hector's world-class customer service. In short, I have stayed at this property on more than three occasions in the last 30 days. Hector "Wowed Me" on my first stay and he earned me as a new customer. Honestly, this location offers simple, pest free, safe, quiet, comfortable, and very clean rooms which have basic living amenities. Best of all, there is no riffraff hanging around the property and there is plenty of well lit onsite parking. With that being said, I would like to personally recognize the following for team member for his consistent hard work:

• Hector Patel, Front Desk Agent

• Harry Brahama, Front Desk Agent

• Mamao Lopez, Housekeeping & Maintenance

Their friendly world-class customer service always provides me with a refreshing and awesome guest experience. This location boast great value for your money and they sell out very quickly. I will definitely continue to stay at this location when I am in or within 1.0 hours...

I reserved a room for March 10-12, 2025, and when I arrived to check in on the 10th, they were unable to check me in because they told me their “system” was down. They told me I would have to “wait” until whenever their system went back up. After a long day of travel, I elected to stay at a hotel next door rather than wait for however long it took them to repair their system. A couple hours later, they called me and left a voicemail telling me that their system was back up, but at that point I had already checked into another hotel and was sleeping. Even though I didn’t stay there because they couldn’t check me in, they still charged my credit card for the stay. I called them asking to be refunded and they refused to refund me my money. They claimed that the system was only down for “5-10 minutes” and therefore wouldn’t refund me. That was a lie. It was down for hours and I have the voicemails to prove it. Because of this lying clerk, I contacted my bank and did a chargeback on my card, and I also contacted the Choice Hotels corporate office. Corporate told me that its hotels are supposed to contact them and inform them immediately if their system is down, but these people never followed protocol to contact them properly. Their corporate office is also investigating their shenanigans as well.

I also suspect that so many of these five star reviews are fake or came from their friends, because they have all seemingly appeared overnight within the last couple weeks.

The bathroom in their lobby also had zero paper towels and no soap beyond an open Dove soap bar for everyone to share and touch.

Stay away from here at...