Bridgewater Marriott

The staff was very professional and super friendly. The hotel was very clean. It was a five star experience at a reasonable price.

Stayed here many years ago and like then this is a lovely hotel that has never lost its appeal. On arrival the staff were so friendly and welcoming, I was in room 219 which overlooks the front car park area. The room was fresh, clean, comfortable and had all the required amenities of a Marriott with added touches. The hotel interior, facilities and public areas are timeless and maintained to a very high standard. The food available at the bar was nice, I had the salmon which was well presented and tasted good. The bar staff are on top of their game and ensured at all times everyone was being attended to. I did not have breakfast during my 5 day visit so I cannot comment. I hope to be back in this hotel in the future and always recommend to others.

Pros: Updated, modern look Cons: There are odd issues that do not match with the rates charged for the property. Rates hover between $200-450 average a night. Usually the middle of that. Note that this is not a $400 property. Please don’t choose to spend that. They were understaffed at the desk the entire time I was there. There were multiple wedding parties hosted plus other groups. At times, there was only one person doing check-ins and fielding any questions. One. Often. There was cold water near the front desk and sometimes there wasn’t. The “Starbucks” in the lobby wasn’t operational. Due to the amount of private events, there was little to no seating for paying guests that were not part of the groups. Definitely no place to work or talk to others in your party if you are there on business or with family. This looks like it would be a good business hotel, but it is not. I travel for business. They did not soundproof the rooms so you will hear every word being said in the hallway and you will hear your neighbors. (I know ppl often complain about this, but it was particularly egregious at this property). No desk chair in the room so if you need to work, you cannot do so there. This is why I saw two people trying to work in the lobby. Trying. WiFi. Paid. The housekeeping service is a bit odd. Only 3 bath towels and an odd assortment of others. (Should assume 2 people are staying and provide a set of 4 which is standard). Missing components when they were switched out the next day. Why? Visible strings of dust in the fridge. I tried to understand how that could have happened. Alarm went off both days and actually doesn’t have a shut-off switch—just a snooze. It’s confounding. Little shampoo and no conditioner in the dispensary bottles. You have to check that each time you clean. Coffeemaker is hidden and awkward to use. Trust me. I’m not picky. It’s just difficult. One of the many design flaws when they updated. You’ll find the rest. The hotels in this part of NJ are lacking if you are looking for a quiet business-oriented option. My advice is to choose a hotel that comes in at a reasonable price point so you won’t be as frustrated with all the issues when they come up.

Sheets where stained towels where stained and a few had holes in them

This weekend I was in the Bridgewater area for a dog show and decided to stay at the Marriott again. I hadn't stayed since before the pandemic but in the past, I've spent a lot of weekends there and it was a favorite hotel of mine as they always took care of me, especially when my Mom was in the hospital and I'd stay there to be closer and to get some rest since I'd been a 24/7 caregiver. Let's get to the review. I arrived early on Sunday around 10 and didn't expect a room to be ready which wasn't an issue. After dropping off my bags, I rested in the lobby for a while before heading out. I noticed lots of dirt, crumbs and leaves on the floor as well as many empty cups and dishes. Not a good start nor a good look for guests coming in. Returning around 3 or so my room still wasn't done. The agent who tried to check me in at 10AM SHOULD have told housekeeping to get a room ready for me ASAP but this didn't happen. I still waited 45 minutes and finally got my room. The room itself was ok, and clean. Nicely renovated but the pillows are ridiculously flat. WIFI worked fairly well and at least there are outlets and USB-A plugs next to the bed. Too bad that housekeeping didn't turn off the alarm clock when they cleaned the room. Nor did they replace the bag in the ice bucket, or dust off the ice bucket. There was probably a month's worth of dust on the top. Gross. And the door to the mini fridge was open so it got hot. The hotel has sadly closed the concierge lounge "because of guest feedback". Really? Please. So you get breakfast in the restaurant. It's a buffet and it's fine but the potatoes are full of half cooked onions and peppers and it took forever for someone to get me coffee and juice. The place wasn't even that busy. As an Elite member you can choose between bonus points or a $10 food & beverage credit which is EVERY other Marriott, can be used in the restaurant. Not here! Why? Well elites also get a $15 F&B credit to use, but only Monday-Thursday in the bar or restaurant. We don't want people do double dip and use them both in the restaurant. So use your 10 bucks in the little market for a $9 bag of chips? Please! I was there on a Sunday and Monday night. Not allowing Elites to use the F&B credit when they want is just plain cheap. The hotel lost out, I took the points instead and went to the Cheesecake factory for dinner Sunday night. Instead of Marriott getting my $45 bucks, another vendor did. The lobby still hadn't been cleaned when I got back to wait for my room and also, a manager walked past rubbish on the floor THREE times and didn't pick it up. He "didn't even notice" which means he has zero clue what is going on around him. Also the trash can at the entrance was overflowing for most of the day yesterday. I was a housekeeping manager for Marriott so I notice more than the average guest but I'm surprised that at a Corporate owned property, such poor training exists. The final straw? Instead of the bar having proper tools and rimmers for glasses, a bartender thought that using a crumbled up beverage napkin to hold sugar to rim a glass for a cocktail is acceptable and sanitary. HELLO!!?? I don't care if "you don't use it enough". Have proper tools for the task. The hotel charges $14 and UP for cocktails but we're too lazy to use proper tools, or to get them out of the store room which is what the restaurant manager told me, or spend 10 bucks to get them from Amazon. Also, the fruit garnishes need to be covered. There are ALWAYS flies and bugs and sneezes and coughs and hairs blowing around. I had higher expectations for this hotel. At least be clean, take care of guests (WHY did it take 4 request over 4 hours to get a simple foam pillow? Not acceptable.) and not be cheap when it comes to credits for Elite Lifetime members. I will not return and contacted the board of health.

The sheets were dirty/stained.

The building and room were nice, the staff was friendly and professional but the walls must be paper thin. I could hear the person in the next room snoring. The next morning I could hear conversations with people in multiple rooms. I’ve never had that experience before in any hotel.

I loved this property but reserved a king room and was put in a double.. Why make a reservation if the hotel is going to ignore it?