Renaissance Woodbridge Hotel, Iselin

My friend and I wanted to visit New York City on a road trip, though we didn't want to drive into New York City since it was our first time visiting, and we didn't want to spend several hundred dollars per night for a hotel. I researched areas in New Jersey that would have nice, moderately priced hotels - and take no longer than about one hour total for the commute into Manhattan. For this purpose, the Sheraton at Woodbridge Place is an excellent choice. The hotel is located in an area that's more like a business park. It seemed like a very safe location to stay and is only a couple miles from the train station. It was easy to drive the car to the station in the morning, leave it in the parking lot at the station, and take the train into the city. After spending a tiring day touring in NY, it was great to not have to drive ourselves back. I'm certain we saved ourselves a great deal of time and frustration since we didn't have to deal with traffic and parking in Manhattan. The hotel also offered a free shuttle to the train station. The shuttle didn't run to the station on a set schedule, so an advanced reservation was required. Not as convenient as having your own car, though it's better than waiting and paying for a taxi. I bid for our double-bed room on Priceline. I started with an extremely low bid of $46.00 - for both of us, not per person - and was pleasantly shocked that the Sheraton accepted the bid. It seemed particularly surprising since the hotel was rated by Priceline as a 3-star hotel on a 4-star rating scale. While I was at the reservation desk, a man without reservations inquired about the cost for a room similar to ours, and he was quoted $130 plus tax. My friend and I stayed three nights for about $175 total, but even at regular price the room would have been a great deal when compared to similar hotels in Manhattan that charge $200 or more per night. There was no catch to the Priceline offer. The Sheraton didn't try to convince us to upgrade to a room with more amenities in order to increase the rate. No extra hidden charges appeared on our bill. In fact, the hotel refunded us $10 for one-day use of the Internet after I reported that the connection was unreliable - and I hadn't asked for the refund. We also received very good service in the restaurant and the gift shop. I had excellent quality of sleep at this Sheraton because of the quality of the bed. The room had two Sleep Number beds with higher quality linens and pillows. The furniture and decor in the room were pleasantly modern, and appeared to have been recently updated. The entire room - including bathroom - was very clean, and included a small refrigerator. Based on my experience, I recommend this hotel for people with similar travel plans.