Introduction
Seattle to San Francisco
Aloft San Francisco Airport
San Francisco to Atlanta
Atlanta to Newark
Fairfield Inn & Suites Newark
Newark to Minneapolis
Minneapolis to San Francisco
San Francisco to Seattle
Conclusion
Normally the procedure with getting from Newark Liberty Airport to any of the hotels involves getting the Airtrain from your terminal to P4 which is the main parking terminal and also where all of the hotel shuttles go into. However this was not going to happen this weekend. The train between all terminals was shut down and not operating at all Not good! They were bussing people from the terminals to P4. It was a MESS!
The buses had no space for luggage at all. So there was people with giant suitcases blocking the aisles, people standing on seats because that was the only space. The bus was crap, people were yelling “close the doors close the damn doors”. O did I mention.. it was snowing. Add the cold to all of that and I knew that if I had to go through this in the morning as well. Jesus!
By the time we got to P4 I was freezing cold and hiding inside while the people all queued up trying to wait for their shuttle without braving the windy cold outside. The lighting wasn’t that great so any time a shuttle came close everyone rushed the door, then all of a sudden, rushed straight back when it wasn’t theres.
Thankfully I knew ahead of time that my shuttle showed up at 15 minutes and 45 past the hour. What I had forgotten to check was what the shuttle looked like and if it was shared with another hotel. Thankfully it was not. The shuttle eventually showed up and there was a family onboard talking about the food they had missed in mexico (maccas being towards the top of the list apparently) but they shared with me my first ever Twizzler. It’s just red licorice though.
Thank god I did not have to drive to the hotel as all I remember is turn after turn after turn almost going around in circles. It was confusing as all hell. I never thought I would ever say it but driving in Melbourne can not be as bad as that! The hotel looked ok and it was pretty quiet when I arrived. Checked in pretty easily and there was literally nothing around. Finding food was not going to be easy. I was informed the Courtyard Marriott next door had a “bistro” aka a Cafe or their was about 30 or so restaurants that would deliver if I liked and they had all the menus.
I figured I would check out the Courtyard first so went up to my room on the 6th floor, dropped my gear and took the laptop with me. The room itself was small, but not to bad. Although basic looking for $44 for the night, what do you expect. It had the necessities though. Bed, seat, tv, clean bathroom, free wifi. Their was breakfast FOC in the morning but I wouldn’t be around to utilize it. No biggie.
The hotel was what you would expect for a freeway hotel. Plenty of space, indoor pool, small gym and guest laundry. Lots of car park space and a check in staff who really were ok, but nothing over the top. Pretty fine with me! I grabbed some coffee from the Lobby (free 24/7) to keep me warm during the walk over to the Courtyard Marriott next door but got lost getting over there. I came back, got better directions and set off again. Made it without any hassle this time.
The menu was pretty meh so figured I would give the delivery thing a try. The lobby had a little market area with some drinks, ice creams etc for purchase so dessert was covered. The check in staff gave me a pile of menus and left me to make a decision. Eventually after ordering and retreating to my room for a bit my order was delivered direct to my door. Pretty awesome work there. Could not complain about that. With dinner promptly finished I hit the sack.
Next morning 2 things were on my mind. Gym and effortless process at Newark. I hadn’t slept well as the bed (though comfy) was not made properly at all and the fact that I couldn’t get the room anything lower than “furnace” on the aircon meant I barely slept and that is literally the only complaint I have about the hotel. Had those two things not been an issue, I would have no issue staying there again.
As I was checking out the breakfast was being set up and the spread looked pretty extensive. Next time I stay at a Fairfield (it will be later this year actually) I should hopefully get to enjoy the breakfast. The shuttle left dead on the bottom or top of the hour and I planned to get the 530am shuttle to have to then retrace the long stupid process that would be all the more longer than normal. However things didn’t happen that way. I was dropped off direct at the terminal door thanks to the great driver being convinced by the older couple going to a different terminal. This deserved a tip so I slipped him a couple of bucks for it.
Would I stay at this particular hotel again? Probably not. It is in the middle of nowhere with nothing around at all. Would I stay at a Fairfield again? sure! I am setting new rules for my airport stays.
1. Restaurant or Food options around the hotel.
2. If no restaurants around, must have restaurant on site!