Hotel Staybridge Suites a Cranbury

I chose this hotel for a recent visit to the area based on price and location. I wasn’t planning to be there very often, so my needs were pretty basic. While the pictures online look wonderful, as soon as I pulled up, I could tell that I was going to be disappointed. The outside grounds ooked poorly maintained, which was a bad sign. The room was basic - it had everything I needed, but the decor looked tired and one of the ottomans near the sofa was broken. The thermostat in the room did not function at all, so I opened the windows to manage the temperature…but they only opened about two inches, so it didn’t help much. The remote for the TV was terrible and the channel lineup didn’t match the actual channels. I frequently use hotel gyms as the yardstick for the quality of a hotel and this one was in line with the other experiences in this hotel. There were three cardio machines, but the TVs on them didn’t work and when I tried to adjust the incline on the treadmill, it make frightening noises that made it clear it had never been maintained. My next stop was the weight rack which included only 3 sets of dumbbells - 35, 45 and 50 pounds. I’m a pretty fit guy, but this is virtually useless…I think someone was taking the idea of “Jersey Strong” a bit too far! I know that breakfast buffets are hard to operate during COVID, but the display of food they put out was really weak. The toddler size containers of orange juice were a joke and the egg sandwich was cold and soggy. I have family in this area, so I have periodic needs to use hotels in this vicinity. It’s pretty clear that this hotel will not be on my list of considerations in the future.