How my booking at EnVue, Autograph Collection Hotel landed me at Residence Inn Weehawken

Having spent more than 50 nights at different Marriott hotels during Covid-19 I can at this point say that I’ve seen it all. From hotels that are doing everything they can to make your stay comfortable, to other hotels that just hide under the disguise of this global pandemic by cutting cost in order to survive. And then, there are these few hotels out there with some type of gimmicks. Within the past 3 months, hotels like St. Regis New York, The Chatwal – A Luxury Collection Hotel New York City, and W South Beach have all canceled my reservations due to the hotels unable to open as earlier scheduled. All these hotels canceled in advance, and a proper cancelation notifications were sent.

But then, there are a few hotels out there that are currently closed yet taking reservations. One of which is Envue, Autograph Collection Hotel. And this didn’t only happen to me alone, it happened to a host of others as there have been previous reviewers with the same complaints.

Upon arriving at the Envue, Autograph Collection Hotel, guests were being directed to the Residence Inn next door. There are a couple of reasons why I don’t stay at Residence Inn, some of which are: earning 5x points per $ instead of 10x points at other limited/full-service hotels, getting 500 points as a Welcome Gift instead of 1,000 points, amongst many other reasons.

Related: The Notary Hotel, An Autograph Collection

Arriving at the lobby of The Residence Inn Weehawken Port Imperial lobby on the 6^th floor, I was welcomed by Joe at the front desk, and Maya Zelenovic. Maya works for Envue and was the one responsible for moving all reservations from Envue to Residence Inn. Long story short, I made it known to the hotel that I wasn’t interested in staying at Residence Inn, and that they should have followed the right channel and cancel all reservations rather than leaving guests with no choice once they arrive at the hotel.

I called Marriott Bonvoy and after a few minutes into the call, I mentioned the Marriott Ultimate Reservation Guarantee rule since the hotel is literally walking guests away. Unfortunately, the ultimate reservation guarantee wasn’t honored (Covid is everyone’s excuse these days), but the hotel offered me a $50 discount on the Residence Inn room rate, a better Suite Upgrade, a complimentary parking ($22 value). I pushed for 90,000 points as per the ultimate reservation guarantee compensation, but I was only successful with 5,000 points. 

Below is my review of the Residence Inn Weehawken Port Imperial:

Located at the corner of Ferry Way and Avenue at Port Imperial, the Residence Inn Weehawken is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver property. While the hotel is located in New Jersey, the location of the hotel is one of the best areas to see the skylines of New York City.

The first floor of the hotel gives a first impression and shows that this is not your typical Residence Inn. 

Related: W Hotel New York – Times Square

Taking the elevator to the 6^th floor where the hotel lobby is located, though still a bit upset at the gimmicks the Envue was playing, I started making myself comfortable at the Residence Inn. The hotel lobby was spotless and well decorated. The hotel didn’t seem very busy, but there were a few guests around.

I was upgraded to a Deluxe Suite, 1 Bedroom Suite, 1 King Sofa bed which has a partial view of Hudson River and New York City’s skylines at check in. Although I found the City View 1 Bedroom Larger Suite to be nicer, as these suites has a full view of both the river and the skylines. But to be honest, the Deluxe Suite isn’t bad at all.

I was quite impressed upon arriving at the suite on the 11^th floor. The room was decent and well-apportioned, the kitchenette and the dining area were very admirable. Although I found some of the silverware to be rusted. And while I am not a coffee drinker, I found the Keurig coffee kits in the suite to be another great touch from the hotel.

Related: Traveling during this global pandemic

The hotel provided a grab-and-go breakfast which you can pick up at the front desk in the morning. I personally don’t worry about hotels not providing breakfast during this pandemic since travelling right now is a necessity, not a luxury. But then, that doesn’t warrant hotels to not provide something reasonable. Especially those that are charging ridiculous rates.

The bottom line is, I really enjoyed my stay here at The Residence Inn Weehawken Port Imperial. I found the staff to be friendly and willing to help, and the customer service was decent. The room rates were reasonably priced, and everywhere in and around the hotel was very clean. But I still want to say once more that what the Envue, Autograph Collection is doing is very bad. STOP jeopardizing people’s plans in order to keep your business running.