CARLSTADT, N.J.—The breakfast buffet at the SpringHill Suites East Rutherford serves packaged waffles and warns guests not to butter bread before putting it in the toaster.
Travelers who ask about dining options are handed takeout menus and a list of local restaurants. Or pointed to the refrigerator case with Banquet country fried-chicken bowls, Red Baron deep-dish pizza and Snickers for sale.
It is, in other words, another suburban chain hotel for business travelers and families on a budget. Except for the next month. The five-year-old hotel is one of the closest to MetLife Stadium, host to eight World Cup matches including the soccer tournament’s final on July 19.
Hotels and Airbnbs across the U.S. might not be experiencing the hoped for World Cup windfall, but this Marriott and its competitors in the area aren’t giving up hope given their prime location. SpringHill is asking $700 a night for a knockout-round match on June 30 and $4,500 a night the weekend of the final, with a two-night minimum. The Hampton Inn by Hilton next door wants $4,200 during the final weekend.
Those are stratospheric prices even by luxury Manhattan hotel standards. The top-of-the-line Aman New York has cheaper rooms on select dates this summer, though it is sold out for the World Cup final.
So what can World Cup travelers expect after splashing out to stay on the edge of an industrial park in New Jersey? I checked in to the SpringHill Suites for a night last week before the tournament began. The tab was $218 including taxes and fees.
No one checks into a SpringHill Suites expecting a luxe getaway. They aren’t called select-service hotels in industry jargon for nothing. The main perks: bigger rooms and free breakfast.
I did expect to be able to walk to the stadium or at least the American Dream mall with its pedestrian bridge to the stadium. The hotel website says the hotel is adjacent to the stadium and lists the distance as under a mile, a major selling point during big events.
Those hopes were dashed the second I entered the lobby. On an easel near the front desk was a sign warning guests not to walk to or from events at the stadium.
“It is illegal and dangerous to walk on the roadways surrounding the stadium,” it says.
Maybe I was naive as a non-New Yorker who has never attended a Jets or Giants game or a concert at MetLife, where a highway separates the stadium from the hotel. But nowhere were the restrictions spelled out in advance.
A hotel front-desk agent recommended ride shares and even jotted down the number of a local car service on a yellow sticky note. I had no problem getting a ride to the American Dream mall. Getting back after dinner was a headache, though, with drivers canceling rides in frustration over the pickup spots.
A public bus was the quickest, cheapest option during my stay. The stop was a quarter-mile walk from the hotel, the ride to the American Dream parking lot just five minutes. World Cup fans won’t be so lucky. The driver warned that the bus won’t get near the area during matches.
On match days, the hotel is promoting a paid shuttle service by an outside company. For Tuesday’s France-Senegal match, the round-trip price started at $85.
For $4,500 a night, though, I feel like a room should come with a helicopter ride or police escort to the stadium, or at a minimum a free shuttle. But that isn’t how lodging economics work during special events. My overpriced Edinburgh hotel during Taylor Swift’s stop there in 2024 didn’t come with any perks except free face painting and a signature cocktail.
It does come with free breakfast, like all SpringHill Suites. The lobby was packed with guests for the morning spread of eggs, sausage, french toast, pastries, fruit, yogurt, bagels and the aforementioned waffles and toast.
The best part about the hotel, besides the location, is the oversize rooms. I could have slept several more people in mine, because it included a pull-out couch and trundle bed in addition to the king-size bed. It lacked a minibar but came with a fridge, microwave and standard coffee maker. The hotel also offers a small gym and indoor pool.
Fans won’t be bowled over by the World Cup decorations. The soccer-themed balloons in the lobby and over the small lobby bar reminded me of the ones you pick up at Hobby Lobby before a kids’ end-of-season party. The tournament bracket on one wall was print-shop generic—no doubt because of strict logo rules set by FIFA, soccer’s international governing body.
In contrast, guests checking into the Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park during the World Cup are greeted with a soccer ball made of fresh flowers from British florist Jane Packer International. (Rates regularly top $2,000 a night and the hotel is sold out for the World Cup final.)
True, no one expects the SpringHill Suites to be the Ritz. But I was expecting more World Cup hoopla. Sitting at its five-stool lobby bar, I thought I scored a World Cup souvenir cup without even going to a match. Turns out it was from a tournament last year.
Write to Dawn Gilbertson at dawn.gilbertson@wsj.com
