I bid for a stay in Secaucus on Priceline and Holiday Inn was the winner. I was happy until I checked the hotel out on TripAdvisor. Based on reviews, I was braced for a very disappointing stay. I am pleased to report that I was pleasantly "shocked" to find that it was a beautiful hotel with absolutely no major problems.

The difference is that the hotel was completely remodeled in March 2009.

The room was spotless and nicely appointed. There was a couch in the king-bed room I had. There was even a view of the upper half of Manhattan from my 8th floor room. (Literally, the "upper" half of Manhattan -- the hill of Jersey City was in the way, leaving only the skyscrapers that were over 40 storeys in view.)

The air conditioner - although erratic in its estimation of warm and cool - was CLEAN still. (I hate looking into the filter and seeing gobs of accreted matter from years of dust and guests that is sickeningly true of almost all hotels. What a relief this was!)

The staff was helpful and friendly when you needed them, and pleasantly not in your face when you were in no need. (We stayed for 3 nights, and didn't want the room cleaned or disturbed for the duration, and that worked with no problem.) I was worried when I first called the hotel from home: the phone rang a long time and was never picked up. Then when I did get through on a subsequent call, the manner was barely personable. But those doubts disappeared in face-to-face reality upon arrival. Great staff, very friendly.

A new 14-screen theater complex is being built 200 yards from the hotel. So evening entertainment should be easy. The very large flat screen tv in my room anyway, made for even easier entertainment at the end of a day.

There is shopping right out the hotel's back door -- a number of chain stores and eateries in walking distance. The commercial environment is well designed and parklike and even had a labyrinth in the central "square". Nice place to sit and enjoy a bagel and coffee.

Very quite rooms -- either there was no one to either side of us, or the recent upgrade did wonders with soundproofing. Excellent. (I think I did hear someone next door in the bathroom, come to think of it, but that was all.)

Very safe area.

15-minute bus ride to Port Authority: $3.20.

The bad? Not much to report here, thankfully. But a couple small inconveniences:
Internet was slow (I think they route everything through some kind of filter or their own gateway, slowing it down). Too, the "business center" computers near the front desk - in case you didn't bring your laptop - is not free like at some nearby hotels provide this for their patrons.

No towel rack. This was just strange. Staying 3 nights and trying to be "green" by not having them picked up to be washed was a challenge.

Valet parking is $10 for the day, or you can park on the exposed roof level of a car park about a block away. I wish it was covered parking, since I didn't want to dish out an extra $30 for basically keeping my car parked the three days I was there, but also didn't want to expose items in my car to high heat of radiant sun. Dilemma.

But overall, this stay was a huge nice surprise.

Traveling on a budget and want to save $200 per night by staying outside the city? . . . Then this is one of several hotels in the Harmon Meadow Plaza that fit the bill. On a recent trip, it was just the three of us. We got a double non-smoking room at the Holiday Inn. Went through Priceline and this facility was listed as a 3-Star hotel. Got the room for a very reasonable rate, and since it was a Tues. / Wed. stay, it wasn't too crowded.
Note: There is a Convention Center right down the street so sometimes this place can be crowded and fully booked.

From the hotel lobby there is an MTA bus stop about 400' away. Are you comfortable with riding a city bus into NYC through the Lincoln Tunnel? If so you can purchase tickets in the Holiday Inn gift shop for a bus ride (~ $6 per person round trip) to the Port Authority on 42nd and 8th Ave (one block walk from Times Square). There you go. . . 30 minutes later you are in the city, and you can spend your money there! If you would rather drive into the city, you'll probably spend $25 for a day of parking anyway so it's a wash.

Our room had a 42" flat screen TV with movies you can rent pay-per-view. Some of the rooms are dingy for 3-Star (stain on curtain, water spot in bathroom ceiling) but overall a good value. Overall this is a good hotel for the money, with good service when its not too crowded, and there is no pool.

Checked Holiday Inn's website-$139 p/nt. Tried PriceLine-$50 p/nt. Got it!

Very nice hotel. Good location if you want to avoid NY prices. Very quiet atmosphere. From the lobby, passing thru the beautiful back courtyard, you have a outside shopping(nothing spectaular) BUT there's a 6 screen theater(a 14 screen is being built), Burger King, OutBack Steak, Houlihan's, Cheeseburger in Paradise, Dunkin Donuts, Sushi Restaurant, Chili's, among others. Two blocks down is a Sam's Club and a Walmart. Go to gift shop and buy a round trip bus pass to NY and the bus drops you in the heart of Times Square(if you don't want to drive). The buses run late hours too. Way better then waiting on the shuttle bus to drop you off and pick you up at the subway station. Back to the hotel, the rooms a spacious (and i've been in plenty), clean, well-lit, with 42" LCD flatscreen TV. Movies are $12.99. Only person with a smile was the doorman/driver and housekeeping. The other employees suck! But I didn't come there to have them cheesing in my face anyways. So, no love lost! High-speed internet pc's monitors are facing the front desk with no privacy. To be honest, I don't believe this hotel gets alot of action.

I felt compelled to write this review so people really understand this hotel better. I travel often and have been to many hotels both International and domestic. When you see the name Holiday Inn you think of a "hit or miss"...but let me tell you this HOTEL IS DEFINATELY A HIT!!! The nicest hotel in the area (i've been to several) nevermind the best Holiday Inn, that I have stayed at. The other people that wrote reviews either never stayed at the Holiday Inn Harmon Meadow or are out of their minds. What more could you ask for? The hotel looks really good! The outside is just a regular "hotel looking" building (not much to look at), but once you are in the lobby, it's very pleasant and modern. Tile flooring with wood acents and lots of sitting areas that are well lit and lots of plants (all real). The front desk is all granite and wood and there is a grand staircase in the middle of the lobby. The restaurant is really good, the french toast on the breakfast menu is AWESOME, i've had it at another Holiday Inn, I believe it's one of their regular items. Restaurant (Bistro 300) staff was very friendly and I was seated immediately.

My room looked newly renovated and fresh. It had what looked/smelled like brand new carpet and wallpaper, 37" LG flatscreen TV, large desk, lots of lights, and a comfy easy chair with an ottoman. The bathroom was great too, with a granite countertop, bright chrome (the faucet would look great in my home bathroom) and very upscale looking wood cabinet with a tile floor and new tub/shower. The beds were comfortable, and i slept fine...i like the white sheets cause you can see they are clean.

There was a landscaped courtyard (albeit covered in snow) behind the hotel that has shops and some restaurants/cafe's and i'm sure it must be pretty nice in the warmer months. It's nice to have options to eat at several places. Most hotels you are "stuck" at the hotel because it's in the middle of no-where.

I have to say the staff was very friendly. The housekeeper on my floor smiled and said HI....to those that travel you know that doesn't always happen. The front desk was pleasant and professional and was very informative about getting into the city (its VERY EASY...NJ Transit coach bus picks up in front of the hotel and goes right to Times Square for $3.15). They have the schedules at the desk and tickets available in the gift shop or buy on the bus.

If you need to be in the Northern NJ/NYC/Manhattan area but don't want to pay $300-400 a night for a hotel in the city, this one is PERFECT!!!! It's only about 1 - 2 miles from NYC. I don't think the people that wrote bad things about this hotel ever stayed there or were just really picky because that just isn't the case! You can tell that there is quality and attention to detail in this hotel. It make you re-think the Holiday Inn brand.