Any nice hotels in downtown Newark) where I have business) besides the Hilton Gateway which is too expensive for my night in question? If nothing, what are the nicest and closest suburban or airport hotels (although I will travelling by train and thus not be using the airport at all)? Thanks.

Yikes! Honestly, not sure of any nice suburban Newark hotels. What about Ft. Lee or Weehauken?

First of all...Neither Fort Lee nor Weehawken are convenient to commute via rail to Newark.

Where are you travelling to Newark via train from?

I live in Union which is 2 towns away from Newark. Maybe if I understand your needs better I can figure out an option or two that keeps things simple for you. Trish

There is a Marriott at Newark Airport and you can connect via rail to downtown Newark.

You might try www.hotels.com for additional suggestions in the immediate area.

Since you are travelling by rail...can I assume you mean along the Northeast Corridor?

Think about staying in the New Brunswick Hyatt....just a few minutes to Newark. Lovely downtown & great restaurants.

Truthfully, Elizabeth has the majority of newer chain hotels with the closest proximity to Newark.

None of the hotels I can think of that would be reasonable $ are accessible by train.

Your best bet would be to rent a car or coordinate a taxi from hotel to downtown Newark. Also, I think you can easily Priceline a hotel room in this area as these hotels are not generally excessively booked either.

check the www.biddingfortravel.com website for history on hotels around Newark.

Trish, I was thinking of commute by car. Is neither close? Where is my brain?

GoT, there are many places closer to stay than Fort Lee (all the way up by the George Washington Bridge...easily a 45 minute drive to Newark in traffic) or Weehawken which is right across the Lincoln Tunnel from NYC, also a traffic laden area which wouldn't be easiest for getting to downtown Newark. Neither are directly train accessible to Newark either if that's what the OP is hoping for.

Renting a car does make the most sense to me, but I'm also thinking that the cost of the car rental plus the cheaper hotel would equal about the same as the Hilton, so why bother if it's just for one night.

Was hoping the OP would return and offer some additional info to help me make a more qualified suggestion.

Cheapest IMO is Elizabeth/Jersey Gardens area chain hotel & taxi to downtown Newark.

We stayed at the Airport Hilton a few years ago, and they had scheduled free shuttles to/from Newark Penn Station. Actually, picked up at Gateway Hilton.

Don't know if they still do this, just a FWIW post.