Orientation Guide: APA Hotel Woodbridge

Overview

This guide helps blind guests navigate the APA Hotel Woodbridge in Iselin, New Jersey. It incorporates all known landmarks and corrections to date, including the lack of an awning or fence at the back entrance and the presence of a general coffee shop rather than a Starbucks. The five key reference points are the back door, registration desk, coffee shop, front desk, and lobby elevators. Use these as anchors for orientation.

Arrival and Back Entrance

• Back door/bus drop off: When the bus stops at the rear of the hotel, there is no overhead awning. The doorway into the building is straight ahead. On your immediate left, flush with the building wall, is an unfenced dog relief area roughly 10 × 25 feet with synthetic grass and waste bins.
• Entering the vestibule: Through the glass doors, you enter a small vestibule. This space is the hub for reaching the ballrooms, registration desk, and elevators. There are two ramps.
  • Right ramp: Leads up to the registration desk, where conference badges and information are provided.
  • Left ramp: Leads up to the ballroom foyer (pre-function area) and NaviLens. This is the only interior path to the Metropolitan Ballroom (sections B, C, and D).

Registration Desk and Coffee Shop

• At the top of the right ramp, the registration desk stands against the right-hand wall. Volunteers here can assist with conference credentials and directions.
• Just beyond the registration desk, before you reach the front lobby, is a coffee shop. This replaces the Starbucks label shown on the floor plan.
• Continue past the coffee shop, and you will reach the front lobby and front desk, where hotel room check-in occurs. The main entrance to the front of the hotel is just beyond the front desk.

Lobby Elevators and Second Floor Meeting Rooms

• From the registration desk, retrace a few steps toward the vestibule and then turn left. You will find the lobby elevators near the coffee shop.
• Use these elevators to reach the second-floor meeting rooms:
  • Room 200: Immediately to the right or straight ahead when exiting the elevator; 18 tables are arranged around the perimeter with two columns in the center.
  • Room 203 (meal room): Left of room 200; contains twelve round tables with buffet tables along the window wall.
  • Additional rooms (201, 202, 206) line the same corridor.

Reaching the Metropolitan Ballroom

To access the Metropolitan Ballroom from anywhere inside the hotel, you must return to the back door vestibule. Take the left ramp up into the ballroom foyer. NaviLens tables line this foyer and provide tactile guidance. Ballrooms B, C, and D are arranged side by side along this corridor. There are no interior hallways from the front lobby to the ballrooms.

Returning from the Ballrooms

• Exit the ballroom foyer and descend the ramp back to the vestibule. From here you can choose:
  • Right to the registration desk, coffee shop, and front lobby.
  • Left to the lobby elevators and second-floor rooms.