I wrote a review several years ago about this place when it was still Rite Aid. I wasn't a regular…read morepatron by any means, but I wrote that my old friend brought me here to show me how his phone was also his camera and that this was the "new normal" for photography. I was very impressed by the photos he took, how you no longer had to bother with F-stops and aperture speeds (which I never quite figured out anyway) or tripods, how you could obtain a perfect photo with very little skill or knowledge, for very little money. When my old flip-phone broke, I invested in the "new" technology (which wasn't so new by the time I got to it) and bought a phone/camera from T-Mobile (which I also wrote about), and I've been happy with it ever since.
Since then, this is where I've come to develop those photos I take. Parking usually isn't a problem. I walk in and over to the photo kiosk, hook my phone up to their computer, pick the photos I want to print, and wait about 10-15 minutes while they print them. During those 10-15 minutes, I wander about the spacious store and sometimes buy additional items I might need (Unisom, Pepto Bismol, popcorn, chocolate candy, cold-and-flu medication, paper towels, etc.). The magazines and books they stock are overpriced ($11 and $12-plus for a PAPERBACK!?! No thanks) and uninteresting. By the time I've perused anything that's of even moderate interest or applicability to me, the photos are ready. I get in line at the check-out counter (which usually moves with relative speed, although there are instances where it backs up substantially, depending on who is manning the cash register).
But this last time was a little different. A brief note about Covid-- I started getting vaccinations as soon as they were available. I still ended up getting Covid, but it wasn't too bad (shivers and chills in June, a dry cough, not feeling up to much physical activity). A few years ago, when I went to get the vaccination, I asked how long before I got the next one (I was used to every 5 to 6 months). The guy administering the shot shrugged and said, "Come back in about a year." At that point, I figured Covid wasn't such a substantive issue anymore, and I stopped getting vaccinated.
Bad move. This past winter, I caught Covid, and it was bad. I lost my sense of taste and smell (bad enough), plus I felt like death warmed over. I felt horrible. Once I got over it, I decided I was going to resume the regular vaccinations. I was told I should wait about 4 months from the time I had Covid.
In Walgreens, even though I hadn't specifically come in to get vaccinated, I decided to use my spare time while waiting for my photos to get printed to inquire about vaccines. At the pharmacy counter, they asked when I had had Covid, counted off the months since then, and told me I could get a vaccine in about 10 minutes. I was taken to a side room, asked a few questions, signed a paper, and prepared for the shot. Unlike previous vaccinations, it didn't feel like someone had punched me in the arm...hard!...and I didn't spend the rest of the day feeling blah. I was told to return for another vaccination in 6 months. That date is marked on my calendar.
There are differences in Walgreens. The one in the Lyons Mall in Basking Ridge is where I get my prescription medications and it's smaller, and the photo kiosk there looks like it hasn't been used in years. This Walgreens in Bernardsville is big, well stocked with pretty much everything you need in terms of over-the-counter medications and a miscellanea of foodstuffs and household items.
But you can do walk-in Covid vaccinations now; no more headaches of having to sign up for them on-line (I can remember when Covid 1st started and waiting 2 hours on the computer to make an appointment, only to be thrown off at the last minute). I also remember a few years ago getting a Covid test administered here at the drive-up window and presumably that service is still being offered, although you might have to make an appointment still for that.
So...why not a rating of 5 stars? Parking isn't a problem, my photos get developed without complications for not much money, I can pick up pills or potions without too much trouble, and I was able to cross off the "get the Covid vaccination ASAP" on my to-do list without any headaches or hiccups in the process of doing it.
Service is usually friendly and efficient. I still intend to keep getting my prescription medications at the Basking Ridge location because it's closer to me and so more convenient to get to, and I've been using it for decades at this point, so on that basis I'm going to leave well enough alone-- at least as regards prescription medications.
But I can also endorse the Bernardsville location without any reservations. They haven't let me down yet whenever I've gone there for anything. And I can't say that about every Walgreens location (if interested, check out my negative review for the one in Stirling).
Recommended.