Howard Johnson Hotel by Wyndham Victoria

The room was clean and had air conditioning. I appreciated the coffee maker and the complimentary muffin and yogurt, but I left with a low passing impression. A damage deposit was automatically charged to my card, with a note saying it would be refunded in 24-48 hours if there was no room damage. I couldn’t find that policy on the hotel website or Trip Adviser. How can I be sure management won’t claim damage to avoid returning the deposit? I don’t appreciate Howard Johnson assuming guests are guilty. For what I paid, I’d also expect glass drinking glasses and coffee cups rather than plastic or paper. And it would’ve helped to have a sink stopper, or a bathtub stopper that worked.

The kitchen suite was the reason we picked this hotel, and it had enough equipment for us to cook dinner. The price was fair, the room was clean, the beds were comfortable, and we had a nice view. The pool was a decent size for throwing a ball around, though the area itself is pretty bare. It’s said to be 9' deep at the deep end, but I’m not sure it even reached 8'. There’s no hot tub, but both the men’s and women’s change rooms have dry saunas. The workout room has a treadmill, exercise bike, elliptical, and a TV. The hotel decor is dated, and our room smelled strongly of deodorizing spray or air freshener. It also seemed like quite a few people live at the hotel, just an observation, not a complaint.

We left early and moved to the holiday express, which felt like the ritz in comparison. During our stay, the water shut off for five hours while I was halfway through a shower, leaving me with sudsy hair. On two nights, people who seemed to be live-in tenants had loud, aggressive, vulgar arguments outside our room that went on for a long time and kept us awake. We arrived late, hungry, and tired, only to find the restaurant, bar, and pool closed for renovation. None of that had been mentioned when we booked a few days earlier. Our executive suite was fine and clean apart from grungy carpets. The decor was dated, but I could live with that.

The beds are a little small, but the pillows were fine, and the place was SO CLEAN. Everyone, from the front desk to the room attendants, was awesome. The restaurant is now closed due to lack of business, though they do provide free coffee and muffins in the morning. We’ve stayed at a few hotels this year, and this was easily my favorite and the cleanest. There’s also a pool, exercise room, and sauna. Travelodge on our last trip was the worst, and so was the Sandman!