Howard Johnson by Wyndham Woodstock NB

The view from the property is outstanding, and the location is very good. The room was clean, but by anyone's standards the place is definitely old.

I left as soon as daylight came and the roads were passable. The breakfast was the bare minimum, and the whole stay was awful. The first staff member treated me well, but the second made me feel less than human. Nobody seemed to care what I had spent with the chain or about my Wyndham preferred status. The room smelled like a locker room, and the heat only came on now and then, so I wore a hat to bed. The heating and plumbing were broken, and the pool was out of order. It was a nightmare. Find another hotel.

The view in the morning was a highlight: sun on my face on a bitterly cold winter day, while I got ready for a dangerous drive. That quiet moment alone made the stop worthwhile. I was exhausted after a rough stretch of travel between Ontario and Nova Scotia, and the kindness here mattered more than luxury. Phil welcomed me at check-in and was warm, attentive, and genuinely kind. Later, after ordering donair pizza and cheesy sticks from a local place, I ended up sharing the food with him instead of immediately crashing. We broke bread, and that little connection meant a lot. Thanks, pal. The rooms have seen some years, but the service made up for that. Natalie was friendly in the morning and set a nice tone for the day. Breakfast was served in the breakfast room, and somehow I provided a free 7:30 a.m. entertainment set, holding court with a lovely group from Ontario and Cape Breton. It was unplanned and one of the funniest parts of the stay. This HoJo came through when I needed it.

After a long drive, it was an okay place to stop and rest before continuing. The rooms have had some updates, and the sheets were clean with no bed bugs, but the cleaning needs more attention. There was caked-on dust on the bathroom fan and dust on the baseboards and the curled hairdryer cord. I also found a few dead bugs and a Japanese beetle crawling on the ceiling. The bed was hard. A fresh coat of paint on the doors and trim would help, too.