Howard Johnson by Wyndham Burlington

Jenny and Karen gave us the BEST customer service, and the charming decor made the place even nicer. We had a great time with the mini golf, hot tub, and patio. The pool heater wasn’t working, unfortunately, but the other amenities made up for it. We’ll definitely be back!

I checked in Monday night but, because I work night shifts, didn’t get to my first room until Tuesday morning. I’d just worked 13 hours and wanted somewhere clean and quiet. I made clear that I didn’t care where on the property the room was. The floors, desk, and end tables were dirty, the TV stand was missing a door, and the old furniture was stained. The lighting was poor, and the bed felt like springs with no padding. What I thought was dust on the desk with the fridge turned out to be water leaking from the defrosting fridge. When I opened it, there was an awful smell, so I went to the front desk for another room. They moved me to the same area, a little farther down the balcony. A staff member checked the room and came back saying it should be good. Inside, it looked like a feather pillow had exploded, with feathers on the floor, walls, and ceiling. Something that seemed to be part of a child’s sticky toy was attached to the TV stand. There was no phone or battery cover for the TV remote. The furniture and bedding were old and stained, there was melted wax on the end table and TV stand, and the floors were dirty. The bathroom and mirror were dirty too, with hair from previous guests everywhere. I tried to make it work because I was tired and didn’t want to go through this again if the room was considered acceptable. The AC did nothing when I tried turning it on. The bed looked as though someone had already slept in it and housekeeping had just pulled the sheet tight over used bedding. When I pulled the sheet back, it was dirty, and a previous guest’s hair was stuck to the pillowcase and sheet. I ended up lying across the foot of the bed under a thin blanket. After my night shift, I returned the next morning to a cold room. The heat didn’t work. Gnats kept flying at my face while I tried to eat breakfast, and by the second day I could smell urine in the room. I was upset and exhausted, and couldn’t get into another hotel until 3:00pm, so I stayed. My job asked me to work a few more nights, so I booked another hotel down the road and have stayed there since. In reply, I asked why staff hadn’t offered me an inside room. They only said I had booked an outside room, even though I’d told them location didn’t matter as long as it was CLEAN AND QUIET. It’s despicable that the second room looked “acceptable” to them. I’m still waiting for Karen to call about my refund. I don’t expect all my money back, but I think a refund for one night to 50% of the stay is fair. I’m surprised the contractors staying there for a couple of months thought it was a good place. Then again, most seemed to pinch pennies and not care about their employees, so the location suited some of them.

This was the worst hotel experience I’ve ever had. We’d reserved two rooms for two nights, but the first one marked “ready” had a messy, barely made bed. The receptionist came along to “check” the rooms before handing over the keys, which was a first for me. She found the toilet and shower still dirty in one room. In the other, the outside door wouldn’t shut on its own because it had no stopper, and cords were exposed from the wall by the front door. The bed was thrown together in a hurry, the carpet hadn’t been vacuumed, the mirror was covered in water spots, and there was no soap until I asked for some. The receptionist had said the rooms were still unclean before we even got the keys. At check-in, we were also told the pool and hot tub were out of order. I wasn’t planning to use them, so I didn’t think much of it. One receptionist said that if I wasn’t happy, she’d return “some” of my money. I told her we’d leave after one night instead of staying two, and she said she understood. In the morning, my colleague and I went for breakfast and found nothing except a waffle maker with no batter. No fruit, drinks, coffee, muffins, or bread. A different receptionist at checkout said we weren’t due to leave until the following morning. I explained all the problems, leaving out my remark that I wouldn’t stay there if homeless, but she said she couldn’t handle it and needed to tell her manager. I handed over the keys and we left. I’m a Diamonds reward member and thought I should have free cancellation. I was polite and respectful throughout, but still haven’t received my money back for the night my colleague and I didn’t stay.

The new owner was wonderful and respectful, and made sure we were comfortable during our family and friends’ three-night stay, 4/06/2023-4/09/2023. The pool and kiddie pool were heated to a warm, comfortable temperature, and the rooms and surroundings were very clean. There are lots of fun things to do and places to eat nearby. They’re making improvements to the hotel, too. We’ve already booked our next visit and highly recommend it. I’d give more than five stars if I could!