Howard Johnson Express Inn - Denton

The smell of incense throughout the building was so strong it burned my sinuses and hurt my throat. The desk worker was rude at check-in, and the location felt unsafe, with vagrants hanging around and an outside door left unlocked for the public. Apparently the front desk person gets locked in, while guests are on their own. There’s no elevator, and an unsavory person was lying across the middle of the only staircase landing on the second floor. We had to step over him to get upstairs, and he asked my husband and me if we “smoked that pipe.” Other people kept yelling, carrying on, and slamming doors. The room doors were flimsy and didn’t feel protective. The remote only worked if you stood right in front of the TV. This is the absolute worst hotel I’ve stayed in. Spend the money and stay somewhere else. I’d give it negative stars if I could, and especially wouldn’t recommend it for a woman traveling alone.

I tried to extend my stay at the front desk and got no useful help. Eventually, the man offered to send a link, but only after the stay had to be booked online for virtual payment. While I was waiting for a clean room to transfer into, housekeeping knocked twice. The first time, I explained what I was waiting for. The second time, they knocked and ran away like children, and nobody was there when I opened the door. I raised it with the front desk, and he accused me of lying. I suggest staying at the neighboring Comfort Inn or Motel 6.

The room was clean and quiet, and the check-in representative was friendly and helpful. It’s a decent value, and I’d stay again. My one complaint is having to wait outside at the after-hours window in whatever weather to check in. Still, I can understand why they do that these days.

The room was clean for the most part, and the bed and pillows were decent. The first night, everything was in place and working. But after that, things went downhill. I’d paid for three nights, yet the next day I got a call asking if I’d checked out. I said I’d be back. When I returned late for night two, housekeeping had made the bed but left no bathroom linens except one unused towel on the rack. They expected me to go to the front desk for more. I declined and asked them to bring them to the room, which took about 10 minutes. On the third night, there had been no housekeeping at all. The room was untouched, the bed was unmade, and I had to reuse dirty towels and washcloths. The only thing that had been replenished was the coffee. I also arrived at noon, when the room was available, but was told that with a 2 p.m. check-in I’d have to wait or pay a $25 penalty plus taxes and fees. For these reasons, I’m giving the place three stars. With some common courtesy and hospitality, it could have earned five. At checkout I explained all this to the manager and said I was preparing a Google review so I could be fair before posting. She seemed genuinely concerned about how and why housekeeping had missed the daily service, and said I’d hear back in a couple of hours about how they’d make it right. I’ll update this if and when I hear from them.