Howard Johnson Helena

They gave us one excuse after another and wouldn't refund us for the filth and poor service. The first room we were given was supposed to be a king suite, but it had no towels or comforter, the beds hadn't been changed, and the toilets were extremely dirty. It looked as though housekeeping hadn't touched the room. After I called the front desk, all they brought up were towels, sheets, and a table for the phone. We had to make the beds ourselves. Eventually they moved us to another room, but it was barely any better. It felt like a roach-infested budget inn, and even the county jail would've been cleaner.

The location is great, and the bed was fairly comfortable, but this isn't a good choice. The hotel was dirty and in disrepair. Our room's carpet seemed unvacuumed, and my socks picked up pet hair as I walked. We booked through a third-party site because its listing included breakfast, which helped decide it for us, but the hotel had no breakfast option. For two nights there was just one full-size bath towel and one three-quarter-size towel. There was no hair dryer, only an empty wall bracket. The sheets didn't feel fresh and didn't fit the bed well, and the fridge's freezer compartment was packed with ice and unusable. With repairs, maintenance, and a thorough cleaning, it could be a nice place.

I'm a Wyndham Diamond member and stay at different hotels regularly. This was the worst one I've experienced. The pool was closed, and nobody told us why, leaving the kids disappointed. The main letdown was that there was no breakfast, even though the booking said it was included. The kids went hungry, so we had to go out to eat. They said they were renovating, which was a lame excuse. The hotel should have mentioned it when we booked or at least told us at check-in. Our room was dusty, including the lamps and appliances. The windows had no screens, so dust and small insects came in when we opened them. The bathroom was tiny and dimly lit, the refrigerator was very small, and the microwave seemed like the cheapest, oldest kind. The Wi-Fi was very weak at first. Staff said that's just how it was, but after my husband complained and asked for another room, they called the provider and got it fixed.

I've never felt so unsafe and uncomfortable in a hotel room. The carpet looked like it hadn't been vacuumed in years, and the beds were stained. There were marks all over the walls and ceiling, too. When we walked in, the smell was horrific, and the elevator up to the second floor smelled even worse. In the room, the deadbolt was broken, the bathroom light didn't work, the lampshades were ripped, and the window was open. Pure filth.