Howard Johnson by Wyndham Mystic

The front desk staff were awesome, but the rest of this was very disappointing. We came for the pool, which was horrible. There was so much chlorine that my kids’ eyes burned and both were coughing. The lounge chairs were broken and dirty, and none of the electrical outlets in the room worked. The entrance felt like an icebox, and the bathroom was disgusting. I wouldn’t recommend this hotel to anyone.

The area is easy to get to, and there’s a diner next door that I recommend. It could work for a Foxwoods Casino visit, with about a 20-minute drive and decent distance for the price, but my friend said the one-night rate felt high. I’d have paid a little more to stay closer in a larger place. I didn’t stay here myself, just picked up a friend. I went into the room from the parking lot through the sliding door. It looked outdated, though clean and well kept. The slider has to be locked from inside, so you still need to walk down the long hallway and out the front to reach your car. The pool was obvious from its smell before anyone told me there was one. It’s a motel, so it’s not meant to be fancy, and the sliding door was still a nice feature.

The location is great, in one of Connecticut’s most touristy and well-groomed areas, so I didn’t expect the room to be this bad. We left without staying the night because it felt like a health hazard and was just gross. The room had stains and looked barely cleaned. There were marks on the floor, drawers, wall, bedskirt, and bedside table, plus reddish-brown stains on the mattress. The comforter on the bed was stained, so before dinner we got a replacement. After dinner, we looked more carefully and found a dead cockroach behind the bedside table. The tub surround had mold or mildew-like stains, the shower rod was coming off, and the towel holders were pulling out of the wall. There were dead bugs on the rug, and what looked like another dead cockroach. A pile that looked like dog food sat in the stairwell, and the hallways smelled of smoke. I spoke with the front desk manager, who said there were no more King rooms and that I’d need to contact his manager if I had a problem. He gave me the manager’s email and phone number. I emailed and called, but got no email reply, and although I was told the manager would call back, he never did. My husband and I were both disgusted by how little seemed to have been cleaned.

The staff were very nice, and it was a quiet spot for a night or two. I liked having a small patio with sliders opening onto the parking lot. The bed was comfortable and the shower was amazing, while the bath/shower itself looked dingy. The floor and sink were new and nice. With some cosmetic upgrades, this HoJo could be great.