Howard Johnson Hotel & Conference Center by Wyndham Salem

They told us at check-in that breakfast would be available from 6 to 9 in the morning, but when we went down there was none and no sign that it was ever coming. They said the order hadn’t arrived and the person who makes it couldn’t come in. I don’t think they ever planned to serve it. They could at least have put out packaged breakfast items. The room was clean and spacious, but the bed was an uncomfortable slab. The shower was only warmish, not hot.

The place was run down, with broken room windows and missing outdoor lights, and it cost over $80 a night. Kids were playing soccer with goals in the parking lot, and they hit my car. There were also more live-in guests than nightly travelers. Check-in was rushed, and the woman barely listened before giving us a key to a room that was out of order because the door battery was dead. She changed the room, but then we found no coffee pot, a broken fridge with standing water in the freezer and fridge, and only one pillow for the king bed. The microwave worked despite having a broken knob. The floor had food crumbs. Outside our door was a mold-covered fire extinguisher with broken glass over it, and a bird nest inside. Other missing light fixtures had exposed wires and nests too. The fire alarm went off at midnight. I spoke with the night auditor, who told me breakfast hours and said he’d bring a coffee pot and pillows in the morning. At 6:45, breakfast was supposed to have started at 6, but there was no coffee or food. We reminded him about the pillows and coffee pot because we had another night. When we returned around 7:30 pm, neither was in the room. At the desk I was told I had to ask for pillows before 7. Don’t stay here. Go across the street to the Hampton by Hillton.

The one good thing was being fairly close to restaurants, so we could get dinner and breakfast. We were driving through to Florida and just needed a bed, a shower, and breakfast in the morning. Instead, this was the worst hotel we’ve ever stayed in, and we’ll never return. Check-in took forever even though we were the only ones there. The desk worker was having a speakerphone conversation while checking us in. The whole place is rundown and needs major renovation. Our room smelled, and neither the TV nor phone worked. Breakfast was supposed to be ready at 6, but when we went down at 6:15, the lobby and dining area were dark and no one was at the desk. I don’t recommend staying here.

The view over the town was really good, but our stay was disappointing. We chose the place because it fit our budget and included breakfast, yet there was no breakfast despite the large dining room in the lobby. There weren’t any vending machines either. Our first room had a broken window that looked like it had been that way for a while, and the glass could easily have been removed to get into the room. A tree had fallen onto the parking lot light power lines in the back, making both the back and front darker than they should have been. Amenities seem to be gradually disappearing so the owners can send money back to whatever country they came from, as with almost all smaller hotel chains now.