Howard Johnson Inn Virginia Beach

The room had roaches, and I saw them outside on the sidewalk too. There wasn’t a coffee maker or clock, a used washcloth had been left in the bathroom, and the TV was coming off the wall. The toilet wouldn’t flush properly, and when it clogged, they didn’t fix it, so we did. The lobby coffee was always gone. It was all awful and not worth saving a dollar over. I had to shake out my bags to avoid bringing roaches home. There may have been bed bugs too, but I didn’t have a black light to check. Don’t stay here.

The room was dirty and reeked of cigarette smoke. I also had trouble with staff over checkout: when I paid, I was offered a noon late checkout, but the next day they came to my room and tried to make me leave anyway. When I explained the arrangement, the manager was brought in and was incredibly rude and dismissive. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone. Save yourself the hassle and stay somewhere else.

I was in town for my aunt’s funeral the next morning, and this was a horrible experience at an already stressful time. The first room I was shown had patches of blood on the carpet. Then I was given a key to another room with roaches. We slept in our clothes and kept our luggage out of the room. I’d booked three nights, but since Howard Johnson had already charged me, I asked to cancel the other nights and make it just one. It was the worst hotel I’ve ever booked, and I’m grateful we only had to stay that night.

We left as soon as we saw the condition of the assigned room. The door safety latch was broken and looked like it had been damaged and screwed back in several times, so we didn’t feel safe. There were stains that looked like blood on the floor and on the wall behind the bedside lamp, and a dresser handle was missing. A strong bleach smell throughout the room gave us the unsettling impression of a crime scene. A loose electrical outlet was sticking out and looked dangerous. The property also looked nothing like the website photos. The pool, exterior, lobby, and guest room pictures seemed heavily edited or staged, and didn’t match what we found. The experience was deeply unsettling and left us feeling unsafe. It wasn’t worthy of the Howard Johnson by Wyndham brand.