We stayed at the Howard Johnson Inn on Central Ave. in Albany in August 2010. It has traditionally been a yearly staple of our family for one weekend in the summer. However, last year - for a variety of reasons - we considered not returning. However, we decided to return this year and were quite pleased. There were a lot of good thing things about this trip and no negative issues at all. The pool was excellent and we had no complains at all about the staff and service. The atmosphere outside and around the pool area has a comforting "feel" to it. I would recommend this motel to friends as a sound choice for a centrally located motel with a nice pool and reasonable rates.

We have been staying at this motel on one weekend in the summer for the past several years. This year, we felt like it showed signs of going downhill. First of all, our room door got stuck. When we asked for help, the motel employee opened it with some force and then indicated to us that you just need to push it harder. The door was a problem the whole weekend. A bigger problem was the mosquitoes. They were everywhere, and were biting everyone. It was almost impossible to enjoy the outside pool area in the evening (something that we always look forward to) without constantly getting bitten. When we complained to the front desk, the receptionist's response was essentially that mosquitoes are generally out in the evening. Also, there were mosquitoes and spiders in our room. Cleanliness was obviously lacking.

There was one good note. My mom left her watch in the room. When she called, the motel housekeeper had found it and returned it to the front desk. This did very little, however, to make us forget about all the problems. This motel is definitely in need of some significant improvement. We do not plan to return.

Hotel is not well maintained, rooms are not well-cleaned. No fitted sheets on the mattress, the sheets come loose as soon as you touch them allowing you to see the appalling number of stains on the mattress. I slept curled in a fetal ball in the middle of the bed hoping to not touch the mattress with any part of my body. Bathroom grout was moldy and poorly maintained. Every room I entered had a bad smell. Identical problems with the breakfast room noted elsewhere - nobody monitors it, so things run out and coffee was frequently empty. The single bright spots are that the owner-family do seem friendly, and the courtyard is nice. in terms of cleanliness, responsiveness, and maintenance, it was the worst hotel stay I've had in a long long time, even though we always stay at low-cost hotels.

As soon as we opened the door we noticed this disgusting smell, we tried to air out the room leaving the door open as we looked around but it still smelled. We even bought air freshners but it didn't help. We figured it was the carpets. Then we went into the bathroom and it looked clean however there was this smell, something like curry. Anyhow other than the smell in the room everything else was ok. It is located on a central street and the mall is 2 minutes away. However, I would never stay at his hotel again.