Okay first of all, I am a bona fide hotel snob. I made this reservation because I was meeting up with a friend from Denver, I'm from Sacramento. My purpose for this visit was to run a road race. I have stayed at 5-star hotels on the Vegas strip, Arizona, and several areas of Southern California. I was scared to death to stay here after what my friend told me. So here goes:

The good: If you just need a place to sleep and shower this is fine. This place has a fridge, microwave, coffee pot, and hair dryer: all of the amenities that I require. I was able to go to the store and get food and beverages as I was traveling on a budget. I booked through Expedia and got an even cheaper non-refundable rate. I paid for three nights, what I have paid for just one night at nicer hotels. My bed was extremely comfortable, I had three wonderful nights sleep. Jack at the front desk was wonderful, Omar was nice too. When I checked out someone was out front scrubbing down the stairs with water and soap, the property is clean. My room was clean. There was plenty of hot water, the water pressure was adequate.

The bad: Room had a slight musty smell, some of the towels had holes. The heater didn't heat. The knob on the refrigerator was gone so I had to improvise with a pair of scissors. Lights on timers or sensors I didn't like that.

The ugly: The toilet was loose, the carpet could use a good cleaning, the front cover of the heater would not stay on, a table leg was about to fall off.

This room served its purpose for me. I needed a cheap place to stay. I have stayed in 5-star hotels that did not have a fridge or microwave. Yes the place could use some updating but all in all it was a pleasant stay. I must say HoJo is far from what it used to be back in the day. This actually looks like it may have been a Motel 6 at one time.

First of all, the breakfast is really good.

Smoke smell on bed and in room. Smoke on the corridor. Not clean. Terrible noises at 3am.

I made a wrong reservation in Howard Johnson Stanton rather than in Howard Johnson Beuna Park. Tellephoned to HJ Stanton for record transmission to Beuna Park but rejected by HJ Stanton/PriceLine. So I decided to HJ Stanton to go though my reservation since they are only 6 miles nearby each other and I did not want to lose my money. I reserved non-smoking room however there was smoke smell in my room. Asked the counter for room changing, rejected by the reason of no room available. Asked for reservation cancellation, suspended by the counter because the counter had to follow PriceLine's decision. PriceLine talked with the counter and the counter told PriceLine I had an intention to move to HJ Beuna Park, and people smoke on the corridor and the smell go into the room. PriceLine told me she cannot cancel the reservation. HJ Stanton put a technician to put some spray in our rooms. It helped for a while however the smell came back for the whole night.

Not being familiar with this area we booked a room here figuring Howard Johnson had to be a decent place to stay. Boy were we mistaken, the room smelled awful, we found French fries and spilled cereal in the fridge, and the bathroom had clearly not been cleaned in quite dome time. Howard Johnsons are not what they used to be!

In December 2011, a pre-paid, non-cancellable reservation for three nights was $39 per night including taxes. The room was old, the towels were small and thin, the television was tiny, and the wi-fi signal was not working in the room. You needed to sit in the office area to have a wi-fi signal that was working. The bathroom light was on a timer that could not be overriden. If you spent too long in the shower, the lights went out. The refrigerator temperature was set too cold causing the refrigerator to need defrosting. As noted by others, the breakfast was mainly mini-bagels and donut holes.

On the other hand, the room was clean including a refrigerator and microwave, the bed was comfortable, the water pressure and temperature in the shower was satisfactory, the location was convenient, Omar (the manager) was cordial, and the price was right.

You decide.