My husband and I were going to a concert at Foxwoods, and decided to stay in the area on the night of July 31st. We were desperate for a room, so we went through Priceline, named our own price, and were the "lucky" winners of HoJo in Groton for $97. We then checked Tripadvisor reviews, got scared, and found that we were locked in due to the fact that we had used Priceline's name your own price feature - no refund to be had. We prepared for battle and brought sleeping bags, pillows, long sleeved pants and shirts and socks to sleep in, and Fabreeze. I noticed the funky smell to the place as soon as we set foot in the door. The man at check-in was nice and cheerful, but that was the only bright spot. Our "non-smoking" room reeked of stale cigarettes, and in general was very stuffy, dusty. It ust looked as if nothing had been disturbed (aka cleaned) in a very long time. Someone with allergies would not fare well here. My husband thought it was hysterical to see me spraying Fabreeze all over the place to try and mask the funk. There were mystery stains on the carpet and chairs, iron burns on the floor and walls, and dead bugs on the bathroom floor. I didn't bother looking in the bathtub, because based on previous reviews we wouldn't be showering there anyway. We placed our sleeping bags and pillows on top of the bed so we wouldn't have to touch anything or get under the covers......I think I actually slept better that night because of it! The next morning we got up early and got the hell out. The other reviews on this site are not exaggerations. I've stayed at all sorts of hotels from 1-5 stars. I'm not picky, and it really takes a lot for me to say "awful," but HoJo was definitely that bad. If you don't mind staying at the Bates Motel, then go right ahead and do so, but if you're just a normal person looking for a hotel and this is your last resort, do yourself a favor and go camping or sleep in your car instead.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC