I haven't stayed at any Howard Johnsons before, and expected them to be kind of cheap-y, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one! Granite counters everywhere, a large and lovely indoor pool with two hot tubs! All rooms are suite-style and are very large, with a separate area with a coffee table, end tables and a couch. The rooms all come with microwaves and mini-fridges. You could walk to downtown if you wanted; the area seems fine safety-wise. This hotel really made me think more of a Hampton Inn or something a notch up from Ho-Jo.

The front desk staff was very helpful and friendly, as everyone is South Dakota seemed to be!

The Rapid City airport offers a free shuttle to and from area hotels including this one.

The free continental breakfast was very good and included a Belgian waffle-maker and actually very delicious frozen burritos.

I doubt I'll travel back to Rapid City (this was just for a business trip) but if I do I would stay here again.

This hotel was one of the better prices we found for a short get away (Sept '10, not Dec '10 - that was the oldest option). Both my wife & I thought it was excellent!

It was very clean - our first concern. The staff was friendly. The breakfast had a lot of variety and was in a fairly large room. Many people were in there, and it wasn't crowded like many hotels can get. It is not on the interstate, so it's not too loud or busy nearby. It's right off of a highway about a mile south of the interstate, though.

We usually recommend sites and restaurants to people, but this was definitely a standout hotel, so we let people know it. I hope it's as nice for everyone else as it was for us. The owner/manager/staff should be proud of it. Next time we visit the Black Hills we will most likely be staying there, and my hope is that it will be just as nice.

WOW! These folks have it figured out. Every member of the staff goes above and beyond, because they want you to enjoy your stay. As a former Four Seasons Hotel Manager I can say this is a 5 star service establishment! Our family of 5 loved our stay. It starts at the top with the Manager Nancy, who gets to know as many guests as she can and find ways to personalize their service. Marie at the front desk is personable, great at multi tasking while making the person in front of her feel special and attended to, houskeeping leaves things spotless (even in areas many hotels miss such as bathroom vents, behind furniture, and shower soap trays - "yes - your guests do notice and appreciate the extra effort your give." We are in the process of moving from Seattle to Chicago and our 3 children had been in the car for 1200 miles and just went through packing up their home and saying goodbye to all their close friends. What was just going to be a stop along the way, turned into a true vaction thanks to the staff of the Howard Johnson Inn & Suites - Rapid City. It is no wonder this hotel was rated the #1 hotel in the entire Howard Johnson chain.

really one of the best Howard Johnson we stayed, mainly, I think, because it's a new building. Large and clean room with TV, noisy fridge, microwaves; bathroom with nice shower; breakfast room too small for the hotel size and not great food quality. The hotel is not far from the center where you can have a good dinner in a typical place like Firemen Brewery