Howard Johnson by Wyndham Burlington

While they're currently under new ownership and working to get it up to a five-star rating the staff is absolutely amazing and very accommodating. I would like to point out sure the room needs to be updated a little bit the shower curtain could use replacing the tub needs some work for the curtains need replaced but you can expect that when new ownership steps in the hot tub and pool were unfortunately not working but that's okay because the kindness of the staff and the comfortability of that bed and just the overall comfort that I had while staying and that room trumps anything that they are working on I would stay at this establishment again and I guarantee you next time I have a business meeting up here I would book a room I have never slept so good as I did when I stayed at this Howard Johnson. Give this place a chance look beyond what needs to be repaired because they are working on it and they are working hard, I watched the night crew of the front desk actually working on unboxing brand new televisions to go in rooms they were cleaning to assure that everything was beautiful for incoming guests and current guests I watched maintenance constantly working to get things updated and upgraded so no one was just sitting around doing nothing there was constant movement so they are working hard to get it up to par but this is a beautiful building even as is but it is even going to be more beautiful when they finish because I can see the vision that they are going towards and I am so glad that I stayed here he says I've already stated this is definitely somewhere I would stay again and when I booked my room I did not realize I had booked and in exterior room and they put me in an interior room out of the kindness of their hearts because it was so artically cold they felt that it was better to have an interior room and they didn't even charge me extra and when I had to book another night the travel company was very accommodating gave me a wonderful discounted rate and Howard Johnson was accommodating they did not make us check out they let us stay in the same room we just had to do what appeared to be a quick check how quick check back in and that was that we didn't have to take anything out of the room didn't have to leave it was such an easy process so if you can put the trip app on your phone definitely go through them or just deal with Howard Johnson directly either way you're not going to be disappointed please do not overlook this hotel when you drive up to it you're going to think oh my gosh this is just a run-down Hotel go inside and you will see that they have beautiful Christmas decorations and they treat you with a smile and you can feel the warmth coming from them that they are genuine and if you have a lot of luggage they have carts they will do whatever they need to do to make you feel comfortable and welcome they are really an amazing place to stay.

We were heading to the area to meet up with a friend of our son's while on a family road trip from Philly to the Chicago area, and we made this extra excursion for the two of them to get a chance to meet in person after years of gaming together online. Before coming down to the area, the only thing we knew that they'd be doing, is heading to "Fun City" to play at the arcade because his friend's parents had to work on the only days we could visit - so we planned to find a place to stay near Fun City. We looked at many hotels in the area, and our main qualification was that the hotel would have a decent pool so the boys could hang out and go swimming while we visited. We found this hotel - but we were immediately concerned by several of the reviews we found. There were all kinds of complaints - BUT - we saw that the place had recently been taken over by a new owner - and the most RECENT reviews were much much better. So we called the hotel directly and asked them about the specific issues in the complaints, and we had our concerns assuaged by the lovely and patient woman who answered the phone. We spoke for about ten minutes, told her we'd discuss it and give them a call back - and after comparing their prices to some of the surrounding hotels - we decided to give it a try. My husband had enough travel credits with a travel site -and he said that if the place was bad - we could leave, and we'd just get a room nearby, and he wasn't worried about using up a free stay - and so we went, with a backup plan in place. When we got there - we were definitely a little bit concerned by the outside of the place. The front is definitely older and the outside and parking lot is a bit run down. If the hotel were in a busier or more suburban area - I would expect there to be people living there - and probably not the best crowds - but because we're talking about Burlington, Iowa - that wasn't the case. When we walked into the front door though - the place was CLEAN - well-kept and although clearly it's been there a long time - it was more "historical" than "old". We got checked in and we took a room in the atrium - the huge indoor area where the pool and hot tub are located. We were just around the corner from the pool area, down a separate little hallway - and the end of the hallway looked a bit dingy and it was clear that the whole place is really cool, and unique -but that it really does need a lot of work. However- when I walked into the room for the first time - my concerns immediately melted away. We cranked up the air conditioning - and the room cooled off very quickly. The room smelled of NOTHING - and appeared very very clean and clearly had been renovated in the recent past. We were also told that they had just gotten these REALLY nice "Purple" mattresses and HOLY HELL - I would have been just fine with packing that bed up and taking it home with us. The mattresses are - disappointingly - VERY expensive - but it made for a FANTASTIC night sleep,

Never again would I stay here. I originally booked through **********. Upon arriving this hotel stated there was no reservation, and then that the reservation was for the following day. I stated that was wrong and showed them my booking email with dates and confirmation numbers. The hotel then re-booked through themselves. They then charged me what I booked online through ********** (I was planning to pay at hotel not through website). I had to contact ********* regarding this so I did not get penalized and double charged since through ********** it did not show me as checked in. Upon entering the room it smelled of faint smoke. The curtain for the window was hanging off the hooks (I fixed it), the walls around the door and light switch were dirty (black), no latch on the upper part of the door, trash under the beds, a pill of some sort on the floor, sheets did not appear clean, one wash cloth, tub didn’t look real clean, an almost empty roll of toilet paper with no replacement (i asked for a new roll), cabinet that didn’t close and floor so dirty that feet and socks turned black. The breakfast was gross with biscuits under tin foil, gravy that looked old and Cheerios. This hotel was not worth this price and customers beware.