Howard Johnson by Wyndham Lakeland — Hotel in Lakeland

The staff at check-in was polite and kind, that is where the good (one star) on this property ends. The rooms are not clean, and you feel gross from the second you step in front of the nasty room door. I stay in over 70 hotels a year as I travel Florida for a living, and I must say this was the dirtiest room and location I have yet experienced. Let me give you a small list of issues you may consider.

I did not have any hand towels or washcloths and had to return to the front desk for these items. The lamps have no place to plug into an outlet and therefore out of three lamps, only one can be used. The microwave outside and inside was so soiled I would never put food inside to cook. The inside was completely black and covered with splatters (pictures to support). There is a refrigerator with a small freezer on top, the freezer is solid with Ice leaving no room to set an ice pack, etc. The outside of the refrigerator is covered in food and fingerprints and truly disgusting (pictures to support) The nightstand looks like it has not been cleaned in months and when I moved the phone there was sticky like soda all underneath it. The bottom of the nightstand is so unsanitary I cannot imagine how a housecleaner would ever let this go over and over. (Pictures to support). The hairdryer on the wall had so much dust on the top of it, I put my initials in it. The dryer itself was sticky and not sanitary to touch (pictures to support). Between the bed and nightstand has about a year or better of dirt, grime, and mystery grossness piled along the baseboard and edge of the stand. Truly disgusting to sleep next to (pictures to support). I would guess baseboards throughout the room have not been cleaned down for at least two years. They are greasy and dirty that look nasty from a standing position (Pictures to support). Cobwebs hanging on walls in several areas, which tells you how long it has been since anyone cared to truly clean this room (pictures to support). The toilet seat was so disgusting, I went to gather disinfectant wipes to clean the toilet and nightstand myself. It was late and they did not offer a refund of my money, so I tried to make the most of it (Pictures to support). Behind the toilet has not been cleaned for months, see the pictures for yourself, the caked-up mess is unbelievable. The coffee pot is unusable and should have been thrown out a long time ago. See the picture and decide if you would make coffee with this? The air conditioner unit was filthy on the outside and you could see the caked-up filter on the inside. Like everything else in this room, no one could find the time to wipe down the face of this unit (Picture to support). The entry door to the room was truly a mess and a sign as to what I was about to be exposed to (picture to support) The worse of all for me personally was when I finally turned off the light to go to bed. The noise outside was so disturbing that I got up to look at all the commotion to see some shady activity. That led me to turn on the lights again which was a real mistake when you saw the roaches scattering on the bed that I was not using, the dresser, and areas of the floor. How do you not have proper pest control?

There is one thing about being an old hotel and you expect things to be a little outdated, etc. But when you are part of the Wyndham chain and just do not care about a safe and sanitary environment that is completely different. SHAME ON YOU Wyndham for not having inspections on properties like this to be sure they are maintaining the minimum of standards requested of your brand. I will not EVER be staying at this property again and I hope when I call the health department on Monday, that someone comes to your location to issue numerous health violations. You need to be closed down so the rooms and corridors can be cleaned and...

Let me start by saying that I am a reviewer of all both good and bad!

HORRIBLE HOTEL, although the location may be convenient, this is not the place for a family and should be shut down until the infestation issues are under control.

I’m disappointed that I didn’t not check the reviews prior to booking which I generally do, but this is the second time I’ve stayed at a Wyndham hotel in less than two months and had an absolutely horrible experience and stay.

When I initially checked in, it was midday, didn’t notice anything right away because I was exhausted from my long drive so I fell asleep. When I woke up it was dark outside and in the room. When I turned on the lights, it was literally a ROACH party going on in my room! I scrambled to kill as many as I could visibly see, until the rest scattered away. I was just thankful that I was exhausted when I arrived and did not take any of my bags out of the car, or else I would have been taking some of these critters with me in my departure.

I literally slept with every light on in the room and the tv on with the air on high with the hopes of the roaches not returning.

Barely slept through the night because when I tell you the roaches had me on alert, they did.

BREAKFAST: You will have the choice of 3 brands of cereal in a cereal dispenser, coffee, tea, a choice of apple juice or fruit punch from a juice dispenser, and a fruit wrapped in plastic. (No Thank you, after the infestation of roaches , I would dare eat anything unpackaged from this location). Thank goodness there was a Dunkin Donuts 1 light away!

The bedding was made up for presentation purposes, but the sheets were stained, which probably is a sign that they haven’t been changed! Lucky for me I travel with a disposable sheet so I don’t ever lay on hotel bedding.

There were plenty of towels in the room, but there was one that had God knows what kind of stain on it which is one that they just simply didn’t replace after the last guest.

There are people waking around all night but I guess that is to be expected due to this being a traveling destination location.

I’m attaching photos and videos for viewers to see what I dealt with during my stay. And hopefully this information will help others who are passing through and looking for a place to stay.

I personally feel as though a refund is warranted after this horrible stay, but I will take that up...

This place seemed ok, until it wasn't! Out of all the staff I encountered on our many nights we have stayed on this property, There is a total of 2 front desk clerks who were great, helpful, and went above and beyond , Sheila, who has excellent customer service skills, and is aware that the hospitality industries soul purpose is to MAKE THE GUESTS HAPPY!! AND the older gentlemen who works night audit, who helped me out even though the laundry was closed ..The whole goal here is TO SELL ROOMS! CLEAN, BUG FREE, SAFE ROOMS, AT A REASONABLE RATE FOR YOUR PROPERTY, WITH RESPECT FOR THOSE WHO ARE PAYING TO SLEEP THERE. Rooms are ok, housekeeping do the best they can. The owner, A rude, greedy man with a God complex, Put myself and my kids on the " DO NOT RENT" LIST because I went to the man, asked if he could give us the same rate as the night before, I explained my circumstances, was respectful and sincere, as well as had the money in my hand to pay for the night before 10:30 am, but he looks at the rate, which I got online through a third party, and says that ton was ro low, and gave me some ridiculous rate. I excused myself, I went ahead and just booked the room again online through the same third party, at an affordable rate for my family, my daughter went to him to check in, and he was angry, telling her " YOU booked it online for the lowest rate?" And because we were upgrade rooms the night before due to THE MOB OF ROACHES LAID UP IN ONE OF THE BEDS, UNDER THE SHEETS AND WALKING ACROSS THE COMFORTER WHEN WE FIRST WENT IN OUR ROOM, the night before, he tells my daughter that " I will tell EVERY FRONT DESK CLERK TO NEVER UPGRADE YOU AGAIN!" " Well you can just pay the difference to me" , and then " TOMORROW YOU WILL BE CHECKING OUT" My daughter asked what he meant, and he says "After tonight, you cannot come back here, you cannot rent a room here again. I'm putting you on the DO NOT RENT List. Which blew MY MIND BECAUSE I WENT AMD SPOKE TO HIM, DID NOT WANT TO BOOK ONLIBE THROUGH A THIRD PARTY, WAS TRYING TO GIVE HIM ALL THE CREDIT FOR THE STAY, But he refused and I couldn't afford the Rate he gave me, so Like anyone I went online searching for a rate that I can afford. Obviously he is the OWNER SO there is nothing I cam do, nobodies head I can go...