Howard Johnson by Wyndham San Diego Hotel Circle — Hotel in San Diego

I give this Motel 5 stars based on value; where can anyone find a room this close to town for such a low price? The desk staff was very helpful, allowed us to check in several hours early, and asked us to report immediately if even the smallest thing was wrong with the room or missing. (He suggested next time to call ahead to make early checkin more certain.) The rooms were clean, smelled fresh, had very comfortable beds, a very roomy refrigerator, microwave, iron and ironing board (the hairdryer and outlet near it didn't work). [In response to another review: Our room had a bathroom door, it looked like it was recently installed.] The swimming pool and hot tub were operational (I have booked rooms in pricey hotels advertising these amenities only to find them closed.) Parking was free (beware this hidden charge in some motels!). Even though it was right next to the freeway it was quiet and we got a good night's sleep. I especially appreciated the 5:30 am breakfast time. We often rise early and need to leave before most hotels serve breakfast (it is the usual ample continental, juice, coffee, cereal, toast, etc.). Everything was not perfect (the hairdryer didn't work, but I seldom use one), but I have paid more money for rooms with no amenities, that were musty smelling and had bad beds, etc.. I have also paid big bucks for 5 star hotels that were less than perfect. I will probably return here next time I'm in town. For those that want a perfect hotel, you can find one for three or four times the price within a couple of blocks. Please don't book this one and complain about it. BTW: the rooms are undergoing thorough renovation (third floor was being done when we were there), ours had not been upgraded yet. Driving tip: the nearness to town can be a disadvantage. It is located close to the I-8 and I-5 merge. If you are headed downtown and get on the I-8 West entrance nearest the Hotel, you have to cross 6 lanes of traffic within a mile to get out of all the "exit only lanes." This is a harrowing experience, even in moderate traffic. There are two better options. One, you can simply go West on Hotel circle Drive and it will continue on as Taylor then Rosecrans, and that will get you downtown fairly directly. If you want to take I-8, go East on Hotel Circle Drive. After a mile or so it will loop back West, where you will find a freeway entrance that puts you on I-8 West with a little more distance to make all the...

DISGUSTING!!! Does not even deserve 1 star! We booked three nights online prior to our arrival on 8/19/15, but when we arrived and saw the room, we didn't even stay one night. The room was disgusting. Everything looked as though they picked it out of the garbage. There were stains on everything...the bed skirt, the couch, the rug, the lamp shades...and I didn't even want to sit on the furniture, let alone sleep there. It reeked like mold and no way would I ever put any food in that fridge or microwave. Our room was also right next to the freeway, which was really loud. I was astounded that the owners would allow such conditions in their hotel. Clearly, they were just doing the absolute bare minimum to stay open and take peoples money. You're better off sleeping in your car...seriously. We even almost got stuck in their elevator that was barely functional. I actually can't believe that the place hasn't been shut down by the Dept. of Health or some other equivalent organization.

When we went back downstairs to complain, the guy at the front desk told us that if we had a problem with the room we needed to let him know within 10 minutes of arrival, but it had been a half hour so we would not get any money back. This "rule" was not posted anywhere. When we told him that we would just contact American Express and contest the charges, he said he would give us our money back for two nights, but we would have to pay for one. When all was said and done, we ended up having to pay $89 for being there for an hour (even though on every website the price states $45/night). We will be contesting the charges with Amex for that one night. We will also be contacting the Better Business Bureau.

Thankfully, while we were in the lobby in the process of getting out of there, I was able to book a room for three nights using the "HotelTonight" app at the "Town and Country Hotel" which was right down the street, for $20 less per night and it was lovely and clean. The guy who checked us in at that hotel told us that they get a lot of customers from Howard Johnson's with the same complaints we had.

Do yourself a favor and STAY AWAY FROM THIS HOTEL AT...

The room aesthetics was not bad but the head board for the bed was extremely dirty and I didn’t trust the cleanliness of the sheets. Thank goodness I always bring extra blankets when I travel and Lysol. As far as my experience, I was not too pleased with the hotel staff—I specifically requested NO HOUSEKEEPING while I stayed there. I was in town for work, I had a busy week, waking up at 3am to go to work. I told the guy at the front desk, on 3 different occasions that I Did Not want housekeeping- I told him if I needed them to clean the room, I would call, he said “no problem”…I had my work laptop and other expensive items in my room and didn’t want anything being moved around. On my day off, I was in my room and I could hear the housekeepers laughing and being loud in the room next door while I was trying to rest, a few minutes later, some random guy was knocking at my door saying he came to fix the hot water when I never called about anything regarding water. I went to the front desk and spoke to the guy and told him I didn’t have issues with the hot water. He said somebody must have called for a different room ( but I think the language barrier caused misunderstanding). The next day, When I came back from work, I opened the room and the cleaning people went into my room and moved my things around. I was extremely upset because I told the front desk guy MULTIPLE times- No Housekeeping!!! They have no respect what so ever. They also left all the lights on, the room was not sanitized properly. It smelled like dirty mop water. The Indian guys at the front desk- have very poor English comprehension. There is obviously a language barrier. If you call the front desk and try to rectify any situation regarding your room! They do absolutely Nothing and it’s extremely frustrating!!!! Also, when I tried to check out at almost 5am…the guy was sleeping and it took him forever to give me a receipt. I understand hotels are 24 hrs but they need better customer service! I will never come back here and would NoT recommend!! Very...