Howard Johnson by Wyndham San Diego Sea World — Hotel in San Diego

I really hate writing these reviews. And it’s been two weeks since we’ve been there and I’m still thinking about it. Warning everyone so they don’t have to deal with that. We traveled for 13 hours, to get here at 9pm. No greeting from the rude unknowledgeable receptionist. Unfortunately, I already signed the form that said the wrong date for check out, but she verbally said the correct date. Hmm, weird. The room location was at the back of the building and 2nd story with no information if there was an elevator. I was too upset to ask anymore questions since I was clearly an under appreciated customer. So, she gave me cards for a room that had a moldy refrigerator and red staining on the curtains. Not to mention she set my room keys for two nights stay and didn’t inform us that putting the cards in your wallet or next to your phone or else it would disconnect the cards and not allow you in the rooms anymore; it was the 3rd time and being poured on by San Diego “rain” that I had to renew our cards, finally it was explained to us by a different, more pleasant receptionist. Yes it was convenient to have breakfast included. The hotel has waffle maker, juice machine, coffee and other foods for your stay. Didn’t spend a lot of time in there because the AC was off or broken and the amount of people in there made it hotter and humid than a sauna. Two mornings straight the alarm clock would go off at a terrible early morning time, it’d wake myself and small child up. I had to unplug it because it would say ALARM OFF, but wasn’t. There aren’t outlets near the night stand to charge your phone, watch or sound machine (if you use one). That evening, I was on the floor with my small child playing trains, I look at the corner of one of the bed frames and there was a prescription drug sitting right next to him. What if he was much younger and didn’t know better and ate it like it was candy! OMG! By the third day, new folded towels must have been on the towel rack, but the rack had broken off the wall and into the toilet and floor everything went. Had to push the nails in myself because I was just fed up with all the c.rap. Our toilet flooded one morning and I had to go so bad. I went to reception under bad weather and ask to be pointed a restroom while informing receptionist about the flooding, gratefully this receptionist picked up the phone right away. I quickly went to that restroom that was locked, thankfully a hotel maid was available to get a key. I do appreciate the handyman fixing our flooded toilet ASAP. The handyman was way more polite and happy to see us as guests than that first receptionist was! There are no smoking signs everywhere, yet EVERYONE was smoking, so I admit, I vaped in the parking lot and out the door as often as I could. With that amount of stress just to stay at a “hotel” I’ll do as I please. Too bad it has Wyndham on the name, cause I’ll tell you, that’s deceiving. READ REVIEWS...

One star because of the inconsistency with the “security hold”. I stayed here 3 separate times this past month. Mind you, It is currently march 21st.

(The rooms themselves are a different story which I’ll I write a separate review about, I want to keep this reviewed focused on this deposit issue)

03/14 - The first night I checked in, I booked this room online and my husband called ahead to make sure of any security deposits or incidental fees. Front Desk told him no. When I arrived and checked in the hotel, there was indeed NO security deposit. Everything went smooth. I checked out the next more.

03/17 - I decided to book a night here because the usual hotel I stay at when I’m in the area was sold out. & I was too tired to keep searching for a different hotel. I did not call ahead, I just booked the room online. To my surprise, while I was checking in I was informed of a “security deposit” of $100.00. I informed the lady at the front desk I just stayed here a couple nights ago and was not charged a security deposit. She basically just acted like she doesn’t know what’s goings on and giving me a blank stare, says “ohhh” and informs me again of the security deposit. and I was again too tired to even deal with it at that point, so I just paid the deposit and checked out the next morning. (I did receive my security deposit back)

03/21 - Now, again I’m in a similar situation where A lot of hotels are sold out or priced unreasonably for tonight. The room was cheap and I really just need the hotel to sleep so I decided to stay here again. I booked online. Upon checking, I ask for the total and was told about a $10.00 deposit. It’s not much and don’t feel like bringing up the situation again to no avail.

My question is, what’s up with the inconsistency? Is there supposed to be a deposit or not? Or do they just decide by “looks” on who CAN pay that $100?🤔 The night of 03/17 when I was charged 100$ I was dressed more “done up”. The other nights I was dressed down and looked like I just got out of bed.

Either way, I don’t appreciate the inconsistency or lack of staff training in this whole “deposit” area. You need to have clear policies. WAS I WRONGFULLY CHARGED A...

Upon check in I asked to make sure we had a handicapped room. The girl at the counter was very nice, but she assigned us a room in the back of the building with limited parking available. I asked for a room in the front as there were several handicapped parking spots available. She still put us in the back, claiming they were almost booked for the weekend. Yet when I checked the parking lot that night, it remained virtually empty and I didn't see any evidence that anyone was in the handicapped rooms in the front.

Upon entering the room I noticed it had a strange smell but was bearable. I did notice the handle on the bathroom door was on backwards and the door couldn't close, the phone didn't work, no remote for the TV, and the A/C barely worked, the table by the chair was extremely short and the refrigerator was not working correctly. Had to walk to the front to get a remote which was fine. I asked the girl if the gate by our room worked, she indicated it didn't and we would have to back out to the front of the building to leave.

The next morning we went to the front to get breakfast, they provided us with a paper bag with a bottle of water, fruit cup, and granola bar. They said due to COVID that was all they could provide. Additionally, the girl working the counter Saturday morning was not very pleasant or personal, she made it seem like I was being an inconvenience to her.

Maintenance came by to fix some of the problems. House keeping didn't show up and we had to call two times to get service.

The room was ok minus the initial issues. It was nice to actually see a dresser in the room and the safe. Beyond that, it was not worth the price that was paid. It was nice to see there were snacks available to purchase but there were no drinks but for water.

The reservation was booked on Priceline and there seems to be a disconnect between what Priceline stated and what I received. As I plan to travel more to the San Diego area, I will not be staying at a Howard Johnson again. It was a shame to see they were such a...