This was the worst hotel experience we've ever had. We will not be staying at Howard Johnson again, not for any price.
I booked a room on Hotels.com. When I arrived I was told there were no rooms available. The front desk employee then remembered some guests had recently been kicked out of Room 130, so I could have that room. The room was disgusting: smelled strongly of vomit, especially the bathroom, something (presumably vomit) on the bathroom wall, hair all over the bathtub, floor very sticky, dirty sock and pills on the floor...obviously not cleaned...but the beds were made! I insisted on a different room, so they put my in a "Suite" for "a $32 upcharge because it's a suite," which I agreed to, then found the room was just two queen beds. But it was clean.
I gave my card number through Hotels.com to hold the room. I was never informed at the time of check-in that I was actually being charged for the room prior to staying, but that is what they did. We had booked a two-night stay. After the first night, my husband went to the front desk to pay for the 2nd night with his business card, as the reason for the 2nd stay was a business meeting. We were informed that couldn't be done. They had already charged my personal card for 2 nights, at more than the "$32 upcharge" and it was irreversible. After my husband pressed them, they eventually decided they could charge him for one night. Yet my card was still charged for both nights, and no one had the power to reimburse me.