Disclaimer! This is a long one! Been here for a few hours and already have a headache from the frustration about the lack of cleanliness. Preface: My apartment needs emergency repairs done and it isnt safe from my family to stay there. The leasing office recommended coming here since it is close to our home and other tenants usually stay here when their apartments need work done. I have a chronic illness and one of my children is immunocompromised. We made our reservation over a week in advanced, in person. We received an in person confirmation, and an email confirming the total price of the room. We made sure to let them know several times that we were bringing our dog, they even put it in the notes of the confirmation that had the total price. The day of check in around 11am we get a call from the front desk woman sounding a little panicked about our reservation. Our card wasn't going through. We hadn't even checked in yet so I was confused as to why our card was being charged, but that's neither here nor there. She then proceeds to tell us that the price is actually $192 more than what we were initially told in person and what was on our email confirmation. She asked for a cc number over the phone to try to run it again for the reservation. We told her we would head on over and take care of the payment method in person. We went over and we questioned her about the price change and she tells us that the extra $100+ was for the pet fee. We knew there was a pet fee when we made the reservation but we were lead to believe that total price they confirmed in the email was already including the pet fee. Apparently not. After we moved money around we gave her the new card and she immediately charged the entire amount. I've worked in hospitality for several years in the past. (Country inn suits, Seralago resort, and HIVC) Never did we ever charged the guest the full amount of the stay at check in. We put a hold for the total and depending on if they checkout early/late and the condition of the room on checkout, we charge the amount at check out. I mentioned this to her and she insisted that this was protocol. She hands us the keys and we inspect the room prior to getting the rest of the family and our belongings. The first thing I inspect are the beds. The first bed had multiple mattress covers under the fitted sheet, which is a red flag. The first mattress cover was dirty, I pull the second and it had dried up crusty substance on them along with other dirty spots. The sheets also looked like they were never washed, with human and dog hair and other mysterious dried substances on them. Both beds were dirty. The fridge was off and dripping water and inside was a roach living its best life. The floor wasnt swept or mopped and still had remnants of the previous guests crumbs on the floor! Immediately went back to the front desk and let her know. Ofc I was upset. I'm being charged over $120 a night and this is what I get??!!! She was very nice and promptly changed our room and let us inspect that one also. The second room was cleaner to the naked eye but once again the sheets were dirty but no where near as bad as the first room. I let the front desk know again and she said that she would get housekeeping to make sure they replace the sheets before we came back with our things. I go to the bathroom to distribute the towels and set up bath time and the towels were filthy! They were folded nice and neat but as soon as I opened them they had orange, yellow and black stains all over them. I bring them to the desk and ask for new ones. The housekeeper exchanged the towels and we continued with unpacking. Finally it was time to actually take a shower. I open up the new set of towels and they are even more filthy than the first set! I was fuming!!! Got the towels changed a third time. Right outside the sliding door is a water meter barely covered with an old piece of plie wood that my dog tripped on and fell several inches in to the small ditch for the meter. He was fine but not safe. I do not recommend read more

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Needs an update asap. Small tv, old/uncomfortable beds and uncomfortable pillows. Room smelled musty.

This hotel is disgusting. The rooms are super dirty, towels had stains on them, beds are hard as rocks, outlet covers are missing or broken, long dark hairs all over the bathroom floor, hallways smells terrible and of smoke, beds didn't even have full sized pillows but had couch pillows. Had no idea what we were getting into when I made the reservation. I'll make the 2 hour drive home instead of booking here again. read more

I wish I could give this hotel negative stars the staff is absolutely ridiculous. They don't know what's going on very unprofessional we get there. They say that our reservation was supposedly canceled which it was not. We finally get a key to the room after 30 minutes of going back-and-forth with the front desk and booking people, we proceed to the room the hallway smells very dirty and moldy in the room. The beds are stained with some type of white substance broken tiles. The room look like it was from the 70s. Obviously it stunk the bathroom had poor lighting, dirty tub, dirty walls, dirty mirror, places absolutely disgusting, they should shut this place down. beware do follow other reviews read more

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Do NOT come here if you want somewhere clean and comfortable to stay. Went into my room found black mold around the sink, a dirt ring around the tub, & a toilet roll that was almost empty and wet.. the halls smell like old piss and more mold. The lamp shades in the room were dirty the carpet feels disgusting and when we got our room changed it was only slightly cleaner and when i mean slightly i mean we went from being in a 1.5 dump to a number 2 dump read more

The stay was okay the staff was nice but as far as the room quality I'll just suggest they need new pillows bc the pillows they have now are very flat and also better sheets. read more

As soon as you walk in there is an awful smell and upon inspection of the beds there are boogers on the sheets and rat poop in the bed frames along with rat poop in the corners of the room as well as the fact that our towels were dirty and obviously not washed along with some of our pillows this was the absolute nastiest place we have ever WORST EXPERIENCE EVER DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS AT ALL. read more

Howard Johnson by Wyndham Winter Haven FL - Boggers on the sheets - Hotels Near Me - Winter Haven, Florida

Really Gross & Unprofessional. Woke up to an dying cockroach in the bathroom on the 1st morning of 6 days / 5 nights. Check my picture. I left the vermin untouched to see what management would do or say. As I left, the cleaner in the hallway just looked at me & said hello. I was never contacted about the half dead cockroach, or being moved to a more hygienic room. Later that evening, I had to kill another large size cockroach that was on the ceiling with my tennis shoe. Some of the stucco of the ceiling came down on the bed sheets. The next day when I returned, the sheets were cleaned & the cockroach parts had been vacuumed away. On the last day, there was a small cockroach in the bathtub which went down the drain when I turned on the shower. Checkout is at 11AM and I would leave my room between 9-10am everyday; yet if the cleaners knocked on my door & I was still in there, they would not return. I ended up having my room cleaned only 2 out of the 5 days of my stay. I don't want a refund or compensation. I just wanted to share the truth with others because I think that is fair. You will not find peaceful sleep here. read more

Howard Johnson by Wyndham Winter Haven FL - This large size cockroach was dying in my bathroom on the 1st morning of my miserable stay. - Hotels Near Me - Winter Haven, Florida

Howard Johnson is a reasonably nice hotel chain. But that's not what this particular hotel is to the locals. To those that live in the area, it's host to a small bar, the Rum & Keg Bar and Grill. And a nightclub that has gone through more identity transformations than Prince. In the 90's it was Norma Jeans, and the only dance floor in town. Then it closed and reopened as some kind of surf and turf concoction which didn't last long. Then it went through a major redesign and was reopened as Millenium 2000. It was classier for a while. Until the weekly female dance competition started. Then it all went downhill. Now the entertainment venue (not the hotel) is apparently closed awaiting a new investor to turn it into something else. When the nightclub was closed at any time during my young adult years, there was a palpable sense of desperation among the youth of the city that there was no place to hang out at and have fun. Now that downtown Winter Haven is witnessing a renaissance of restaurant and nightlife business openings, hopefully there is a less desperate feeling among 20-somethings looking for fun on Friday and Saturday nights. read more

Nice place! I was worried when I read the reviews here (my husband had already booked it for a night while we were doing 2 days at LEGOLAND) then I noticed the reviews were years old. The place was clean, very clean! they have definitely done some updates on the bedding carpeting and paint. It had a cute retro feel. It was just a few minutes from the park and there were a ton a chain restaurants to choose from for dinner and breakfast around it read more

My family came to visit from out of town and stayed here 5 days, great central location, near restaurants, gas stations and stores. Plenty of parking, free continental breakfasts, quick friendly check in and view of the pool. The hotel is dated in need of more renovations which were in progress (workmen present daily), but it was clean and decent for the price point. read more

I was supposed to stay for three nights and checked out after one night. The carpets were so dirty I refused to walk in anything but shoes. The wall next to the table and chairs had something orange on it that was wet - disgusting! The refrigerator didn't get cold regardless of setting and the food I brought with me spoiled. The a/c is noisy. There is mold around the tub. I was shown SIX other rooms and EVERY room had mold either around the tub or the tile enclosure. I should have heeded the warnings of others. All day I was wheezing from mold allergies and still am more than 12 hours after checking out. read more

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Very disappointed when arrived. This place look like a dump! Walk into the room smells like mold and old. Not what i was expecting looking at the pictures online. We arrived @12 a.m and the room next to us was talking so loud that we couldn't even sleep. Rooms aren't sound proof obviously. Bet they don't even do a good job of cleaning because after i got out of the shower the mirrors were fogged up i can see lettering on it. Not too impressed. Never coming back to this place again!!! read more

Howard Johnson by Wyndham Winter Haven FL - Shows that they don't wipe down they're stuff. - Hotels Near Me - Winter Haven, Florida

I am not able to post a picture but I received a creamer at the breakfast that was black mold / fluff / something crazy inside. I probably would have been hospitalized if I had consumed it. The manager did not offer any type of rectification besides saying "I'm sorry." Also, there were red ants by the pool, so it needs to be sprayed. Convenient to Legoland and a well located hotel in Winter Haven are the positives. Pool is decent size as well. read more

Howard Johnson by Wyndham Winter Haven FL - Hotels Near Me - Winter Haven, Florida

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The rooms smell like mold there is black mold in the room. The housekeeper doesnt clean. Mexican girl in front counter is very rude. And the poor girl working front desk in the morning should not be working, im a nurse and could tell right off the bat she has covid, her eyes are all swollen, she was coughing up a lung, sneezing and her nose was stuffy, she lost her voice. Its very dangerous to have an employee with covid working front desk not only explosing all the workers to it but also guest, kids and elderly stay here. Black mold can make you very sick also. read more

The absolute filthiest hotel I've ever stayed in. This place was a last resort kind of choice for my family. We had to go up to the Winter Haven area, and had no choice but to bring our large dog on this trip, so our options for hotel were pretty limited to begin with. There was really nothing else available in the vicinity at the time that was less than $200 per night, and we just couldn't afford that. So, as this place was willing to accept our dog, and was the most affordable price, it won by default. I am the type that will make do in just about any situation, and not much really phases me. But, this place was so gross. Literally, within the first 5 minutes of being in the room, we watched a huge German cockroach crawl across the wall. We found a couple more dead ones in different spots on the floor. The whole room smelled like cigarettes, even though it was supposed to be non-smoking. There was mold in the shower, and water damage on the bathroom ceiling. I refused to even set foot in the shower because it was so nasty looking. The walls are super thin and all the noise travels through the walls, so at 2am I was woken up by the sound of someone chasing someone else down at the other end of the hall and the two of them screaming their heads off. This went on for quite a while. The people that work there were pretty friendly overall, but the place itself is the absolute worst. read more

A male staff member was peeping on my wife and daughter through the rear window. After banging on the door in the morning to ask when they would be checking out (my wife and daughter were alone) he circled around the back of the room and was caught by my wife cupping his hangs against the window and peeping in at her and my daughter. read more

Been traveling quite a lot due to soccer games. Our entire team stayed here Howard Johnson. Very clean, rooms had space and comfortable beds. Definitely a good place to stay. We were all impressed. Thank you. read more

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They're certainly trying; the desk staff was efficient and professional and housekeeping did the best with what they had to work with, my bed was comfortable, the sheets were clean and the A/C was cold. But I'd rather have stayed in a tent. The place is gross, smell of smoke everywhere, lights flickering in the hallways...it makes you feel like one of the idiots in a movie who can't hear the scary violins in the soundtrack while the whole audience just knows this might be your last night. They tried to paint over the years of wear and tear, use broken furniture in new and interesting ways, but this is skid row. read more

Um, no. Bed was ok, linens clean, bathroom functional. Decor was more than dated. Chairs were creaky. Lights were about ready to fall off the wall. Cockroaches in the stairwell but thankfully none in my room that I could see! "Fitness" room equipment was nonfunctional. Breakfast is terrible. Staff friendly enough. read more

This was the dirtiest most run down place I have ever had the misfortune to stay. If I could give negative stars, I would. I couldn't even take a shower because the bathroom was so filthy. i stayed one of the two nights I booked because it was so late when I arrived. I complained to the front desk, and they told me they would inform management on the morning. Management says they never got the message and refused a refund. I have pictures of how disgusting the room was but don't see anywhere to put them. read more

Only writing this review because they didn't do what they said they would. Had to book a hotel for my daughter basketball tournament. First and foremost I should note. This place is not kid friendly. When we pulled up we didn't let appearance turn us away. My wife went to the front desk and got the room keys. We were put in a room on the second floor. Immediately when you walked up the stairs it smelled of heavy drugs. Our room key didn't work. So she went back downstairs and requested a room on the first floor. They switched our room to the second floor. We dropped off our bags and got ready to go to our first game. We came back and tried to get settled in for the night. We never turned the lights off mind you. I went to adjust the air conditioning settings and a roach was on the wall. We killed the first one. Not even five minutes later I sat down and another roach was on the bed. It was at this time we decided our stay at this establishment was over. We had to book another hotel last minute. The only hotel we could book was in Orlando and was 500 dollars for two nights.My wife went to the front and explained the situation. We were told we wouldn't be charged for our stay based on the circumstances and a manager would reach out to you. Monday came and went no call from the manager no charges. On Tuesday we wake up to the charges from our hotel from hell. If I could give this hotel 0 stars I would. read more

If there were a way to select zero stars, I'd do it. I made a reservation at this place about an hour before I arrived there. There was trash everywhere, they refused to let me see the room, there were several vacant buildings with people loitering in that area. The area isn't safe so when I asked for my money back, they refused. The guy at the desk was dirty and unkept - I assume he managed the place and he was rude and belligerent. I drove another 50 miles just to have a decent place to sleep. Just a cesspool read more

This place is poorly run motel. Not to mention the beds are horrible. Old lumpy mattress. Woke up with a back ache. I would give this minus stars if I had them to give read more

Well without venturing too far off topic, I'll state that I have asthma and considering that I always try to get a nonsmoking room when I stay in hotels. This room smelled of musky underarms and stale smoke, it even had ashtrays in it. It had claimed to be a nonsmoking room but clearly they must be flexible. I also shared the room with one other person, their bed was decent quality while mine seemed hard as a rock. It also was missing pillows. My television didn't even have a working picture! The bathroom seemed dirty and for good reason the rooms flooring was made of tile. read more

Very friendly staff. Rooms are large and comfortable. Breakfast has cereal, bagels, bread, English muffins and donuts. Also include milk, OJ and apple juice. Swimming pool is very clean and is from 3ft to 8ft. Hotel also has a laundry room. The area is nice with plenty of restaurants and grocery nearby. We were about 8mins from Legoland. read more

BEWARE OF BED BUGS!!!! Hotel is nasty. Rented two rooms and all parties bitten by bed bugs. Customer service is lousy. Manager did nothing. They lied and said they had room tested for bed bugs and found nothing. No restitution for my situation. Had to treat all personal belongings before I could bring them into my home. Had to take meds to stop itching. Bites all over my body. Stay away!!!!!!! Customer does not come first at this hotel. read more

I booked through an agency and told them that I had a pet. They said that was ok and reserved the room for me. I get to the hotel and the front girl says 2 adults kids and pets. I said yeah. We get to the room and they immediately call the room and want us to move our room. Meanwhile I have 2 small kids all ready for bed. It's 10pm and we had unpacked everything. It was annoying. She then argued with me that she had discussed pets. It wasn't a big deal that we had to pay an extra 50 dollars. It was the way she handled the situation. We get to the new room and it had ketchup on the chairs. Gross! Probably try another hotel next time! !!!! read more

I booked a double bed, but when I checked in the nice lady at the desk asked if I could do with a single King, so I said ok. To my surprise, the room was a double room with one bed removed. The other headboard and lamps are still there, along with the indentations on the carpet. Just very strange. Old style tube TV, a blast from the past, but it works well. Classy white on white used furniture store paint job, but the shower works. Neat how they used a bathroom sink faucet to hold the shower head, never saw that done before. My gigantic cockroach was upside down and dead at the bathroom door. The cleaning staff left the poor guy when they tidied my room, so I guess he belongs there, maybe a pet? I left him be... read more

My husband and I stayed here in March for 4 nights. The tv in our room had some issues and we called the front desk and within 10 min someone came in and brought us a different tv and it worked great. Everyone was very friendly and we very much enjoyed our stay there. Their pool is very nice and we had no cockroaches in our room as experienced by someone else. Has free wi-fi also. We will be going back next month to Winter Haven to purchase a home and we will be staying here for 2 weeks. Looking forward to our stay. read more

Old, way out dated. Room smelled, sliding door to balcony did not close all the way. Our room had an old tube tv that had to be 15 years old. Overall this was a very poor experience, and I would not stay here again let alone recommend to anyone. Even the hotel lobby had a foul smell. read more

Not a fan. I tried booking online and wasnt sure if it went through or not. I didnt get any sort of confirmation, so I booked somewhere else. (yes i should have called to double check and I'm kicking myself for not). A month later, I get a bill for a no show. I talked to customer service and they said it doesnt matter if I got a confirmation or not, I put my credit card on their website and they couldnt do anything about it. They were professional about it, but I think it was a little unreasonable. read more

This is an old building. Not that there is anything wrong with old but it hasn't been ventilated very well so it smells musty. The online registration doesn't seem to work and the price is higher when you get there than what is advertised online. The breakfast leaves a lot to be desired. I believe it is supposed to be a continental breakfast but there were not any pastries except small donuts. The fruit consisted of bananas and nothing else. Overall I would say just a little overpriced for what your getting. read more

Okay if you just need a cheap place to spend the night before driving on. But old, and worn 10 year old tv's etc. Staff was nice, rooms clean enough. read more

I travel frequently for business and my manager booked me into the Haines City Howard Johnson. The dirty lobby and the lack of a lighted sign were the first hints that this was not a clean comfortable choice. After getting my key, I discovered the guest accommodations were even worse. Several suspicious men hanging out in the parking lot. Trash everywhere, filthy smelly hallways with dim lighting. The room and hallways smelled so badly, I immediately returned to the desk to return the keys. I requested that they refund my company because I did not feel their establishment was safe or clean. They said pre-paid rooms do not qualify for refunds! I found a clean comfortable Hampton Inn about a mile away. My safety and health were worth the extra $20 in rates difference. read more

Our family was gathering in Winter Haven, FL for our father's funeral. The hotel we booked was a hot mess - filthy rooms, soiled bedding and lax security - we had to find another hotel. Howard Johnson Inn - Winter Haven came to our rescue. They accommodated our entire group with clean, secure and affordable rooms. The staff went out of their way to make our gathering special - everyone was there for us when we needed them the most. Thank you! read more

I have never been treated as rudely as I was treated at this motel. I have been staying here for about 5 days. Yesterday, a couple of my friends came by to say hello. Within 10 minutes, I got a call from the front desk (actually they couldn't call because the phone didn't work). They asked me "how many people are in the room right now?" I told them I was there alone. Then they told me, "well, you can't have that many people staying in the room." I told them that my girlfriend and I are staying in the room. The next morning I went to pay my bill, and got a lecture, basically the woman told me that I had "too much traffic." I then called and asked to speak to the senior manager, and instead of getting an apology, she told me that I can't have people coming in and out like that. My girlfriend's sister lives down the road, and she occasionally pops in and out for a few minutes, and she told me that's not allowed either. I asked her if this policy is in writing, and she had no answer to that. I'm paying $80 a night, I have never been treated this rudely anywhere I've stayed. It just so happens that my friends were Hispanic, and my girlfriend's half-sister is black. I wonder if we would have gotten that kind of treatment if they were white? Piss-poor motel, I wouldn't let my dog stay here, plus there are insects in the bathroom. I called the Howard Johnson's customer service number and registered a formal complaint. read more

Well if you like the feeling of bugs crawling all over you, a mostly non working sink/ toilet and a shower that looks as if it was never cleaned. This is the place for you. Just check in with the front desk where you will be greated with attitude and rudeness. Make a reservation for a king? You'll get a room with two single beds just like you where told you wanted! Don't stay here ever. It's not worth the money just stay in your car. read more

We were in town for the Ironman 70.3 and needed a place for one night. We checked out early to head to the race, about 4:20am. A couple of days later a charge shows up on our debit card for $189. When we called the hotel, they said that we made three international phone calls. Trying to explain that we didn't make those calls was fruitless. We requested the receipt of the calls made; never received them. It is currently under investigation with our bank. read more