Howard Johnson Riverfront Hotel

Pros: Free parking, near downtown, inexpensive
Cons: Poorly trained staff, disgusting rooms, loud

I had the pleasure of living in Charleston for a little over a year, complements of my husband’s Navy career. I recently went back to visit friends, and instead of imposing on anyone for a free bed, I decided to stay at a hotel. I wanted to keep a...

Pros: It didn't rain inside the room.
Cons: It's a Howard Johnson's

I just returned from a trip to the Carolinas and a visit to the Cherry Blossom festival in DC. Spring is a beautiful time of the year in the Southeast and I had a wonderful trip. Except, that is, for my stay at the Howard Johnson Express motel in ...

Pros: Allows pets, convenient locations, staff
Cons: Price, cleanliness, smell

I had a terrible experience at this HJ. First of all the first room they gave me was clearly and obviously a smoking room although we specifically requested a nonsmoking room. The room smelled terrible. So, we marched back to the counter and asked for another room. The second room smelled like urine..literally. It was terrible. Even the counter lady that walked with us to the room agreed. Finally we were given a third room which was ok....but we had to settle because the room had two double beds and we wanted one queen. The room certainly was not cleaned very well because our little dog kept picking up stuff off of the floor and trying to eat it. Also, while this hotel is "pet friendly" it does not have a separate entrance/exit for you to take your dog out. You have to take your pet through the lobby which gets annoying because there is always a ton of people. Also, there is very very little grass. Your dog will basically have to use the bathroom in the medians in the parking lot.