On the surface, this HoJo is no different from the rest. Good beds, seemingly good service, and a clean room. However, it seemed like the instant I noticed the sign labeling them as "Independently owned and operated," letting us know that they only purchased Howard Johnson's prestigious licensing, the experience began to fall apart at the seams.
I began to see through the sham that is the Elk Grove HoJo with a teenage boy who hung around in the lobby all day. In the morning, when we would go down the elevator to fetch some delectable and rich continental breakfast, he would be sitting at a table, headphones in, expression blank but almost sad. When we returned in the evening from whatever crazy festivities we got up to downtown, he would be sitting at the same table, with the same deserted air. I never found out who he was or why he was there, but it still made me slightly depressed. This is the first reason HoJo lost a star in their Yelp review.
The second reason is the owner. We didn't see him until the third time we left the hotel, but lets just say that he looked like Satan incarnate. The shape of his head, his facial creases, and his eerie smile summed up what Beelzebub might look like if he were Indian.
The third star was lost by their toilets. On the whole, the bathroom experience was comfortable. But their toilets, when confronted with any mass larger than a pea, clogged easier than your grandmother's. The maid, when called up for the second clog, graciously left the plunger in our bathroom in an act that we couldn't discern as rude or helpful. Since we couldn't, they lost another star.
I decided to leave the final star for last. Colloquially known as the "burnt pancake incident" (even though it was a waffle that was burned), our 7:30 AM wake-up call was the worst part of our stay at Howard's. The toaster in the lobby was clearly labeled for BAGELS ONLY. However, one patron decided that "bagel" is interchangeable with "waffle." At 7:30, we were greeted with the fire alarm going off. As we grabbed our valuables and rushed downstairs, we saw Baal standing by the lobby with his head down, next to a rather large woman, who was greeting the other lodgers as they entered the lobby with the information that "it was a pancake." Assuming it was a waffle, as there were no pancakes in the otherwise expansive breakfast selection of HoJo, we left the hotel early, both disappointed and terrified by our journey to what we believe was Hell itself.