Howard Johnson Inn Salem

Pros: it’s clean and cheap. Customer service was fine. Bed is fine. Location. Free wifi.
Cons: Cheap bed linens that are not at all like the picture. No elevator. Carpet was sticky?
It’s fine, myeh, dealable. Would I describe it as luxury? No. It’s fine for those of us with Hilton tastes on a Motel 6 budget.
Bigger con: I told my sister where I was staying. She laughed and said, «You do know that’s the place prostitutes and drug dealers use?» I did not.

Horrible stay. The front desk manager didn’t say more than 2 words to me, because they very rudly took a phone call while I was trying to check in. The room was NOT clean whatsoever. Sheets had stains and something gross was splattered all over the lamp shade. The most uncomfortable bed I’ve ever slept in, and a leaky and loudly dripping shower. Paper thin walls all around. Getting very rudely woken up by cleaning services at 830 in the next room (vacuum hitting the walls, not quite at all).
We woke up incredibly itchy… Scrubbed myself when I got home and I still itch. I will NEVER stay here again!

This place is gross. Rooms were not regularly cleaned. Drug deals going on in the halls. The beds are not comfortable. We woke up itching all over!!! There were little dots of lint all over the sheets… This was the worst part. Checked for bugs, but didn’t see any, however, we just bundled up in our long pants and coats and asked for a new sheet and slept on that. Front desk staff is not friendly or professional. The «workout» room is just a few old pieces of cardio equipment in a hotel room without a bed. The tv’s do not get channels. The breakfast is: old bagels, stale cereal, warm milk, waffles, empty juice dispensers. The walls are paper thin. Staying here was a mistake, we stayed 2 nights, wanted to leave after we checked in and saw the room but would not refund any money.

Disgusting property. SMELLED like an old dirty Chinese restaurant — front desk was rude, wanted me to beg for them to cancel my room. Argumentative and asking me to respect him while he was insinuating I was «stupid» — so so inadequate not to mention not up to the standard of a clean hotel room.

The room was clean and adequate. We could not detect any tobacco odor. The bed was very comfortable, the continental breakfast good, and it was very quiet during our stay. The only complaint was the mini-​fridge on the floor. It would have been more convenient on a small table. All in all, a good value.

gets louder but not too loud at night. a little ghetto. sheets changes every 3 days unless requested. pool is outdoors & face a main road (mission). nice TV: lg flat screen. don’t put cigarette butts in garbage even if you smoked outside. it is a high fine if they believe you smoked in there. key card on room door sometimes doesn’t unlock on first try. can be tricky. big rooms. bathroom door does not lock. for price it looks nice. room is big for 2 beds. mini fridge in room. no plugins by bed. new water heater will be installed soon. breakfast is free. juice, coffee, bagels, cereal, fruit, make your own waffles, etc… large parking lots, free cable, free wifi when given password at front desk. good connection. all things worked in room. have decent a/​c. cheap rooms for what you pay! they have extended stay sometimes has discounts ask and see.

Stained carpet and sheets seem to be the main theme of this disgusting little motor inn. The internet was blazing fast though, enabling me to write this review and bumping the rating to two fabulous stars. Please, do yourself a favor and find somewhere else to stay. This is not an upgrade from a budget priced hotel.

This was by far the worst hotel experience we have ever had! When we checked into our room at 11:00 at night, our «non-​smoking» room absolutely reaked of cigarette smoke! It was so bad that we went to Wal-​mart and bought sleeping bags! We had reservations for three nights, and by the time we checked out, all of our clothing (suits and ties included) stunk like smoke. We went to address the issue with management, their solution was to hand us a couple of air fresheners. He said «stick these in the air vents». Absolutely unacceptable solution!
We will never stay here again.

We had business in downtown Salem, so chose this motel for it’s location, and price. It was fine. Nothing «rough» about the neighborhood that I could see, or that’s what I’m used to!
The bed was comfortable. The sheets crisp and clean. The bathroom and towels were clean. The entire facility is smoke-​free which was great! No smelly rooms.
The free breakfast was what most of the motels offer, cereals, bagels, toast, waffles, juices… nothing special, but included in the reasonable cost per night. Got a AAA discount.

Don’t pay attention to reviews dated over a year ago. This is a decent place to stay. I am unfamiliar with the area but I did not notice if it was sketchy like others are implying. Staff was friendly and the room was cleaner than most I’ve seen. Our rate for a one night stay on New Year’s Eve was remarkably low at under $ 60. Their breakfast bar was typical but I was discouraged that the milk was not kept on ice as I arrived at about 9am and I know the dining area was open since 6. Oh well, just don’t drink the milk if you get there late.

I loved my stay here. Yeah, it’s in a «rough» part of the city, but the management was nice and they even had a full-​blown conversation with me about soccer. I just plain liked my stay here. I didn’t love it, but that’s the reason for the 4 star rating. If you are looking for a cheap and decent place to stay, this is your place.

In Salem, you have a choice: 1) one nice but expensive place, 2) many middle-​of-​the-​road hotels often in inconvenient locations, 3) scary. I put this HoJo in the second category and use it because it is cheaper and closer to downtown than the others in the same category.
I do not have high expectations for it, but it provides a safe, comfortable place to sleep. Do they have high quality sheets and flat screen TVs? No. But I don’t come here to watch TV.
I’ve never had a problem with front desk staff. The general manager checked me in this time and he let me check in really, really early. A little courtesy and friendliness goes a long way.
I’ve never used the pool or eaten the breakfast so I can’t comment on those. But it’s an outdoor pool and it’s Oregon so use your imagination. Salem has great breakfast joints where I prefer to sit and relax, plus I value my sleep and sanity more than jockeying for hotel continental spreads.

if there was an option for a 0 star, i would give it that. Run, do not walk away from this place. the room was dirty, carpets stained, dirt still visible on phone and fridge. fire hazard with tv, lamp, coffeemaker, fridge all connected to one outlet with an extension behind the tv. i’m surprised that this place hasn’t been cited by the fire marshals for safety violations. very, very old. thin walls so if you’re on the first floor, you hear everything. Moreover, if you booked through priceline, there’s no recourse because priceline’s customers are the hotels — not the traveler — so priceline doesn’t care about traveler’s satisfaction — just the hotels. Do not trust Priceline’s deceptive star rating either. It is not a 2 star hotel — definitely the same category as a La Quinta or Ramada Inn — and definitely not worth the same price. It would be ok to pay $ 80 for a decent hotel but not this one. It’s more like a Motel 6. Also, breakfast was abysmal — overriped, dark spotted bananas accounted for the «fresh» fruit, waffle maker made half cooked waffles.

I think overall it was a good stay. Positive points; it’s pet friendly, staff seems to be friendly, and decent complimentary breakfast buffet. Negative points; bathroom was covered with mildew, outside of in room fridge was dirty, no microwaves in room, tube TV, no additional mirrors other then what was in the bathroom. Definitely not one of the worst places I’ve stayed at, but will not be staying there again.

Don’t go. I had a bargain rate and still feel like I overpaid. The place is old, run down, and cheap. Towels and sheets thin and scratchy, not even real glasses in the room– all paper cups. The utensils at breakfast are plastic, but so cheap they break when trying to cut food. Stand up shower, no tub. All lights in room are fluorescent. Pool wasn’t heated (and we were there in August), Only mirrors are in bathroom so I couldn’t even do my makeup while son was in the shower. The breakfast room has 4 tables and gets too crowded to move around. The coffee was weak. Corners of the bathroom weren’t clean. And the thinnest toilet paper I have ever seen.

This was the WORST hotel we’ve ever stayed at. The front desk was chaotic and other customers actually walked out. The A/​C unit actually fell out of the wall. There was a whole in the shower wall with the insulation showing. The pool was unheated, the light was broken, and there were no towels available. There was SAND in the fold out bed! We accidentally left some cash and an iPod in the room and the staff denied that they found our items until legal action was threatened. We will never stay at a Howard Johnson again.

When, after a long drive from Spokane, I arrived at the Howard Johnson in Salem on June 29, 2011, I found the front desk unattended and a note by a bell to ring it for assistance. I rang it and General Manager Kai Sheng came to the front desk. It is best simply to quote the conversation after I rang the bell:
GM: Wait (after a brief wait, he sat down at a chair in front of a computer not facing me)
GM: Credit card.
Me: Don’t you want to know my name?
GM: It will match the credit card. (I gave him a credit card)
Me: GM: You book this through Obit (I assume he meant Orbitz).
Me: Yes, I did,
GM: Here are your keys and (pointing to a property map) here is your room.
I then inquired about WiFi access (which was easy to connect to) and left.
Nice first impression. I’ve traveled enough to know that immigrants often purchase motels as investments and for their livelihood, but usually those who run such properties are considerate and have some personality. Not this time. This clearly is a money-​making opportunity, owned by Golden Key Business Management. Personal, friendly service does not seem to be in the business plan.
The room was pleasant enough, especially compared to other motels I’ve stayed at in Salem (Crossroads and Travelodge — avoid that grungy, rundown prison visitor haven run by a very rude Indian operator). The property itself appeared to be no more than a few years old and is in extremely good repair; even the pool was sparking clean and the grounds were nicely landscaped, including a nice array of flowers. The room was very clean, furnishings were newish, the bathroom was spotless (though the toilet paper was almost out but left with the silly folds motels do to let you know you’ll be the first to use it — since the last guest). Even with the bathroom door closed, the fan kept the bathroom steam free after a long shower. The CRT TV was 27″ with a wide variety of channels available. Connecting to the WiFi was a breeze.
Though the motel was almost empty we were put in a room facing Mission St., the main street out of Salem for points southeast. Fortunately, the double-​pane windows kept almost all the noise out.
Since our road trips often include a stop in Salem, we would definitely return to this property. I do hope, however, that those running this establishment take a charm school course before we return.
Warning: Getting out of the parking lot means almost certainly having to turn right to out of town due to the traffic. Driving into Salem will require a U-​turn or a lead foot during a rare opportunity to turn left — or multiple lanes of courteous drivers during rush hour, as was the case for us.

We tried HoJo’s again and, this time, the experience was not as satisfactory, so I’m lowering the rating and increasing the price range.
Part of the experience this time was the breakfast. The first time there, we ate breakfast with friends at a nearby restaurant. This time, instead of merely looking in on HoJo’s breakfast room, we ate breakfast there. Based on that experience, I’d recommend any nearby restaurant. The raisin bran, milk and muffins were the only things that fell into the mediocre/​normal range for economy hotel breakfasts. The fruit was limited to bananas, all green. The OJ was some kind of bizarre mixture that looked like an attempt to duplicate an orange cream soda in a blender. The coffee was poor. There was a waffle maker and some batter that looked like it had been sitting out for quite a while. That was OK; we didn’t want waffles. But that’s why I raised the price range, by the cost of a good breakfast.
When we first entered our room, it was dead cold. Apparently, the managers heat nothing that is not occupied, including the hallways. Their chilly economy seriously undercut any feeling of welcome, to say nothing of that worthy hotel desideratum, the feeling of «a home away from home.» And although the room appeared clean and in most other details was similar to our previous room — except that it lacked a second mirror — something about it gave me a sinus headache.
Finally, the cellphone reception was poor to non-​existent both in our room and in the breakfast room; and the TV did not work. The lack of an idiot box was no big deal so far as we were concerned, because we’re always happy to read; but for those who don’t pack a few pounds of books in their luggage, an inoperable TV, even if replaced, could be an annoyance.