Help! Howard Johnson Inn Maingate East???

[StacyPop]

What can you tell me about it?
Is it clean?
trying to get a last minute room for NYE-so i am not being picky-just need something decent and close!

 

[Doe2005]

Howard Johnson Maingate East has several problems. The hotel is old, which isn't a problem. But they moved us in the middle of our stay to accommodate a larger group. So we missed 1/2 a day of Disney fun to pack up a week's worth of clothing for a family and change rooms. We specifically asked if we would be in the same room for the whole stay at check in time, and we were assured that we would be. This was not the case.

There are only a couple of early shuttles to Disney in the morning. If it is raining, then you will be standing waiting for the shuttle in the rain. It rains a lot in Florida. You get a lot of thunderstorms for a few hours, so having reliable transportation is a must. The few scheduled shuttles to and from this hotel means that having another means of transportation would be a good idea. The shuttles are from the city's transportation system, and are not hotel or Disney shuttles.

There are no shuttles going to Universal or Sea World.

If you have a young child or have a disability, be VERY careful of the water temperature. The water is scalding hot in the 2 rooms we stayed in, and it came on too hot (when the faucets were placed in the center position). My 7 year old got burned 2x during the week, due to the faucets being touchy and the water temperature being scalding hot right out of the faucet.

Our room had a wiggly faucet...and 2 electrical outlets were located near the pillows and behind the mattress, where you could accidentally hit a lamp plug in your sleep.

The iron was hung at a low height in the handicapped bathroom, so that it was an injury hazard to the young and the disabled.

We were also put in a smoking room, when a non-smoking room was requested. The first room really stunk and we refused it (we have allergies to cigarettes). The next room did not stink immediately, but we found ashtrays in the room, indicating that they were not telling the truth about the smoking status of the room.

We also found a quarter in the styrofoam coffee cup, showing that the hotel room had not been adequately cleaned. The phone lines went out for one day, and the ice machine was out of order for 6 days of our stay.

Overall, I was expecting an older, well-kept motel...but I was still disappointed, I was especially disappointed in the safety issues present (hot water temp and very wiggly, non-secured faucet), which the hotel was not supposed to have.

 

[delmar411]

Do you think it would be ok for just one night? It's the cheapest price I've found for our first night and we get in at around 10-11pm at night and will be out the door by 9am. Total price after taxes is $28.xx

I've slept in some awful places before and my kids won't be running around the place and I can take care of bathroom business once we've checked into our DVC room. I just can't really handle any bugs. We'll be bring our own blankets and pillows.

 

[loveysbydesign]

BUMP
Anyone stayed here recently? The reivew on tripadvisor don't seem too bad!

 

[onestepcloser]

BUMP
Anyone stayed here recently? The reivew on tripadvisor don't seem too bad!

I LOVE the HoJo Maingate East! The price was loowwwwww and the room was clean. They have a pool, but I haven't personally used it -- or even seen it, for that matter.

If you're the type of person who likes to hang out at the hotel, then you're probably better off spending a few extra dollars and staying somewhere else. There are no frills here.

However, if you're the type that's only using your hotel room as a place to sleep, then I couldn't recommend this place enough. Clean rooms, hot water, and beds that felt plenty comfortable after spending a full day at the parks.