Only 2 (okay, so maybe 3) complaints about Hojo

[SnowWhite12]

Were at the Hojo for 6 nights last week. A wonderful hotel with great pool and beautiful grounds! Was a longer walk than I would have liked, but we managed. A huge problem was housekeeping. Unfortunately, we had a horrible time dealing with them. They would never come clean the room until between 3:30-4:00 each day, right in the middle of our nap time. I called every day to request an earlier time (late morning). Ended up speaking with front desk, manager, and housekeeping department many times. (Only one day they complied.) One day, we even had a do not disturb sign hanging, and they had the nerve to call from the room next door to say they needed to clean our room. I said no, that we were not to be disturbed and were all asleep. They said they couldn't come back later and would just leave clean towels outside the room. Then they knocked on our door 3 times within the next 20 minutes! I was furious. Second complaint was the pool (really a complaint about the parents at the pool). It was an awesome pool, and I realize they have a sign hanging that there is no lifeguard. But these kids were running (literally) wild. Kids were even doing cannonballs into the toddler pool. We were really appauled when siblings (boy and girl) started massively splashing DH and DD in the toddler pool. I asked them to please stop; so they stopped splashing and full-on crawled on and all over DH. I had to pull them off of his lap b/c he couldn't get them off (boy was about 8 and girl about 7). Their parents sat there watching the whole time doing nothing to stop it. Thank God it wasn't some child molester they were crawling all over. Some parents really amaze me. (OK, sorry I got side-tracked, but I was really appauled at the behavior at the pool.) Last complaint was no free internet in the room. I had brought my laptop (my own fault, I shouldn't have just assumed it would be free there like most other places) but couldn't look up directions for how to get around LA/Hollywood. Overall, it was a great hotel, and the manager on duty (Greg?) was really nice. Really comfy beds and extremely quiet room. Very worth the great Ent rate price!

 

[ironpig70]

i find sticking there faces into the water usally does the trick. yes i'm very serious i will not stand unruly kids and parents who lack disciplining their kids.


as for housekeeping i usally just leave the note on the door all day. it's just easier. when we need towels i'll ask for them to be left at the front desk.

 

[bumbershoot]

Did you just try internet wirelessly, or did you use the ethernet cable?


The do not disturb issues are bad, definitely.

I'm not one for "oh kids nowadays" b/c I remember pool time over the summer to be full of running and screaming and such, but I also know that if my mom had seen us behave like that it would have been the END of pool time for us... That's bizarre about the kids crawling on your DH!

 

[BillyFan]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear all of this. We've had nothing but fantastic service the three times we've stayed at the Hojos in the last six months! I'm talking way, way better than the many places we've stayed in the DLR area. And that is why we keep going back.
As far as I know, internet access is free in the rooms, which I believe is not the norm in most hotels in the area. I do know for certain that there is free access in the lobby, where there are two computers for guest use. The person at the front desk even printed up our Southwest boarding passes for us on Monday night, so I'm sure they could have helped you with directions if you'd asked.

 

[Michaelasmum]

I thought they had free internet...just not wireless. I'm planning on bringing my laptop to use while I'm there.

 

[DangerMouse]

They DEFINITELY DO have free internet with a cable hook-up in each of the rooms.

OP - sorry you had such problems with housekeeping. I would make sure to email your complaints to Johnathan Whitehead, the General Manager, and see what they can do to leave you as a satisfied and happy customer. Obviously, there is nothing they can do about the lack of parenting skills you experienced at the pool.

 

[S. S. Columbia]

... Last complaint was no free internet in the room. I had brought my laptop ...

Last October we stayed at the HoJo for 5 nights, and the HoJo's internet service worked really well; it was very fast and very free. There was a Cat 5 cable in our room, and we just connected it to our laptop. (We stayed in building #1.)

Not every hotel provides free internet. I know that the Camelot Inn and the Tropicana charge $9.95/day for wireless access.

 

[Bread&Butterflies]

Oh wow, it wasn;t just us then...
We stayed at Hojo's this past weekend as well.
In fact housekeeping is the same category as my only complaint.

The fact is, my dd always go for the phone... I do not want her to dial anywhere
and me get charged for it, and anyone that needs to contact me can call my cell#...
so I unplugged the phone, until dd got it out of her system.

I had the do not disturb sign on the door... thank goodness that I had the upper lock in use, because housekeeping knocked lightly,
and before I could even get to the door they were UNLOCKING and TRYING TO OPEN THE DOOR!
The only reason she didn't get it all the way open was because I used all the locks.
I got to the door to see see a very surprised look on the housekeepers face. I closed the door so that I could unlock it.
She said, " I tried to call and no one answered and I need to clean the room. "

I told her I had to unplug the phone because the baby kept grabbing it.
That I did NOT need the room cleaned today, if I did I would not have the do not disturb sign on the door.
(I hang towels to dry, I believe in conservation of water, etc etc) I did not need new soap or whatever, I brought my own.

I was appalled that they would just walk in because no one answered the phone, even with the do not disturb sign up. I felt like my privacy was completely violated.

The next day I just put my trash can outside the door for them to collect, and when I heard them just asked for one replacement hand towel.
She still didn't seem happy about not being let into the room. I don't get it.

Other than that, the staff was WONDERFUL, I was helped up to my room when we checked in at midnight by a nice worker named Brian.
It would have been very difficult to get all my luggage to the 6th floor by myself with my just turned 3yr old. I tried to tip him and he absolutely REFUSED, said he was being a gentleman.
The bed was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO comfy, even more comfy than
the bed at the Carousel Inn.

The refrigerator was small, but it got cold enough to freeze my ice packs in the dinky freezer for my cooler of water that I brought to the park daily.

I was hoping some who knew would answer if it was customary for housekeeping to walk into a guests room when the DND sign is up and you do not answer the phone... what if we were sleeping and didn't answer; it really freaked me out!!!

 

[bumbershoot]

I've read that about other hotels, that they feel very strongly that they need to be in the room every so often. It makes them nervous to have the do not disturb sign up day after day, and when you think of the things an awful person could be up to, it does sort of make sense. Add not answering your phone to it (I do the phone cord thing too, by the way) and you have some very nervous housekeepers and even management!

 

[pixiewings71]

Wow, I've stayed at the HoJo a lot and have never had those problems. I'm so sorry your stays weren't stellar! Please do email Jonathan and let him know, I'm sure he will appreciate it.

As for the kids at the pool, I would have said something to the lazy parents watching their kids misbehave. There is nothing worse than undisciplined kids, especially at the pool, how dangerous!!

 

[blackjackdelta]

They DEFINITELY DO have free internet with a cable hook-up in each of the rooms.

OP - sorry you had such problems with housekeeping. I would make sure to email your complaints to Johnathan Whitehead, the General Manager, and see what they can do to leave you as a satisfied and happy customer. Obviously, there is nothing they can do about the lack of parenting skills you experienced at the pool.

I would call then send an email. I have found a strong in control voice does wonders, then I would go to corporate if not satified. You do not have to suck this up. Hope the next visit is better.

Jack

oop's , sorry I hijacked, horrible connection here.

 

[DisneyLover4Ever!]

I'm so sorry that you had a rather unpleasant time at the HoJo. I hope the next time you go to DL (whenever that may be) you have a better time at whatever hotel you decide to stay at.

 

[SnowWhite12]

Last October we stayed at the HoJo for 5 nights, and the HoJo's internet service worked really well; it was very fast and very free. There was a Cat 5 cable in our room, and we just connected it to our laptop. (We stayed in building #1.)

Not every hotel provides free internet. I know that the Camelot Inn and the Tropicana charge $9.95/day for wireless access.

I saw the cable you all are referring to, but in the service directory binder in the room, it said they charged per use of internet connection. Maybe it was an outdated binder? I hate that I didn't know it would really be free.

 

[Bread&Butterflies]

I saw the cable you all are referring to, but in the service directory binder in the room, it said they charged per use of internet connection. Maybe it was an outdated binder? I hate that I didn't know it would really be free.

Oh I think I know what you are talking about. In the binder it said you could connect to the internet two ways. With your laptops internal modem (dial up) which would charge for the phone call usage, or with an ethernet connection to tap into their FREE T1 connection. Sorry you were confused. I noticed the free part, because the Carousel DOES charge to connect.

My trip to Hojo's I didn't bring my laptop, but was bored while dd napped so I read the binder.

 

[moppety]

I noticed the free part, because the Carousel DOES charge to connect.

Oh no! Really? We're staying at the Carousel later this month.

Do you know what the charge is, offhand?

 

[mikayla73]

DH and I usually leave our DND sign up for our entire trip. If we are there for a week or more, we'll usually take it off one day so they can take the trash out and stuff. It's just us and we hang our towels to dry, bring our own soap etc and we rarely ever eat in the room. I wouldn't be happy if we found out that someone had been in our room to clean it or whatever if we had the DND sign up.

We're not messing up the room or anything bad like that, DH just has a thing about people messing (or potentially messing) with his stuff. (He wouldn't even let movers move us from MO to AZ, we did it ourselves.)

I don't have a problem with them calling to see if we needed anything, most of the time we get a phone call/message they didn't clean the room because the DND sign was out.

You are entitled to your privacy, even in a hotel room. They shouldn't just enter because you didn't answer the phone and they didn't think you were there when you have the DND sign up. Just my .02

 

[obnurrse]

Wow, I'm glad to hear others complaining about this hotel. I thought it was just us! We were there last October and arrived pretty late at night (myself, a preschooler, and a toddler). Someone new checked us in and then gave us completely wrong directions to our room. We ended up back at the front desk to ask again, this time he pointed us in the right direction but the route he gave us had STAIRS! Now, I had 2 suitcases and a lg stroller...stairs were not something I was ready to tackle at the end of an incredibly long day. A family came to our rescue that knew where all the bldg's were and rerouted us to the correct building. Then our room had ants! The ants overtook the entire bathroom and we lost toothbrushs, etc to them. The hotel graciously allowed us to change rooms but when I asked the gift shop for complimentary toothbrushes (since we had bought them there the night before) she actually implied I was lying about the ants. While the pool area was great for the kids I am not inclined to ever revisit this hotel again. The whole stay was just disappointing.

 

[mommy2kande]

Carousel charges $10 per 24 hour period for wireless internet. But, there is a free internet cafe near by, I forget where. They tell you about it when you check in.

It's a bummer to hear bad things about HoJo's, cause I know a lot of people like it. Personally, for my lazy butt , the walk is too long! We stayed at the Carousel, and it was alright.

 

[bumbershoot]

Carousel charges $10 per 24 hour period for wireless internet. But, there is a free internet cafe near by, I forget where. They tell you about it when you check in.

Interesting. They sure didn't mention any free internet cafe when I checked in Jan 25th!

 

[mobopolo]

Wow! As a former Housekeeper (in my college years) it sounds like the request to the Housekeeping Dept. was not followed through. We had a meeting every morning, and each housekeeper was given a list of the rooms that were to be cleaned, which rooms were check outs, etc... All check outs took priority, so those rooms would be ready for the new arrivals ASAP! This information came from the front desk. But your request should have been noted from there. If it was me, I would be thankful!! One less bed to make, bathroom to clean, and floor to vacuum!!! As for the Do Not Disturb sign. You would be surprised at how many people are so excited about their vacation, that they forget to change the sign to Housekeeping and then complain that their room was not cleaned. We always checked with our supervisor, who then verified with the front desk to make sure the Do Not Disturb sign was truly legitimate. Like the Honeymoon couples . Sounds like poor communication or honest mistake? BTW the same HK doesn't clean the same rooms everyday. So if you decide to tip (your choice), leave them daily. I hope your next hotel stay has better results in this area. Unfortunately those parents and their kids at the pool are everywhere. If the parents can't raise them, society eventually will.