Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel – Miami Airport

Great price but was not impressed with the room

I slept well and the front end was amazing

a few months ago we stayed at the Howard Johnson which is located in Hialeah Gardens Fl, I must complement the staff there at the front desk they are very helpful and pleasant. and most of all there is an rental car service by the name of Rapid Rent A Car which is located in the lobby of the hotel there is an employee by the name of Juan Carlos this gentleman provides an excellent service to his customers for us as customer he exceeds our expectation. so next time you are in the area and needs to rent a vehicle ask for Juan Carlos he will be more than able to help you.

The room was disgusting! Nails were sticking out of the dirty carpet. Makeup stained pillow cases. Outdated. Rude staff and the pool was a serious health hazard that they were just brushing under the table. I had to go through 3 employees until I found the “real” manager to address my complaints.

After taking a quick dip in the pool my hair turned green, my sisters wedding ring tarnished, and my nephew had began showing signs of a rash. After bringing it to managements attention, they did nothing but try to put the blame on us. They claimed that they had come out and checked the water but could tell he was full of crap. I hired a pool guy to come out and check the water and what he found was nothing less than toxic.

The biggest thing concerning me was the fact that they were allowing people to swim in the pool even after knowing that the levels were dangerous. If a child would have defecated in the pool and somebody swallow large amount of water it could cause sickness and at worst case scenario even death. There was no chlorine found and a very large amount of acid in the pool. My 2 year old nephew was swimming in the pool. We were all swimming in the pool.

It’s absolutely disgusting that management did nothing but try to place the blame on us and deny any wrongdoing on their part. The general manager also stated that he would not shut down the pool despite the investigators (the pool guy I hired) results. He had told the manager that the health department was going to be called out and he stated “well we’ll just have to see what they have to say”. The health department was called and within hours the pool was closed due to “maintenance”.

The general manager claimed he would comp our stay, fix my hair, and have my sisters ring polished. We never received compensation.

Beware of this hotel. Hell, I would beware of all Howard Johnson’s. I will NEVER give my business to this chain EVER again.

This hotel is a dump. The only way they stay in business is by providing cheap rooms to American Airline passengers who have been given vouchers. Of course, American Airlines is doing a great job of keeping this dump in business. The “night manager” gave us a very difficult time when we attempted to check-in with our AA “guest” voucher. It took 30 minutes and several telephone calls to get this fixed. The shuttle runs infrequently to the airport and does not start running in the morning until 6 am. It cost us $60.00 in taxi fares to get to and from this hotel, which is NOT “minutes from the airport.” It took about 30 minutes to get to and from the airport.

This hotel is very run down. The carpet smells of who know what. The walls have not been painted since the last time there there was a 90% off sale on beige paint. The bath room was so nasty that we were afraid to take a shower, which was perfect because there were NO towels. I don’t know how to describe the bed.

The employees acted as if they were doing us a favor.

If you get stranded by American Airlines in Miami (I have been stranded both times that I have gone through Miami on AA–they are 2 for 2), take your voucher to one of the hotels at the airport. If they will not take the AA voucher, just toss it in the trash and check in.

I don’t think that Gordon Ramsey could help these guys.