I always remembered in addition to the former motor lodges they all had a restaurant that had its own identity as well. Some were free standing without the motel, but all had 28 flavors of Ice Cream and fried clams. Plus others that were great menu items.
I had one in my hometown of Clark, NJ. My mom worked at the former Ho Jo in Springfield, NJ on US 22, so I had a good recollection of the establishment.
To put this somewhat "on topic" , Howard Johnson had the contract for the three service areas on the WV Turnpike for about 10 years in the 80s. The places were originally called "The Glass House" and when that deal was up, they became Howard Johnson. In the 4 lane upgrade of the road the building were torn down and replaced with food court type deals.
Quote from: SP Cook on January 19, 2022, 12:44:31 PM
To put this somewhat "on topic" , Howard Johnson had the contract for the three service areas on the WV Turnpike for about 10 years in the 80s. The places were originally called "The Glass House" and when that deal was up, they became Howard Johnson. In the 4 lane upgrade of the road the building were torn down and replaced with food court type deals.
And the Illinois Tollway Oases were Harvey Houses, then Howard Johnsons, then fast food outlets.
My dad managed a few HoJo restaurants along I-57 between Kankakee and Champaign in the mid-70s.
Quote from: roadman65 on January 19, 2022, 12:36:00 PM
I always remembered in addition to the former motor lodges they all had a restaurant that had its own identity as well. Some were free standing without the motel, but all had 28 flavors of Ice Cream and fried clams. Plus others that were great menu items.
I had one in my hometown of Clark, NJ. My mom worked at the former Ho Jo in Springfield, NJ on US 22, so I had a good recollection of the establishment.
We had one (
had) in Dunn NC. Right off of exit 72. Closed in 1990 and became Brass Lantern, which closed in 2020 as lease was up. Now owned by the state! :pan:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1117497346219237378/Aca7LV_l_400x400.png)
and i mean this one. X-(
I used to go to one as a kid. I want to say it was in Woburn but I am not 100% sure.
I think it must have been this, http://www.highwayhost.org/Massachusetts/Boston/Woburn-Stoneham/woburn11.html
Absolutely. Often attached to the motel of the same chain name, and the did have good ice cream. We stayed at Holiday Inns and HoJos on most of my childhood trips, and we often ate at the HoJo restaurant at the motel.
Quote from: hbelkins on January 19, 2022, 03:30:51 PM
Absolutely. Often attached to the motel of the same chain name, and the did have good ice cream. We stayed at Holiday Inns and HoJos on most of my childhood trips, and we often ate at the HoJo restaurant at the motel.
And Holiday Inn was right across the street.
For a time in the 90s. Turned in Best Western and then demolished (as it was getting :ded:)
Back in the 1970s, on trips to and from New York we routinely stopped at the Howard Johnson just south of the old toll plaza at the southern end of the Jersey Turnpike.
I believe there is one restaurant remaining (https://goo.gl/maps/jWCM5AKDbLeymdGd7) in Lake George, New York, although it doesn't have the distinctive orange roof.
I remember Howard Johnson's well. I used to dine at the one on State Street in Saginaw, Michigan on a daily basis in High School. It closed in April 1997 and was a very popular place. It closed because the owner didn't want to update the place. It was open 24 hours and was busy all the time, it's too bad it had to close. A Burger King sits in it's spot now.
Quote from: 1995hoo on January 19, 2022, 03:56:55 PM
Back in the 1970s, on trips to and from New York we routinely stopped at the Howard Johnson just south of the old toll plaza at the southern end of the Jersey Turnpike.
I believe there is one restaurant remaining (https://goo.gl/maps/jWCM5AKDbLeymdGd7) in Lake George, New York, although it doesn't have the distinctive orange roof.
It looks like it's still open, although it's pretty much a HJINO at this point.
Dangit! Now I want fried clams for supper!
This used to be one. (https://goo.gl/maps/X9bixXKPVfDPagAD7) Also had a motor lodge. It became a Bickford's, then a diner, a southwest place, a sports bar, and is now a bbq place. If you look at GSV over the years, you can see the last 3 restaurants, and remnants of the old A-frame roof on the motor lodge. There was one not too far from here in Waterbury, CT (https://goo.gl/maps/964ZRSea5SRfdbPy9) that lasted until about 15 years ago. It had closed by 2008, and the building was torn down between 2018 and now.
Now I have a hankering for some mac + cheese, chicken croquets, and mint chocolate chip ice cream.
Never went to one, but the one on Afton Mountain in Virginia is still sitting abandoned.
Definitely remember them! As a kid on family trips (early to mid 1970s), although we preferred staying at Holiday Inns, we would sometimes venture to a Howard Johnsons, Ramada Inn, or Days Inn if the location was better, or if it was significantly cheaper, or whatever reason. Back then, all those chains had attached restaurants (otherwise we would not have stayed there).
And I do fondly remember the fried clam strips at the HJ restaurants as well!
There was one in Hadley, MA and then wasn't the one in Lake George, NY one of the last?
Quote from: Rothman on January 19, 2022, 08:04:29 PM
There was one in Hadley, MA and then wasn't the one in Lake George, NY one of the last?
Quote from: 1995hoo on January 19, 2022, 03:56:55 PM
Back in the 1970s, on trips to and from New York we routinely stopped at the Howard Johnson just south of the old toll plaza at the southern end of the Jersey Turnpike.
I believe there is one restaurant remaining (https://goo.gl/maps/jWCM5AKDbLeymdGd7) in Lake George, New York, although it doesn't have the distinctive orange roof.
Never been to a HoJo restaurant, but I remember the HoJo hotel in Lawton had a nightclub called Fizz.
There was one I passed often going to college in Delaware in the 1990's, at the intersection of DE 2 & 7 (Kirkwood Hwy & Limestone Road). Forget when it closed...but suffice to say it was long ago.
There was another one off I-95 on 896, which many people shunpiking the Delaware Turnpike tolls would've passed by. That one held on a bit longer, and the building itself longer than that, but it's been gone for many years now.
Quote from: 1995hoo on January 19, 2022, 03:56:55 PM
Back in the 1970s, on trips to and from New York we routinely stopped at the Howard Johnson just south of the old toll plaza at the southern end of the Jersey Turnpike.
My mom worked at this one in the 1960's.
My favorite one was in Warrenton, Virginia at the main intersection of US-211, old Bypass (then) US-15/US-17/US-29 and Business US-211. Looks like there's still a diner-type restaurant there, but I haven't been that far west in Warrenton for 20 years.
I've never understood why US-211 wasn't truncated to this point. Instead, US-211 continues along (now) Business US-17/US-29 and that allows Business US-211 to continue. The both meet and officially end just a few hundred yards shy of the New Warrenton Bypass at the intersection of Blackwell Road and Lee Highway (if that name hasn't been changed yet). For the record, Business US-15 is still stapled to the old route that also uses Blackwell Road.
^^^^
The Warrenton restaurant is now a Foster's Grille. DC-area burger chain that's perhaps a step up from standard fast food–it's conceptually more similar to Fuddrucker's in terms of how you order at the counter and then go take a seat and your food comes later. I've only eaten at Foster's once and it was at that Warrenton location en route to the Inn at Little Washington in 2020. It was decent.
I remember them very well, and it was probably the only place where you could sleep in your room at night and then eat at the restaurant the next day. But growing up in the 80s, I associated them with the Mets player of the same name who would torment my Cubs every chance he got. I'm sure he was a nice guy, but I despised his team with a passion like everyone else who didn't live in Queens (or anywhere else in the New York City/Long Island area, for that matter).
Quote from: 1995hoo on January 19, 2022, 03:56:55 PM
Back in the 1970s, on trips to and from New York we routinely stopped at the Howard Johnson just south of the old toll plaza at the southern end of the Jersey Turnpike.
I believe there is one restaurant remaining (https://goo.gl/maps/jWCM5AKDbLeymdGd7) in Lake George, New York, although it doesn't have the distinctive orange roof.
Here's a photo I took of the Lake George location back in September 2017. Not sure of the current state of the restaurant.
(https://i.imgur.com/xDAx1og.jpg)
Quote from: catch22 on January 20, 2022, 02:45:59 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on January 19, 2022, 03:56:55 PM
Back in the 1970s, on trips to and from New York we routinely stopped at the Howard Johnson just south of the old toll plaza at the southern end of the Jersey Turnpike.
I believe there is one restaurant remaining (https://goo.gl/maps/jWCM5AKDbLeymdGd7) in Lake George, New York, although it doesn't have the distinctive orange roof.
Here's a photo I took of the Lake George location back in September 2017. Not sure of the current state of the restaurant.
(https://i.imgur.com/xDAx1og.jpg)
Apparently it looks much the same today, down to the 90s-era Howard Johnson's sign.
The weird thing is, the motel next door looks like it used to be a Howard Johnson, but now it's a Super 8, but apparently there is a Howard Johnson elsewhere in Lake George.
I worked at Howard Johnson's in Bay City when they re opened in around 1998ish for a little while. I think I might of worked there for about 3 months. The former building (now demolished) is on the Howard Johnson's wikipedia page.
As a young child, my family would dine at the Howard Johnson's restaurant that was located on West Genesee Street in Fairmount, NY (located approximately where the McDonald is in front of Wegmans) at least once a month. After moving to Chesapeake, VA, the Howard Johnson's on Richmond Road on the west end of Williamsburg was the place we would dine if we visited the Colonial section or the Pottery Factory.
There were others we dined at on family vacations, however, I cannot remember where they were located.
I think it might be worth to post some vintage HoJo ads. ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoB7xxrUkPs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KPlKIUBz-Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgmbQ6tN_K0
The GSV of the old Howard Johnson's in Saginaw. Howard Johnson's sat where Burger King currently is and a little more to the right, there used to be a bakery next to it called Sebald's Bakery.
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.4367933,-84.013472,3a,49.2y,3.29h,95.06t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1slDbfeIEhkk7MzmTadC_Zxg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DlDbfeIEhkk7MzmTadC_Zxg%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D254.41327%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192
This GSV shows the old Sebald's Bakery. Howard Johnson's parking lot used to go right into there's where the grass is.
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.4369215,-84.0134581,3a,48y,37.23h,90.67t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s_sQ3UHF0YX725BK75Pzydw!2e0!5s20110701T000000!7i13312!8i6656
This is the property of the old Howard Johnson's in Bay City. Howard Johnson's sat about where the Miller sign is at.
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.5575091,-83.9504387,3a,15y,117.75h,88.45t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sR3jVlERQ6-oC1u1ri2pnGQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DR3jVlERQ6-oC1u1ri2pnGQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D63.639996%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192
And the building which was in a rather sad state at the end of it's life is in this GSV
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.5575576,-83.9505934,3a,15.9y,113.99h,89.58t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sdezrdfltUDrmTaNht5dSAg!2e0!5s20170901T000000!7i13312!8i6656
Quote from: amroad17 on January 31, 2022, 04:38:29 AM
As a young child, my family would dine at the Howard Johnson's restaurant that was located on West Genesee Street in Fairmount, NY (located approximately where the McDonald is in front of Wegmans) at least once a month. After moving to Chesapeake, VA, the Howard Johnson's on Richmond Road on the west end of Williamsburg was the place we would dine if we visited the Colonial section or the Pottery Factory.
There were others we dined at on family vacations, however, I cannot remember where they were located.
The last time I ate at an honest-to-God Howard Johnson's (as opposed to the shell that was the HoJo's on Times Square when I dined there in 2002 or so) was at Disney World and that was in the mid-80s.
One of my earliest memories was stopping at the Belvidere Oasis on the Northwest Tollway on the way to my Grandpa's house. It must have been 1979.
Are there any Howard Johnson hotels left? I know the restaurants are long gone, is the whole business gone?
Quote from: OCGuy81 on February 01, 2022, 11:43:03 AM
Are there any Howard Johnson hotels left?
They are a Wyndham brand.
Quote from: GaryV on February 01, 2022, 11:53:19 AM
Quote from: OCGuy81 on February 01, 2022, 11:43:03 AM
Are there any Howard Johnson hotels left?
They are a Wyndham brand.
Oh wow! I had to look it up. I thought they'd been long gone!
Quote from: OCGuy81 on February 01, 2022, 11:55:18 AM
Quote from: GaryV on February 01, 2022, 11:53:19 AM
Quote from: OCGuy81 on February 01, 2022, 11:43:03 AM
Are there any Howard Johnson hotels left?
They are a Wyndham brand.
Oh wow! I had to look it up. I thought they'd been long gone!
I know of two that I have looked at in the past, but didn't stay at. One in Staunton, Va., and one in Beckley, WV.
They're traditional hotels with interior corridors, and I prefer exterior corridors, so I have not stayed in either place.
Quote from: hbelkins on February 01, 2022, 06:32:56 PM
Quote from: OCGuy81 on February 01, 2022, 11:55:18 AM
Quote from: GaryV on February 01, 2022, 11:53:19 AM
Quote from: OCGuy81 on February 01, 2022, 11:43:03 AM
Are there any Howard Johnson hotels left?
They are a Wyndham brand.
Oh wow! I had to look it up. I thought they'd been long gone!
I know of two that I have looked at in the past, but didn't stay at. One in Staunton, Va., and one in Beckley, WV.
They're traditional hotels with interior corridors, and I prefer exterior corridors, so I have not stayed in either place.
We stayed at the one in (wait for it) Breezewood, PA in 2012 or 2013. It had interior corridors, and I would not recommend it.
I think everybody here knows the story of my local Howard Johnson's franchise. The place was built just after the Long Island Expressway came though my hometown, but eventually was replaced by an IHOP, which itself was replaced by a small strip mall in the 2000's.
Quote from: hbelkins on February 01, 2022, 06:32:56 PM
Quote from: OCGuy81 on February 01, 2022, 11:55:18 AM
Quote from: GaryV on February 01, 2022, 11:53:19 AM
Quote from: OCGuy81 on February 01, 2022, 11:43:03 AM
Are there any Howard Johnson hotels left?
They are a Wyndham brand.
Oh wow! I had to look it up. I thought they'd been long gone!
I know of two that I have looked at in the past, but didn't stay at. One in Staunton, Va., and one in Beckley, WV.
They're traditional hotels with interior corridors, and I prefer exterior corridors, so I have not stayed in either place.
If you don't mind my asking, why?
Quote from: hbelkins on February 01, 2022, 06:32:56 PM
Quote from: OCGuy81 on February 01, 2022, 11:55:18 AM
Quote from: GaryV on February 01, 2022, 11:53:19 AM
Quote from: OCGuy81 on February 01, 2022, 11:43:03 AM
Are there any Howard Johnson hotels left?
They are a Wyndham brand.
Oh wow! I had to look it up. I thought they'd been long gone!
I know of two that I have looked at in the past, but didn't stay at. One in Staunton, Va., and one in Beckley, WV.
They're traditional hotels with interior corridors, and I prefer exterior corridors, so I have not stayed in either place.
Honestly I like hotels with exterior corridors too. You can park your car right outside your door, you don't have to walk down a hallway to get to your room those are two things I like about having exterior corridors.
Quote from: hbelkins on February 01, 2022, 06:32:56 PM
Quote from: OCGuy81 on February 01, 2022, 11:55:18 AM
Quote from: GaryV on February 01, 2022, 11:53:19 AM
Quote from: OCGuy81 on February 01, 2022, 11:43:03 AM
Are there any Howard Johnson hotels left?
They are a Wyndham brand.
Oh wow! I had to look it up. I thought they'd been long gone!
I know of two that I have looked at in the past, but didn't stay at. One in Staunton, Va., and one in Beckley, WV.
They're traditional hotels with interior corridors, and I prefer exterior corridors, so I have not stayed in either place.
When I was in the Staunton, Virginia area about a year ago I stayed at the Quality Inn in Verona it had exterior rooms and was pretty nice. It's at exit 227 off I-81.
Quote from: 1995hoo on February 01, 2022, 09:07:51 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on February 01, 2022, 06:32:56 PM
Quote from: OCGuy81 on February 01, 2022, 11:55:18 AM
Quote from: GaryV on February 01, 2022, 11:53:19 AM
Quote from: OCGuy81 on February 01, 2022, 11:43:03 AM
Are there any Howard Johnson hotels left?
They are a Wyndham brand.
Oh wow! I had to look it up. I thought they'd been long gone!
I know of two that I have looked at in the past, but didn't stay at. One in Staunton, Va., and one in Beckley, WV.
They're traditional hotels with interior corridors, and I prefer exterior corridors, so I have not stayed in either place.
If you don't mind my asking, why?
Quote from: Flint1979 on February 02, 2022, 09:42:36 AM
Honestly I like hotels with exterior corridors too. You can park your car right outside your door, you don't have to walk down a hallway to get to your room those are two things I like about having exterior corridors.
This. Parking right outside the door is very handy. Plus, you're less likely to get smoke wafting in to your room when there are smoking rooms on the same floor as your non-smoking room.
i vaguely remember (this was a long time and many bong rips ago) when i was like 9-10 years old...
... wasn't there one (or more than one) in illinois/iowa that area, that was actually built 'over' the highway? i have a dim memory of watching cars and trucks going under the restaurant.
think it was i-80 or 90...
Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on February 02, 2022, 11:01:25 AM
i vaguely remember (this was a long time and many bong rips ago) when i was like 9-10 years old...
... wasn't there one (or more than one) in illinois/iowa that area, that was actually built 'over' the highway? i have a dim memory of watching cars and trucks going under the restaurant.
think it was i-80 or 90...
Yes, the Illinois Tollway Oases were Howard Johnson's back then, so it's entirely possible.
Quote from: hbelkins on February 02, 2022, 10:30:53 AMPlus, you're less likely to get smoke wafting in to your room when there are smoking rooms on the same floor as your non-smoking room.
Where in the US can you still stay in a smoking hotel room?
Quote from: abefroman329 on February 02, 2022, 11:07:12 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on February 02, 2022, 10:30:53 AMPlus, you're less likely to get smoke wafting in to your room when there are smoking rooms on the same floor as your non-smoking room.
Where in the US can you still stay in a smoking hotel room?
How in the world do they enforce that. I worked in a hotel with an elevator and couldn't understand how people would get on an elevator with a lit cigarette and ignore the age old law. Plus do people discard their food and drink in department stores? I worked in Macys and was surprised at not only the people who would leave cups behind all around the store, but that management didn't enforce that ruling set in place by the Health Department. Heck maybe now with Covid they might, but haven't been back since.
Plus do people follow simple rules of the road? Do people wear masks or maintain 6 feet? Rhetorical question there.
Quote from: roadman65 on February 02, 2022, 11:18:28 AMHow in the world do they enforce that.
By threatening heavy fines for non-compliance. Though that certainly doesn't work with rental cars.
Quote from: roadman65 on February 02, 2022, 11:18:28 AMPlus do people discard their food and drink in department stores? I worked in Macys and was surprised at not only the people who would leave cups behind all around the store, but that management didn't enforce that ruling set in place by the Health Department.
I went to what used to be Marshall Field's flagship store on Black Friday 2019 and there was trash all over the floor. That reflects badly on the customers, the salespeople, and management, in very different ways.
Quote from: roadman65 on February 02, 2022, 11:18:28 AMPlus do people follow simple rules of the road? Do people wear masks or maintain 6 feet? Rhetorical question there.
I don't think anyone at any point on the political spectrum would want to live in a totalitarian regime where every law or rule was enforced rigidly. Sometimes you have to trust people not to be selfish, inconsiderate jerks.
Quote from: abefroman329 on February 02, 2022, 11:07:12 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on February 02, 2022, 10:30:53 AMPlus, you're less likely to get smoke wafting in to your room when there are smoking rooms on the same floor as your non-smoking room.
Where in the US can you still stay in a smoking hotel room?
I encounter it more often than not. A few municipalities ban smoking in hotel rooms, but many don't. The last night of my trip out west with my brother, we stayed in a Super 8 in Illinois in suburban St. Louis that allowed smoking in designated rooms, including our floor that had a non-smoking room. The first night of the trip, we were in a Red Roof in Michigan that allowed smoking in certain rooms.
Quote from: hbelkins on February 02, 2022, 03:26:17 PM
The first night of the trip, we were in a Red Roof in Michigan that allowed smoking in certain rooms.
Michigan has outlawed smoking in hotel rooms since 2010.
Quote from: abefroman329 on February 02, 2022, 11:07:12 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on February 02, 2022, 10:30:53 AMPlus, you're less likely to get smoke wafting in to your room when there are smoking rooms on the same floor as your non-smoking room.
Where in the US can you still stay in a smoking hotel room?
NJ allows it. One is most likely to see the option in casino hotels. The main hotels elsewhere have often banned it on their own.
Quote from: jeffandnicole on February 02, 2022, 04:24:50 PM
Quote from: abefroman329 on February 02, 2022, 11:07:12 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on February 02, 2022, 10:30:53 AMPlus, you're less likely to get smoke wafting in to your room when there are smoking rooms on the same floor as your non-smoking room.
Where in the US can you still stay in a smoking hotel room?
NJ allows it. One is most likely to see the option in casino hotels. The main hotels elsewhere have often banned it on their own.
Casinos make sense (the owners don't want to ban smoking since a player who goes outside to smoke is a player who isn't gambling), but other than that, I don't understand why you can't smoke in bars or restaurants or pretty much anywhere else that's indoors, but you can still smoke in a hotel room.
Quote from: abefroman329 on February 02, 2022, 04:37:43 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on February 02, 2022, 04:24:50 PM
Quote from: abefroman329 on February 02, 2022, 11:07:12 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on February 02, 2022, 10:30:53 AMPlus, you're less likely to get smoke wafting in to your room when there are smoking rooms on the same floor as your non-smoking room.
Where in the US can you still stay in a smoking hotel room?
NJ allows it. One is most likely to see the option in casino hotels. The main hotels elsewhere have often banned it on their own.
Casinos make sense (the owners don't want to ban smoking since a player who goes outside to smoke is a player who isn't gambling), but other than that, I don't understand why you can't smoke in bars or restaurants or pretty much anywhere else that's indoors, but you can still smoke in a hotel room.
One reason is likely that smoking in a hotel room has less of an–if any–immediate effect on other people, mainly via secondhand smoke. It stinks up the room and makes that room unpleasant for anyone who doesn't smoke, but since most hotels designate the rooms in which smoking is permitted (and impose a steep charge if you smoke in a non-smoking room), in most cases the residual smoke stench is less likely to be a problem for future guests because non-smokers are more likely to request non-smoking rooms.
Quote from: 1995hoo on February 03, 2022, 07:48:22 AMOne reason is likely that smoking in a hotel room has less of an–if any–immediate effect on other people, mainly via secondhand smoke. It stinks up the room and makes that room unpleasant for anyone who doesn't smoke, but since most hotels designate the rooms in which smoking is permitted (and impose a steep charge if you smoke in a non-smoking room), in most cases the residual smoke stench is less likely to be a problem for future guests because non-smokers are more likely to request non-smoking rooms.
Heaven help the non-smoker who has to choose between "sleeping in a smoking room" and "sleeping in their car."
And I don't know nearly enough about HVAC systems at hotels to say this for sure, but I would think the smell would drift to other rooms through the ventilation ducts.
Quote from: GaryV on February 01, 2022, 11:53:19 AM
Quote from: OCGuy81 on February 01, 2022, 11:43:03 AM
Are there any Howard Johnson hotels left?
They are a Wyndham brand.
Although, in most cases, they're not original HoJo properties -- it's just another of the bazillion brands that Wyndham uses, often rebranding properties when the standard of accommodation there goes up or down.
And, at least in the parts of the West where I've stayed at HoJo, they tend to be at the very low end of Wyndham's "elegance" scale. Usually among the lowest rates, older properties, and often with a sizable contingent of what we euphemistically call "long-term guests." Usually a couple steps below modern Motel 6s.
That said, I've never been robbed, raped, drugged, or killed while staying at a HoJo. :)
And as others have pointed out, the old-style HoJos often have park-at-your-door and no corridors at all. In the Covid era, that's a big, big, big plus for me, and I'm willing to put up with the quirks of a low-end property so I don't have to get near other guests.
Quote from: abefroman329 on February 03, 2022, 11:06:10 AM
And I don't know nearly enough about HVAC systems at hotels to say this for sure, but I would think the smell would drift to other rooms through the ventilation ducts.
Most of the interior-corridor places where I've stayed have a single-unit HVAC system that's installed beneath the window. There's no interconnection with the systems in other rooms.
Quote from: Kniwt on February 03, 2022, 11:16:30 AM
[And as others have pointed out, the old-style HoJos often have park-at-your-door and no corridors at all. In the Covid era, that's a big, big, big plus for me, and I'm willing to put up with the quirks of a low-end property so I don't have to get near other guests.
I've seen similar sentiments expressed by others, and I can't wrap my head around this at all.
The odds of anyone catching it from a brief, fleeting encounter with someone in a hotel are infinitesimally small. You're more likely to win the lottery than to catch a bug from passing someone in a hotel corridor or even riding in an elevator with them.
Quote from: hbelkins on February 03, 2022, 02:49:53 PM
Quote from: abefroman329 on February 03, 2022, 11:06:10 AM
And I don't know nearly enough about HVAC systems at hotels to say this for sure, but I would think the smell would drift to other rooms through the ventilation ducts.
Most of the interior-corridor places where I've stayed have a single-unit HVAC system that's installed beneath the window. There's no interconnection with the systems in other rooms.
Quote from: Kniwt on February 03, 2022, 11:16:30 AM
[And as others have pointed out, the old-style HoJos often have park-at-your-door and no corridors at all. In the Covid era, that's a big, big, big plus for me, and I'm willing to put up with the quirks of a low-end property so I don't have to get near other guests.
I've seen similar sentiments expressed by others, and I can't wrap my head around this at all.
The odds of anyone catching it from a brief, fleeting encounter with someone in a hotel are infinitesimally small. You're more likely to win the lottery than to catch a bug from passing someone in a hotel corridor or even riding in an elevator with them.
Let's not try to play health professionals here.
In their heyday, HoJos dominated Northern Ohio if you were traveling the Ohio Turnpike:
The Turnpike had HoJo restaurants at all of their service plazas at one time. In addition, you'd be hard-pressed to NOT find a HoJo restaurant and/or hotel within a mile of most of the original Turnpike exits.
Quote from: thenetwork on February 03, 2022, 03:45:47 PM
In their heyday, HoJos dominated Northern Ohio if you were traveling the Ohio Turnpike:
The Turnpike had HoJo restaurants at all of their service plazas at one time. In addition, you'd be hard-pressed to NOT find a HoJo restaurant and/or hotel within a mile of most of the original Turnpike exits.
My dad told me a story of Howard Johnson himself getting his hands on the first Interstate Highway map and building restaurants and hotels at locations that, at the time, were in the middle of nowhere, but suddenly became useful once the Interstates came through, but I have no idea if it's true.
The Econo Lodge located at M-84 (Westside Saginaw Road) and I-75 (Exit 160) in Bay City is an original Howard Johnson's. It was attached to the restaurant that I mentioned already. It's two levels and outside corridors but it hasn't been a HoJo's in probably 30-40 years.
Quote from: thenetwork on February 03, 2022, 03:45:47 PM
In their heyday, HoJos dominated Northern Ohio if you were traveling the Ohio Turnpike:
The Turnpike had HoJo restaurants at all of their service plazas at one time. In addition, you'd be hard-pressed to NOT find a HoJo restaurant and/or hotel within a mile of most of the original Turnpike exits.
Somebody needs to help me remember, but weren't all the service plazas on the Pennsylvania Turnpike also equipped with HoJo restaurants. I was working on the railroad in Western Pennsylvania when the restaurant at the service plaza at New Staunton switched over to a McDonalds. I was disappointed at first, but quickly found that it was easier to deal with the Turnpike service plaza than the inconvenient fast foods at the New Stanton exit (especially since I was usually heading south on US-119 to Connellsville).
Howard Johnson's in it's heyday was all over the place. I used to think that it was just a restaurant because the one here was just a restaurant but the one in Bay City had a motel attached so that was when I realized they were a hotel chain too. The one in Saginaw has been closed for 25 years this April and I can still remember going there. It was open 24 hours and a very popular dining spot especially in the middle of the night when the bars let out they had the buffet up and running and everyone ate off it. I think it's rather sad to see the end of Howard Johnson's.
When my dad was working for the phone company in the late 70s/early 80s, he volunteered to work on a long-term project in Florida. They put him up for a long-term stay at a HJ in West Palm Beach/Lake Worth one block from the ocean. This particular HoJo was in 2 separate buildings on either side of the cross-street that ended at the ocean boulevard.
One perk he got was to get us a free/reduced cost vacation for 2 weeks in Feb 1980. We flew down from Ohio, and we spent a few days at Disney World while there.
Not sure if that hotel is still there, or if it was bulldozed for luxury WPB condos, but it was a nice property at the time.
Other memorable HJ's I remember staying at were in Corbin, Ky and Framingham, Mass.