Howard Johnson by Wyndham San Diego Sea World

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The room was okay. Fan in the bathroom was going out and noisy, front door knob was about to fall off and the door was hard to open. Some of the light bulbs were not working.

Overall, the property was clean, quiet, and well maintained. I booked this hotel for my son's Marine Corps graduation. Our reservation was from Wednesday through Friday, but we only ended up using the room for about 12 hours. The issue was with the security deposit at check-in. The front desk employee asked for either a credit card or cash. I first provided my credit card, but he said it didn't work. I then gave him my debit card, and he again said it didn't work, explaining that the machine was probably having issues. He then asked to keep my identification card as security, which I declined because I needed my ID to access the Marine base. Instead, I provided the required $150 cash deposit. Later that morning, I discovered that both my credit card and debit card had each been charged multiple times with different amounts, despite being told the transactions had not gone through. To make matters more frustrating, check-in wasn't until 3:00 p.m., but we didn't actually check in until 4:00 a.m. Thursday morning, and we checked out by 6:00 a.m. Friday morning. We spent very little time in the room, so dealing with the deposit and unauthorized charges overshadowed what otherwise would have been a pleasant stay.

This place is cheap for a reason. The "Shampoo & Conditioner" is body wash, the continental "breakfast" is one waffle maker and some cereal. The walls are thin. The TV works, as long as you find the right input. The street sign is literally missing. The restaurant next door is literally falling apart (I think it's closed?). I think they make up your room like once every three days. The clock is bolted to the nightstand. It's not a great area, the closest decent chain place is an Olive Garden that's a 15 - 20 minute walk. On the plus side, the room is good sized, the bed is decently comfortable, and everything works.

Basically the staff was nice and that’s where it ends. Shower had years of dirt and discoloration on bottom (reglaze) the damn thing for Pete’s sake. Parking lot was like a bomb went off. Beds felt like boards and overall condition is very unsettling for a HoJo. Not expecting 4-5 stars but a solid 1 is fair for here. Best thing was the free parking but otherwise not even close to what the pics show online.