Howard Johnson Inn Queens/ AirTrain JFK

I was very disappointed from the time I had arrived till the time I checked out of the hotel. I had issues with registering my four guest that were with me due to their «room policy». The hotel manager/​owner act like no one could not visit, my guest and I could not take pictures in the lobby before going out to a function we were invited to, we could not have a group conversation in the lobby and to top it off there were a group of folks staying at the hotel could not talk in the lobby they were asked to leave.
Why would you ask someone to leave the hotel because your talking in the lobby where you had paid your money. I feel as though we were discriminated against due to race.
I do not recommend this hotel to no one regardless of the location.
A very dissatisfied customer and the hotel should not get any stars.

It’s a good hotel. The rooms are clean. We had a view of the train tracks from our third floor room which was a big plus for the kids. The airport is nearby (it is across the street from the Airtrain that takes you directly to the airport) so we saw lots of airplanes too. It’s insulated so we didn’t hear the trains when we were sleeping. The room was clean and recently updated. Fridge was nice but there is no microwave. I was able to set the thermostat to 74 degrees, but the thermostat was not on when we arrived in the room — we had to call the front desk for them to turn it on — but we had control of the thermostat once they turned it on. The AC worked well. The showers have a lot of water pressure and we had no problems with running out of hot water.
Breakfast was decent — bagels, donuts, eggs, bacon, and sausage, cereal, waffles, pastries and bread for toast. There is a nice, fancy coffee machine. The only con was there was no coffee creamer. You have to use milk in your coffee. Get there early — if you wait until 9:00 there will be nothing left.
Big con — no parking. You have to park on the street and illegally park to unload your vehicle. I got a brand new Dodge Ram as a rental car and I had to parallel park it on the street. I was not happy about that. If you are going to the airport and using the Airtrain or public transportation, this hotel is great. If you drive, you may wind up parking 3 – 4 blocks away.
They offer a paid shuttle to the airport. you are better off going across the street and taking the Airtrain.
I used Wyndham rewards points for the room otherwise it’s on the expensive side.

It started with check in. When I swiped my room key to enter my room, it was someone else’s room! Luckily no one was in there but their luggage was. That issue was quickly resolved, but then it was the smell.
It reeked of body odor. I opened the windows and turned AC on high and left to go find food. Luckily by the time I returned, the smell was markedly less potent.
On to the bathroom. Good towels and water pressure. But the teeniest tiniest soap. And when they cleaned the room, they didn’t replace the soap or shampoo. And at 150 bucks a night, the least you expect is soap and shampoo.
It advertises fitness center but that is not true… it is not even completed. The free breakfast is that standard sugary cereal and bread continental.
On the plus side, the desk agent was courteous. The bed was awesomely comfortable. The AC worked well and the flat screen was nice. The overall look of the room was neat and moder although a bit small.
It’s about a 20 minute ride to JFK or right on the public air train line.

Total disappointment. Shady area in a bad neighborhood. The room was hot in the middle of summer and the A/​C was controlled by the front desk staff. The room temperature was kept at 78 degrees Fahrenheit. The fire alarm went off randomly through the night. The cleaning crew left dirty clothes behind form the previous patron. Do your family a favor and choose another place to stay.

I had stopped using Howard Johnson hotels a while back because you never know what to expect, some are ok, some look like they should be rented on a per hour rate. I found this one that seemed to be located close to the airport. For anyone knowing the area, you’ll know it isn’t a good area by any means but close to the train so as long as you aren’t in and out or too worried about being mugged it would do. The issue came with the reservation, it was booked through
, apparently on a non refundable fare even though the hotel policy is refundable till 24 hours in advance for no fee. Regardless of the policy, there are some exceptions made for active duty military members that are diverted. I began by calling
, who transferred to the hotel. Dealing with the hotel was interesting because its a franchise. the owner, or manager seemed to never be available to discuss and the front desk had no authority to make any decisions. I began contacting them almost a month before the reservation date when I was alerted that I was no longer coming through NY. After several calls to the hotel, I became frustrated and decided to take it to the credit card company. I was taken for $ 450 by this hotel, so please do your research and stay elsewhere. Not only this is not a good location, but the lack of management was terrible. I returned to NY recently, but booked a 4 star Marriott Courtyard on Herald Square for the same price. I guess I would say, if you like to stay at a 2 star hotel in a bad area, 50 minutes away from the city and chance being robbed on the way to the hotel at night this is your place. If you are visiting NY, understand that this hotel is a $ 50 cab ride to the city so don’t think that you are saving a few dollars or doing yourself any favors by staying here, and lastly understand that if you run into any issues, youll have to track down a franchise owner that may or may not speak English if you can track him down to decide your fate. I would strongly recommend looking at other options in the City, or close to the city in the La Guardia or LIC area. Good luck