The high tech check in system is terrible. We had to wait 40 minutes to even get someone to answer a phone and assist us in getting the codes to check in. Terrible read more

The HIHo Hotel is clean, conveniently located, and a fine place to stay. I was in CT helping with a seriously ill family member and ended up transferring to the Circle Hotel because I had trouble with necessary internet and cell phone reception. I found the customer service at both the HiHo and Circle Hotels to be excellent. First, with almost no wait, a human being answers the phone. In my case, Samantha, helped me with the transfer. She was incredibly helpful, accommodating and nice, making a stressful situation a lot easier. I happily recommend these hotels to anyone. read more

The hotel was .... Well, the room had a very strong Oder, cleaning products shouldn't smell this strong, had to leave the window open all night. The room was very very small, fine for one person, too small for two. The stairs to get up to the room, was like a fire escape. I'm sure it was up to code, but not safe for heels. I think if they were to improve, they need to add a mini fridge. I was disappointed I couldn't keep my drinks and leftover desert cold. All in all it wasn't awful, but could use some improvements. read more

The contactless check is a pane there's a phone number to call but it doesn't tell you how to check in until you call . There is no email just a phone number. You have to call it to check in to get your room number and code. They don't tell you that anywhere have to figure it out on your own. I get to my room and the beds don't fit on the bed holder so the frame sticks out just enough to bang your kneecap. And there's no refrigerators in the rooms and I'm a diabetic so I need to go get some ice to put my insulin on. That's gonna be another excursion. read more

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Great place to stay the night in CT, right off the Merritt parkway. It is a direct-to-room service property, so there's no front desk. Luckily we didn't have any issues. The room was clean and didn't smell. The beds were big and comfy. An added benefit was having the Barcelona wine bar right below us. Overall it was a good experience. The price was very reasonable. I'd definitely stay here again. There's also a Tesla charger on the property. read more

Let me start by saying the check-in system is chaotic and confusing, and thank god James was there to get myself and the rest of our out of town friends checked in. He was gracious and patient, and did an amazing job. However what would be an 4 star review was absolutely obliterated by the fact that both nights of our stay the fire alarm was set off. One of the times was our "fault" as when the STEAM FROM THE SHOWER hit the smoke alarm, it was set off and triggered the system for the entire building. After speaking with a few other guests as we were waiting for the alarm to be shut off by the fire company (since there is NO staff on property), we found out this issue has been ongoing for a while now - happening multiple times a week during the night, during the day, with no rhyme or reason. The firemen on arrival said that this has been a consistent issue for them and it's horrible for the guests and it's horrible for them to waste their resources like that. Just because you put little tongue-in-cheek signs up across the property about how sensitive your fire alarms are, doesn't mean that you can get away with this. It's unacceptable and needs to be addressed. We used to love this hotel and won't be coming back. I'm also extremely disappointed at the lack of accommodation for those with mobility issues. Also didn't like that there was no mini-fridge to store cold drinks. Side note - not the fault of the hotel, but zero cell service here - you'll need to rely on guest WiFi. read more

Pros- Cow pillows as advertised. Fantastic bar/lounge located on the premises with a variety of gin drinks. We did not eat there, but it seemed seafood heavy and the decor was delightful. Cons- Fear was instilled by signs regarding the shower steam potentially setting off the smoke detector, however, we were successful in not setting it off! There was no fridge, and we couldn't find the ice, but neither of those are the fault of the hotel. Construction across the street seemed to be moving fast, exciting show with your morning coffee. We were unable to get Wi-Fi on our personal devices, but Hi Ho tech worked great! Probably worth having the "Hotel" vs. "Motel" debate. Overall very interesting building, would definitely stay again! read more

Hotel Hi-Ho - Successful signage. - Hotels Near Me - Fairfield, Connecticut

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Pay the extra money for a more user-friendly hotel. When I arrived to check-in to the two queen bed suite (Room 308) that I had reserved, my door code didn't work. I had called previously to confirm my late arrival, so there would not be a problem. I had to call the no-contact style help desk for assistance. I was standing outside on the back side of the hotel in the pitch dark. My fault for thinking this tech-hotel crap was for me... It's great when listed in the hotel.com website when you see it, but super inconvenient if you have a problem and need assistance. They had to reset the code and send it to me. Then I get into the room and discovered the deadbolt didn't lock at all. The door was only secured with the auto lock. When I inspected the deadbolt, I noticed arm was nowhere near the hole in the door frame, so there's no way it had locked/secured for previous guests. I'm a female Air Force veteran with PTSD (26 active-duty years) and personal security is top priority for me. I called to request a new room with 2 queen beds and was told the they were fully booked, so I was given a single queen bed in a smaller room (Room 315) that had a deadbolt that actually was installed properly and locked. Because I no longer had two queen beds, my goddaughter didn't have a place to sleep because the room only accommodated my daughter and myself. I hated the entire situation and could not wait for this trip to be over. read more

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There is no office. Everything is done online (or by phone) . Can you say impersonal. The room was adequate but could have used another blanket. The shower was ok but there was no place to hang a washcloth and no handle on the inside of the shower door. There was no stopper on the sink drain, (so I almost lost something down the drain). The bed was comfortable enough but the road noise was loud. Only one staircase and it was on the opposite side of the room, so we had to schlep our baggage a long way. read more

Megan was an amazing waitress!!!! Food was great. Eating outdoors was so nice. Fun drink specials and tasty food.

My husband and I stayed here for a night while visiting friends in Fairfield. It wasn't fancy but was just what we needed. The room was renovated nicely but the kitsch feeling of this being renovated motel was fun. Online check-in worked perfectly and it was nice not to have to a long in-person check-in process at 10:30 pm, which was when we arrived (and were tired after a couple of long days of driving). read more

I'm local and I frequent the Barcelona location on the lower level. Just from walking by I've always wanted to stay the night, just seemed cool. I had the opportunity one night the end of last summer after having locked myself out of my apartment. Turns out the $140 room was cheaper than getting a locksmith. In hindsight, probably should've camped out in my own parking lot. The room itself was largely inoffensive but I was unaware of their hands off "high tech" approach before booking. So my stupid ass first tried calling their front desk. I guess that was pretty silly, who calls the front desk when they want to rent a hotel room? What is this 1895? It was late and I was forwarded to the front desk of the Circle Hotel which is also in town, about equidistant from my apartment as Hi Ho but not as nice. I thought I'd made a mistake, I excused myself and hung up. Then I simply showed up at the Hi Ho. Obviously no one there but I guess this being the height of covid, they'd removed the external ipad from which you would normally book an impromptu stay. I gave up and called the number again. Again I got the Circle Hotel and that's when it dawned on me to ask if they handled the Hi-Ho's night business. The young man on the line confirmed they did. Mystery solved. He for some reason was unable to book me over the phone so get this, I had to: 1. Book online 2. Wait for an email with my room code which was noted could take upwards of two hours to receive. 3. Call the other unrelated hotel again. 4. Wait on the line fifteen minutes for the kid on the phone to be able to generate me a room code. Once the hoops were jumped through and I was able to enter the room, it was generally fine. Certainly above a Motel 6 or some such but nothing special. I don't care about their quirky decor, I'd rather not have a five foot painting of Andy Warhol watch me sleep, thanks. Although very clean and equipped with a little baby coffee machine, the internet was dreadfully slow, the television service was inordinantly difficult to navigate and the AC which was necessary to keep on in the stuffy room was extremely loud. So in summary, better than a night in the parking lot I guess but the hassle of the experience, at least in my case, was not worth the price point. Their "high tech" marketing is utter bullshit and a transparent ploy to offload staff costs. read more

It was great! Clean, cozy!! We will definitely stay there again! Thanks! Same with the Circle Hotel.

This is a noisy place that is not well cared for. The A/C unit sounds like a plane revving up. There is a restaurant downstairs playing music loudly. This is not mentioned on the website. I called the phone number who told me the restaurant doesn't play music. We've got spiders in the bathroom. Overall unpleasant. It's only for one night but still... read more

So... this is a self serve hotel - which maybe in theory is a good idea - but... no manager on property- fire alarm just went off at midnight - all of us standing in the parking lot - called management - they were not helpful or in any urgency - take your chances but no there is no one here in case of emergency- nor is there urgency on management part. Had to deal with fire department- management never showed up... Hotel itself is actually very good - but lack of on property staff might make you think twice. read more

Hotel Hi-Ho - Firetrucks - Hotels Near Me - Fairfield, Connecticut

My first hotel experience where I didn't interact with a person face to face. Completely seemless technological Inn experience, and the presentation was flawless. The hotel tv even had Roku smart tv device with PlutoTV free cable app installed. Overall, a very pleasant experience. My laptop couldn't connect to hotel wifi with a valid internet connection. I didn't have time or patience to troubleshoot, so i just use our phones on wifi instead. #plutotv #roku #seemless #luxary #elegant read more

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You can see my trip advisor review in the attached photo. Terrible and embarrassing that I recommended this to guests. Please see the Juvenil discussion on Facebook. I have since reported them to the BBB. read more

Hotel Hi-Ho - Hotels Near Me - Fairfield, Connecticut

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No fridge or microwave in the room. For all this money being spent, there should at least be the essentials.

Awesome hotel to spend the night at. The pricing was less than $100 per night. The room was big and comfortable. The bathroom was superb. in addition it had a wide variety of channels to choose from in the cable box. In addition it had free WiFi and free parking. One of the best places to stay at!!! read more

Hotel Hi-Ho - Hotels Near Me - Fairfield, Connecticut

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Literally THE WORST hotel experience I have ever had. 1, hotel is different from MOTEL. 2, no staff on duty 24/7 so no help whatsoever when issues arise after hours. 3, issues arose, hence my 3am call to their on duty (offsite) manager that told me nothing could be done because I didn't have a room number the complaint was for - I would not leave my room at 3am and leave my kids alone so I could look for the room number of the party above me. 4, lucky number 4 because it was 4am when the entire motel's fire alarm system went off and we all had to evacuate. Fire department said it doesn't happen EVERY night but just about as much as that... 5, after all these events, a "great getaway" location hosts a 7am car show in their parking lot where every douchebag in that area of CT revs their dumb ass Saab engines at the ass crack of dawn. Worst place ever. (I've never written a bad review about anything in my entire life. So you're welcome.) read more

We just returned from a stay this past weekend. Don't stay here. We are frequent travelers and understand that things don't always go perfectly. However, we had problem after problem and management did nothing to help. The beds were comfortable and the linens were quite new which was nice. The front desk staff was kind. However, the iron was broken, the TV had no remote control and the phone was broken. Our room was only cleaned one of the two full days we were there (despite the the sign asking for the room to be cleaned being on the door knob from 11 AM to when we returned at 10:30 PM), and we awoke the day we checked out to a big loud machine right outside our room and loud footsteps above us on the roof. We were also given a room with a view of dumpsters and propane tanks, which we could live with if everything else hadn't happened. What's very sad is the new ownership. We had heard rumors about this place being a terrible place before, but this experience wasn't up to par, especially for the rate they charge. For $224++ a night, I expect better. read more

Hotel Hi-Ho - Returned to the room at 10:30pm and it hadn't been cleaned, even though we left the sign on the doorknob. - Hotels Near Me - Fairfield, Connecticut

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Great price. Convenient. Only draw back (for me) was the door is literally on the road, although it's supposed to be a very safe area, it just didn't feel safe - to me. Bed was comfortable. Nespresso machine was on an inconvenient location to plug in but, we got it. Well appointed bathroom. Continental breakfast is included which was an added bonus. read more

Possibly the worst hotel stay I have ever experienced. The only positive is that it was convenient. The person less check in and check out was a joke, it didn't work and I had to call the hotel number both times. The room was baten......no comfortable place to sit, the cowhide chair was interesting, but impossible to sit in, or get out. No table or desk to sit at and write. The heater/air conditioner was so loud I chose to do without. The room itself was brightly lit from outside at all hours, and the noise level from the highway was untenable. There was no breakfast service 'due to the pandemic' and we were encouraged not to use the lounge area. The Barcelona restaurant, mere steps away was excellent. My advice, go to the restaurant, avoid the hotel read more

4 stars is probably a little mean for my stay because it was not a bad stay. It just was not the best. I booked this hotel through hotels.com due to its vlose distance to sacred heart university. I had seen pictures that it had been recently remideled, so I decided to check it out. Checking in was easy. I had reserved my room under one credit card but decided to charge the room on another. Currently both cards are charged and I am in the process of waiting for the reversal. The lady at the front desk told me that breakfast was 6am-10am. Which worked out perfectly for me on sunday, but totally screwed me up on Monday when i walked in at 9:15 & everything for breakfast was gone. I was lucky enough to just grab coffee and an orange. There is a sign in the breakfast lounge that has the times, but I did not notice that the day before. There is also no little info book in the hotel that would give this and other relevant information, such as the location of the ice machine which is in the breakfast area as well. The Barcelona restaurant attached to the hotek is lovely and I do recommend it for anyone staying here.n The rooms are nice. Very modern. They do have have little shampoo and conditioner samples, but pump dispensers in the shower. The rooms come with a hairdryer, iron, and ironing board. A few of the dresser drawers did not open for various reasons: one being that the ac unit was blocking it from opening. The staff was nice but certain aspects of my stay missed the mark. read more

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If a hotel is not going to have a human being in the lobby for check-in, they need to make sure that the adjacent wine bar is under control. Attempting to "check in" via an intercom system in a crowd of drunks is not exactly a warm welcome. Then, when the intercom doesn't answer and the phone number given isn't answered, you have no way of getting in! The sheets don't fit on the bed, so once you're in the corners pop off here piece of furniture a "bed "is inaccurate. More lumps and divits than a motorcross course. Never going back again! read more

I was traveling from Virginia with my fiancé to visit family in Fairfield and I found this nifty looking hotel. Self check in, boutique hotel with an artsy feel? What is not to love. Well, everything. I booked the hotel 3 months this in advance and got the confirmation that it was booked via email. Fast forward to 1-2 days before my trip, I get an email to check in early. Follow the steps, scan the credit card, etc... and get the message that I will get an email confirmation with my room info 2 hours before my experienced arrival (11pm). Me and my fiancé pack up the car after work and head to the hotel (roughly a 6 hour drive). 10pm rolls around and we're an hour out and no email. 10:30, same deal. We start getting worried so we try to self check in again via the same email link. Everything seems fine, still no info about our room. We start to worry as we have nowhere else to stay and there were no other available hotels nearby. Fully expecting to have to sleep in the car, we call the phone number in the pre-check in email and are on hold with the standard "all of our operators are busy with other customers" (yeah, sure at 11pm, but ok). We're on hold for 15 minutes and then they hang up. We try again. Another 15 mins and this time someone does pick up. We explain the situation, he asks for the last 4 digits of the credit card and then tells us, oh it's been declined. I ask him, sincerely, when was it declined? I booked the room with the card 3 months ago, I checked in online with their scanning app on my card, and I did it again that night. At no point did anyone say, oh this card is declined. He told me it was declined and there is nothing he can do. So, I asked plainly, "can I give you the numbers over the phone?" Seemed like an obvious solution, to which he seemed shocked that was an option. We did it, it worked, he told me if I have any issues with my experience to talk to a manager and hung up. Definitely doesn't work in customer service based on his attitude about the issue. I got the email Info for my room shortly after. We got into our room, which was in the basement of the hotel. If you need a bed then sure, this place works. But the rugs and towels were stained. There was a tacky picture of an Andy Warhol quote on the wall (I guess that makes it art?) and spiders plenty. No closet, only a hanging rod. No refrigerator or microwave. For the price you pay, this is not worth the experience. You can get the same exact setup in a cheap motel but probably have less issues with their rude staff. Don't stay here for the price they ask. Not worth it. read more

Unfortunately disappointed. My wife and I had stayed here a few times before with no issues, however this last trip made us cancel or reservations. Upon arrival the room was full of gnats and there were spiders on the wall as well. Additionally the AC unit was not working properly and sounded like it was on the verge of exploding. Once I brought the concerns to the manager on duty she told me "that I could always cancel if I wasn't happy". Needless to say but I wasn't there much longer. Would not recommend. read more

The two of us stayed at the recently transformed Hi-Ho for a night while visiting family in Fairfield. Compared to other hotels at this price point, the Hi-Ho was great. As with any hotel stay, there were of course some hi's and ho's: Hi's: -Excellent location right off the Merritt -Barcelona restaurant underneath has a great happy hour and more than decent food -super easy, mostly automated check-in/check-out process -totally fine continental breakfast included in room rate -modern furniture, WiFi, Roku, good control of room temp Ho's: -a bit noisy from street traffic if you are a light sleeper (I'm not and was fine) -not 1000% squeaky clean, some dust on the towel rack, some kind of, let's say, medical device, next to the nightstand -mattress and pillows could be a little more comfy -trying to park in the lot during the evening because apparently Barcelona transforms into the clurb Overall, would stay again if needing a place to crash for the night in Fairfield. read more

This was our 4th time staying here and we will not be back. The level of customer service and cleanliness has become nonexistent over the past 18 months. We stayed from Thursday night to Sunday morning and had two rooms. Housekeeping -- Our room was not cleaned on Friday. When we called to get towels after being gone from the room all day, we were told that no one was available to give us towels until Saturday at 6 am. On Saturday, we left the empty Kleenex box on the counter thinking it would be replaced. It was still there when we got back to the room on Saturday and no replacement was left. We were also left with two towels for 4 people and no towel for the floor. We also had a huge rip in one of our bottom sheets. In addition, there was hair in the shower drain when we arrived on Thursday and it remained in the drain until we left. Finally, on Sunday we were awakened at 9 am by Housekeeping wanting to clean our room, when checkout wasn't until 11 am. Parking -- If you are not parked and in your room by 6 pm, you will not be able to find a parking spot until after 10:30 pm. The restaurant on the property allows the patrons to utilize all of the spots entitled to the hotel patrons. Breakfast -- The pastries were stale and we had two yogurts that were sour. Atmosphere -- The restaurant has live music on Thursday night that you could hear all over the property until 11 pm. We had elderly and young family members with us and this was completely inappropriate. In addition, large trucks began arriving for deliveries at 6 am on Thursday morning and were continuous for several hours. Every time they backed up, their loud beeping vibrated throughout the room. There are several issues with a self-service hotel. If you need extra towels, pillows, or blankets in the middle of the night, you are out of luck. It is clear that there is no oversight of the Housekeeping staff. It is unfortunate because we were quite impressed with the hotel 18 months ago. read more

Worst s#!t hole motel! Rooms are Tiny and filthy! Had to check in on line. No lobby. Had to talk to some guy on a speaker in front. Furniture was old and drawers were broken. Bathroom was old and also tiny. They should rename it "Hotel It Blows" read more

A Hi-ghly overrated Ho-tel. Basically a fancified motel with a restaurant downstairs. And grossly overpriced. I did bit of a research (like I always do before we go away anywhere) and ended up picking this place. It wasn't my ideal location. And once we were at THE location I realized just how much it wasn't my ideal location. I was looking for a hotel that was either right in front of an ocean or a river or something that resembled water. Nothing like that was in front or around it. I found out though that only short 10 mins away there were about two beaches that we could drive down to (which we never got around to doing since we only stayed one night here). The hotel sits on top of a hill of sorts so it's hard to miss it. Hence, it is extremely hard to miss it. That, and the fact that it has a fancy sounding (Barcelona) restaurant slash wine bar makes it a pretty popular joint. Anyways, we paid almost $190 dollars (tax incl) for a room that is about a size of a cat's litter box. If I'm not mistaken we had an 'executive' king room. Nothing even remotely executive or king size about it. Yes, there was a king size bed plopped in the middle of the room (forget the middle, the bed pretty much takes up 85 to 90% of the tiny room). The decor is whatever, well, whatever the little decor that is there or was able to be fitted into that tiny space. By decor I guess I mean the main shtick of fake cowhide giant pillows on the bed. The adjacent bathroom seems to be the best thing about the room. It is quite modern, with a fancy shmancy sink that I would love to have in my own house. But overall, the room and the hotel in reality look much more different and way more disappointing than in the pictures. The hotel shmotel does not even have any fun entertainment around or within, considering again the price that one is paying to stay here. Literally, I still cannot believe we paid $190 for one night, which is the most amount I ever paid for any hotel. It's not like it's here in New York, which then I could understand the insane price point. And neither does it offer any fun or relaxing things like billiards, a pool, a giant chess game, or library, or spa. There aren't even any benches or gazebos in front of or in the back of the hotel that would make it hangout-able or relaxing-able. There aren't any parks or greenery surrounding the hotel. Unless you consider the highway or adjacent roads with trees a greenery of sorts. There is, however, a tiny 'lounge' on the above floor that I did not get to use but looks like a kitchenette spot with chairs, tables, and a TV on the wall, that I guess they consider a lounge. The best thing would be I guess are the fun little red chairs and tables next to this 'lounge', which we did use to sit and relax and chat. When we first walked into our room there was also an atrocious urine like smell that I could not tell where it was coming from but definetely was so strong that I immediately wondered if I was going to be able to stay in here. I have a very keen sense of smell and to me it smelled like someone, perhaps a dog, or perhaps a human being, pissed right on the carpet. Anyhow, I asked the girl at the reception to help us to get rid of the funky smell (I did not name which particular smell it reminded me of). She utilized a 'miracle' spray, which indeed got rid of the atrocious urine smell. Later in the day, I realized where the smell might've been coming from. It seemed that it was coming from the air conditioner. Once you turned it on that's when you started to smell it again. Which poses an odd question. Did someone pee in the AC?? read more

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Nontraditional motel work no front desk so all of your reservations are made online. Interesting concept that's best for people who aren't making last minute reservations but the motel was very clean and everything has a hipster modern feel. Free breakfast was good! The hand soap they provide smells wonderful ha! read more

Hotel Hi-Ho - Front desk that isn't typically manned. - Hotels Near Me - Fairfield, Connecticut

Hi ho is kind of a mixed bag overall. I would probably stay here again but it wouldn't be my first choice. Pros: good location, right on the side of th me highway but also very isolated. - new rooms with nice, comfortable bed, nice bathroom amenities and decor Cons: noise level is near unbearable. You get so much road noise that you will question whether the door is open or closed. -cleaning staff isn't good at cleaning, leave lots of dirt and messy. Overall it's good but loud read more

Arrived at the Hi-Ho this afternoon and let's just say, I checked out within 15 minutes and received a full refund. Upon arrival, I opened the fridge and saw that previous guests had left three blocks of opened and odorous cheese as well as a box of vaginal rings. Clearly, the room was not disinfected whatsoever. This is unacceptable to begin with but especially unacceptable during a global pandemic. If you don't want to contract a potential STD or expose yourself to any other diseases, do not stay here. read more

Hotel Hi-Ho - Hotels Near Me - Fairfield, Connecticut

I think they believe they are now a high end boutique hotel- NOT! I checked it out to book all the rooms for a nearby outdoor wedding for a friend. A phone call was never returned, so I stopped by to see a room and was handed a card and told to call that number tomorrow - I was unable to see a room. Good luck! read more

I'm really glad that I found this hotel on a whim. The room was clean, the bathroom clean & fresh, there was an abundance of towels & toilet paper for the one night I stayed, & I loved the complimentary Hi-Ho H20. I thought the decor was fun, slightly better than your average room because it was different - Andy Warhol prints & cow chairs. The staff was beyond nice, answering my questions from the road, accommodating my late check in, just being very reassuring. In the morning I enjoyed the free muffins, with tiny jars of preserves, honey, & jam, the yummy fresh fruit, & toast. They also offer tea & locally sourced coffee. I would absolutely stay here again. Two thumbs up! read more

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It's been mentioned in previous reviews but A CAR SHOW AT A MOTEL AT 7.30AM ON A SUNDAY IS NOT OK... especially when the fire alarm went off at 4am this morning as well. Really disappointing as the rest of the setup is good for a motel. Next time I will read more reviews before booking (though I never really thought I would have to complain about an early morning car show in a motel parking lot... I mean... come on!!!!!!) read more

Tomorrow it's my last day here and I don't want to leave love the bed the pillow the room smell good they are non smoking so that's great the room service it's on time and on point the bathroom a girl place . Cable all the way with all Chanel's oh yes tv it's good lol lovely .... read more

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Well, it's hard to pick a low point from our forced stay at the Hi-Ho. Maybe it was the front desk dude wearing sweatpants and quite possibly masturbating when we first knocked on the door. Maybe it was the overwhelming smell of ammonia, mixed with vomit. Maybe it was the mysterious wet spot in front of the couch that left my wife's socks stained brown. Maybe it was the prostitutes in the parking lot. It could have even been the creepy bartender who was happy serving his creepy friends, but angrily told us 'LAST CALL.' at 11:17 in the evening. I can't rightly say what is wrong with this place, but I can tell you that I don't think it's unfair to say that every second of our stay here was secretly video taped. This place is like a fucking horror movie. In fact, if they would bill themselves as a David Lynch Themed motel, they would triple their profits in a week. Don't stay here though. With the benefit of hind sight, I would have just continued driving until dawn. read more

About twenty years ago, my mom accidentally left some cauliflower in a cooler, and forgot to empty it before putting it in the basement, where it went undiscovered for about 2 months. How is this relevant to our experience at the Hotel Hi-Ho? Read on. We recently stayed at the Hi-Ho while attending a wedding in Connecticut. Given that most of the guests were staying there, we booked a room without doing much research into the place. It was only after our arrival that some of the locals attending the wedding regaled us with stories of the property's seedier past. But that was then, and this is now. It seems that the property got a facelift, and they threw some new furniture and an Andy Warhol poster in each room, and decided to upgrade the name from motel to hotel, despite it still having the basic layout and amenities of a motel. Check-in was initially positive. The front desk clerk was very personable, and we had our keys within a few minutes. However, once we got up to our room, the stay got off to a very bad start that kept getting worse. One of the main distinguishing features between a motel and a hotel are the amenities, and in that regard, I guess you could say that the Hi-Ho certainly offered some extra and unanticipated "amenities." Upon arriving in our room, we were greeted with "extras" left over from the previous guests. These included used toiletries in the bathroom, including a used razor, a stash of marijuana, and even some dirty silverware stashed in the safe! And we didn't even request these extras!! Given that neither of us rock the ganja, and that I prefer not to get hepatitis while shaving, we called the front desk to decline these extras and to be moved to a room that had been... what's the word??? Ah, yes: actually cleaned before we moved in. The woman at the front desk was extremely apologetic and told us that she would move us next door. She was very nice about it, and understanding that mistakes can sometimes be made, we rolled with it, and accepted the offer to move next door. But my good humor began to fade when the room we were moved into also wasn't cleaned! There were used toiletries in there as well! If they didn't clean the bathroom, how could I trust that they changed the sheets, or cleaned the glasses?? We finally got moved to a room that actually appeared to have been cleaned for a new guest, after about an hour of wrangling with the front desk, and my generally jovial nature completely spent. We were tired from our red-eye, and we just needed a nap before meeting up with our friends. The room we got moved into, however, wasn't without its problems, but at that point, I was too tired to fight it. I just had to accept that, even in a "clean" state, the rooms were still quite abysmal. In this new room, the air conditioner rattled and buzzed, which would have been enough to keep me up were I not so exhausted. But, the real kicker were the pillows and comforters, which absolutely reeked. Back to 20 years ago, when we went to grab the cooler for a road trip, and opened the lid, we were overcome with a powerful malodor of rotting cauliflower. It was sharp and pungent, like a dull headache, and it was so volatile that it seemed to immediately permeate every pore exposed to its vapor. That's what the pillows and comforter smelled like. Bitter, stinging, putrid, steeped to their very core in a smell that is so distinctly rotten and positively inescapable. A few friends staying there recognized the smell as well. I took the pillowcases off to inspect the pillows and they were not stained. It just seemed like they've never been given a chance to air out. A review on TripAdvisor noted the same issue, and provided the helpful tip of just using towels, and that's what we did. I figured at this point, it was no use trying to fight it. Quickly, I'll recount some of the other issues with the rooms: the rooms are small, the traffic noise is loud, the air conditioners blow right on to the person sleeping closest to the door, the bathrooms have no fans, the chair in the room is pretty, but also completely non-functional for sitting, and the Wi-Fi, while fast, is completely unsecured, making it dicey for a business traveler with sensitive information on their computers. The continental breakfast is limited, but quite serviceable. All in all, the Hotel Hi-Ho feels like a fundamentally unclean place painted over with a fresh coat of Ikea. It was the absolute worst lodging experience I've ever had in all my years of traveling both in the United States and abroad. Avoid at all costs. read more