Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel Miami (FL) Reviews

Good shopping location for short stay in Miami Guest Rating: 3.3

Hotel room is clean. Good complimentary shuttle service to airport and shops. Lots of shopping opportunities in the vicinity (Wallmart, Super Target, K-Mart, Home depot, Lowes, Best Buy, Westland mall etc.). Car rental service in hotel. Complimentary continental breakfast. Sufficient food options in walking distance at Westland mall, Red Lobster, Wendy's and even across the street at the service station.

Traffic very busy. No shuttle bus service to Super Target. Besides shopping at Wallmart no nightlife activities in close proximity.

• Shopping Tip : A Super Target store is within 1.5 miles distance.

Extremely frustrating hotel experience Guest Rating: 1.8

At the absolute bottom of the list for hotel experiences. It's a stretch to call it an airport hotel, since it's over 8 miles and at least 20 minutes from the airport. When I called upon arrival, I found out that the airport shuttle only runs every hour and a half, and only picks up at one concourse in that huge airport. But... the one I was waiting for was 25 minutes off schedule, so I ended up waiting up at the airport two hours, and then it went whizzing by the stop in the outside lane, so I had to chase it through the traffic. Having been out of the country for several weeks, I was counting on using the business center for several hours. The sign on the door clearly said it was open until 10 p.m. seven days a week, but when I first inquired, I was told the person in charge was on a delivery and would be back shortly. An hour later I was told he was on break and would be back shortly. Another hour later I was told, "Oh no, the business center never opens on Sunday." For all I know, it never opens at all, since I could see it was filled up with packing boxes which barely left room to sit at the desks, so maybe it's all been converted to storage. If so, they need to change their advertising. Due to the unreliable shuttle service, I had to take the 5:30 a.m. shuttle for an 8:30 flight. And that factor in combination with the abbreviated breakfast schedule that did start until 7 crossed another amenity off the list. Obviously there's little thought for catering to business travelers, since a 7 a.m. breakfast simply doesn't match with most business flights. The room itself was comfortable and quiet, so if you have your own transportation and just want to sit in your room and watch TV without using any other amenities, it may work okay for you.

Comfortable, quiet room.

Terrible airport shuttle service, advertised business center not available, very unsatisfactory front desk service.

• Shopping Tip : It was advertised as being close to the mall, but unfortunately the mall locks up tight at 6 p.m. on Sunday (maybe that's a Florida thing) so since there didn't seem to be any other attractions in the area, there was nothing whatsoever to do for the evening.

My stay at the Howard Johnson Hotel Guest Rating: 4.0

This was my first stay at the hotel and it was an enjoyable experience.I would recommend it to anyone including persons travelling with small children. It is situated not too far from the airport and is surrounded by many restaurants and a large shopping centre not too far from it,"Westland Mall".The hotel staff are very friendly but I had a problem with the breakfast buffet as there was no variety, the same thing is served every day.This is one aspect that management can "work on".

I liked the service of our maid. I can't remember her name. I liked the view from our room. I liked our room it was lovely.The bellboy Renee is very friendly and nice. He is an asset to the hotel.

The breakfast buffet needs variety. We had the same breakfast for 9 days straight and we were tired and fed up of eating the same thing everyday.The front desk staff needs to be more friendly and needs to smile more.

• Sightseeing/Attractions Tip : I was able to take the children to the "Metro Zoo" which was about 30 mins drive from the hotel. The kids had a wonderful time.

For budget-oriented travel, near airport & malls Guest Rating: 3.8

We are a young couple with a 1 year old baby. We were not planning to visit the downtown nor the beaches, just to go shopping to the Sawgrass Mills mall, and not spend too much money on hotel room. We found this hotel OK for us, right value for money, and located between the airport and the mall.