Black Hills Road Trip - Howard Johnson Hotel Review

After looking at many (I mean MANY) hotels in Rapid City and the surrounding area, we chose the Howard Johnson Inn and Suites in Rapid City for our family vacation because it offers an indoor pool, complimentary breakfast, and an in-room fridge for a competitive price. At the time we booked, the hotel was offering an online deal for 20% savings and that made Howard Johnson the winner. We stayed for seven nights and would stay here again if we return to Rapid City. However, there are a lot of hotels in Rapid City that offer similar quality and amenities and I would still do a look-around online for the best deals.  At first we thought the location was odd because it doesn't seem to be near anything, such as restaurants and attractions, but we found that it was centrally located in Rapid City, which put us a short drive from everything. It is near the Civic Center and only about a mile from downtown.

I saw guests of all ages at the hotel, including many young children - two were ours - and a high school baseball team, and noise was never a problem. Our room was typical for hotels of this class, but it was comfortable and clean.  The staff was friendly and helpful.  Whenever I called or stopped by the front desk with a request, it was taken care of quickly.

The weather was chilly for much of our June vacation, so we were glad for the indoor pool because our kids wanted to be in it as often as possible. I thought that the pool was a little cold, but our kids didn't care. It was one of their favorite parts of the vacation.  We all enjoyed the two hot tubs. The pool and pool area are large and clean.


We have stayed at many hotels with complimentary breakfasts, and this one is better than most. Offerings include coffee, juice, hot and cold cereal, yogurt, fresh fruit (apples and oranges), toast, bagels, muffins, danishes, hard-boiled eggs, breakfast burritos, and two waffle irons. There was only one morning when everything was not well stocked and that was right after a tour bus group had eaten. The breakfast room is large and we never had a problem getting a seat.

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