To start things off, this hotel isn't within walking distance of anything but Lincoln's tomb across the street (You have to walk across a four lane highway to get there), but don't let this discourage you from staying in this hotel. We stayed two nights just as a little escape before summer ended and the kids started school and sports again. We called ahead of time to see if they offered a shuttle service to pick us up from the train station and the hotel manager was there promptly to pick us up after our train arrived. This is the part that made us kind of iffy, a gentlemen pulled up in a red minivan with no "Howard Johnson" logo on the outside or anything. The man then made himself clear he was from the hotel by asking and by his apparel, he made sure my family was comfortable and settled in before we left the station. Upon arrival at the hotel the front looks very run down and almost looks like its not open. But around the back things get better, we checked in around 8:30 p.m. and the man at the front desk "Matt" was very humorous, kind and helpful, he also gave us a room next to the pool because thats where we planned on spending most of our time. We found the lobby area to be very nice, clean and well kept as was the room for the continental breakfast. Once we got to our room we we're pretty impressed, no it's not a Hilton but its not some nasty worn out room either. The room was very clean, stocked with just enough towels and comfortable. The only complaint I have about the room is there aren't enough outlets.. The pool area was clean and the pool was clear however, there were some leaves at the bottom from a nearby tree but nothing you wouldn't expect from any outdoor pool. The walkways, patio, and grassy areas were all trimmed and well kept. The continental breakfast in the morning was more than enough for us muffins, cereal, waffles, bagles, danishes, juice and milk. We we're really impressed with the price we got for this place, $54 a night. All in all we had a great stay at this hotel and will be back when we're in Springfield again!

This hotel is the only one located near the cemetery where Lincoln is buried. In fact, it is right across the street from the entrance. We chose it because of its location. We wanted to visit the tomb and Lincoln's home, office and the museum downtown and wanted a hotel with a pool for our grandson. This proved to be a good location. It is about a ten minute drive to downtown. The only reservations I would have about the hotel is that it is a little run down. The grounds are not especially well-kept and the second floor railing on the balcony was kind of wired up to hold it in place. When we pulled in, we actually thought the place might be closed because there was so much grass growing in the parking lot. The interior carpet was showing wear. The pool (outdoor) was a little cloudy although the time of year we were there was challenging (late July) and it was hot. It appeared that the pool was used by people who were not guests at the hotel. Two vans showed up Saturday afternoon with kids and coolers. The hotel was nowhere near max occupancy. The continental breakfast was good. There are no pool towels. You can ask at the desk for more towels but you may have to wait for them. There are no restaurants nearby, in fact, there are no businesses at all nearby. You have to drive about 10-15 minutes to get back to the highway to find a good selection of restaurants. One night we had pizza delivered by the local Godfather's. We stayed two nights and got the room for a good rate on Hotels.com. If we could get it for the same rate, we would stay here again. However, I would not pay a premium rate to stay at this hotel. It is just a little too rundown. The best (perhaps only) thing it has going for it is its convenient location across the street from the cemetery.

The motel is nice, clean and good location. The staff not so good. I made a reservation for 2 queens beds smoking, and even check night before. Yet when I got there they had no queens, said they had stayovers. I work in a hotel, and if they are stayovers for a room that is held by credit card, we more the stayover. Not only that you only get enough towels for 2 aldults and 2 kids in a room with 2 beds, they refused to give any for more. So bring your own. Oh and the charge you for the room safe, even if you don't use it. Coffee we were told is NOT 24 hours like all Wydams hotel. If you want extras bring your own!

Hotel is nice. Better than anticipated. Personell pleasant and professional.
The PROBLEM is that H.J. website directions to the hotel are misleading and inaccurate at best. Have a good map or GPS and ignore web site to save yourself some agravation.