Howard Johnson Hotel Downtown
- 4 out of 5
- Avg. Member Rating
- 12
- Reviews
Worth more than the amount paid.
- December 17, 2008
- Rated 5 of 5 by
a traveler from Travelocity.com
Over last weekend my wife and I flew to Vancouver for a Sarah Brightman concert. Travel was booked through an online travel website as was the hotel - Howard Johnson's downtown.
Many of the reviews here give this hotel a bad rap and I was prepared for a fight to get a quiet room and avoid the negative experiences of other reviewers.
Three days before we were to leave I called the hotel and asked for a room in the back away from street noise. They provided an excellent room in the back and we were never disturbed by neighbors or nightclub noise. The hotel is not across the street from adult bookstores and peep shows. They are there but down the street.
The room was immaculate and well-maintained. It was smallish but quite adequate for my wife and I. Staff was attentive to all of our needs and we did not see evidence of any of the negative staff experiences in other reviews here.
One big positive we heard from one of our cab drivers is that Vancouver is really putting a lot of effort in to get the downtown hotels in excellent order and to upgrade the downtown area for the 2010 Olympics. We saw much evidence of that.
BTW, across the street from the hotel is a convenience store that's open until 2:00 a.m. if you need to pop in and pick up something.
Don't let Negative Nellies keep you from booking at this hotel. It certainly is the best hotel value we've found in many trips to the Vancouver area.
If you go to Victoria on the ferry, stay at The Waddling Dog Inn - the first motel you come to after leaving the ferry. Each room is huge, furnished with unique antiques and it's very inexpensive.
Hotel stay at Howard Johnson downtown Vancouver.
- December 4, 2008
- Rated 3 of 5 by
a traveler from Travelocity.com
Hotel was clean and room was very neat and tidy every evening. Personelle were polite and helpful when they could be. Parking was a problem, 14.00 dollars per day when available.Available parking was actually all sold out to locals on my third night.Breakfast only at the club next door after 7 AM. Coffee available in the rooms. Hotel well located in downtown area and easily accessed from the airport and most other areas.
Howard Johnson Downtown Vancouver: great value for the money
- April 10, 2008
- Rated 4 of 5 by
a traveler from Travelocity.com
My conference was in the Hyatt Regency; I stayed in the Howard Johnson to save money. Glad I did. I didn’t need a Business Center, since there was free WiFi in the room (cost $15/day at Hyatt). I would have used the health club, but it was around the corner (a time-consuming nuisance), so my 8-block walk to and from the conf. was my exercise. The hotel is on a really hoppin' street, lined with clubs and theatres; looks a mite Haight-Ashburyish, and was crowded with young club-goers on the nights I was there. I didn't feel "unsafe" myself, even when walking home from the Hyatt around midnight, but the Granville neighborhood is pretty Bohemian; just be careful. The people were fun and mostly even friendly, but a few looked fairly spaced-out.
As for the hotel itself: Vancouver is refurbishing lots of older hotels for the Olympics in 2010, and the Howard Johnson--which describes itself as a “boutique hotelâ€--is one. Everything was new, nicely appointed, very neat and clean. No complaints. My room was on the smallish side, but I didn’t care since I was alone and was gone most of the time. I asked for a room in back because I suspected the street would be noisy (I was right!), but I heard almost nothing. Slept very well on a comfortable bed. Bathroom was perfectly clean; got an iron and (remarkably tiny) ironing board from the front desk folks, who were very helpful.
I did not patronize the restaurant, since I was out with folks elsewhere.
In sum: I spent about $230 on three nights at HoJo, while my conference buds spent almost $500 on the Hyatt. If you’re on a budget and are looking for a clean, comfy, well-located hotel, I’d heartily recommend the Howard Johnson Downtown.
great deal
- February 5, 2008
- Rated 5 of 5 by
a traveler from Travelocity.com
much MUCHbetter than the ramada we stayed peviously. great location, friendly staff, daytime man was extremely helpful. the hotel is nicely appointed, super clean and just very welcoming. the rooms are perhaps a little small but we were not in the room much. they do have larger suites we saw. overall highest rating- value for money paid of course there are nicer hotel as twice( thrice) the price but why would i want to. we had a small problem in the restaurant and it would have been no big deal but we mentioned it to the manager and it became a sore point for out stay
Very Good!!
- January 9, 2008
- Rated 5 of 5 by
a traveler from Travelocity.com
Very good hotel considering the price. Clean room, kind staff, good security, great location,etc.
However, parking fee of $12 per day is expensive I think.
Anyway, I recommend this hotel and I will stay again if I have chance to go to Vancouver!!