Excellent Corporate
by A TripAdvisor Member
Staying at Howard Johnson Hotel on Granville was literally one of the best Hotel stays I've had. As a Business traveler from over 7 years this Hotel was amazing. I had a room that was quite spacious and as soon as I walked in the was a basket with complimentry snacks and water. The wireless internet was easy to use and worked well. The bed comforter was a down quilt and the room was so clean you can eat off the floor. Im checking out today and honestly I just dont want to leave, its so cozy and comfortable. Howard Johnson Hotel - Downtown Vancouver is in my books the best Hotel in Vancouver
Great for the Price
by TripAdvisor Member lazza999
I paid $55CA inc tax per night for this hotel through there own website and was more than happy with my stay.
Sure it's on Granville St which is a roughish place, but it's well policed and I never felt unsafe at night (I'm a single 25yr old female).
The staff were nice and although the room was small it had everything you need and was super clean.
Next time I am in Vancouver I'll stay here without a doubt.
Good hotel, bad location
by A TripAdvisor Member
Wife and I stayed at the Ho Jo end of May after a cruise. Hotel was very old, 100 yrs I was told..but good refurbishment. Rooms very clean if not a little small. Staff all excellent, check in and maid etc. Wildfire Restaurant good, 6 bucks for breakfast..also dinner reasonable. Sounds like we got ripped off a bit booking through Venture Holidays, paid around A$100 a night for room only.
Is located in a rough area..beggars outside hitting you up for a $ often.
Not many eating places close.
ok
by A TripAdvisor Member
The stay was ok, the people at the desk were nice, but when I checked out they did not tell me, they put a $300.00 hold on my acount for over a week, and all my checks that went through started to bounce like a rubber ball. I was very angry with Howard Johnsons, Vancouver BC. They did release the hold, but not before I had to call them and request that they release the hold, anyway it was a nightmare for a few days. I have not Stayed there since, and I used to go there at least 1 time a month. I did like staying there, but I cannot be having what happened to me go by lightly.
More than adequate option for the 'budget' traveller.
by TripAdvisor Member roots66
We first booked this hotel through another website. After reading some of the reviews on this site (many of which made references to the seediness of the hotel and its neighborhood), we got a bit scared and considered cancelling...but we decided to have faith that the place and the area had been renovated and/or "cleaned up" as promised by the management. Indeed, we found the hotel itself to be perfectly decent. The rooms are a bit on the small side (we had a double non-smoking and there wasn't all that much room to walk around the beds), but very comfortable and clean, with new-looking furniture and fixtures and all the usual amenities (large closet area, hairdryer, coffeemaker, etc.). The hallways are also lovely, decorated with historic photos of old Vancouver. Housekeeping and other staff were courteous and professional. As for the neighborhood--well, the adjacent couple blocks of Granville Street still had some remnants of seediness, as in a few porn shops, pawn shops, and transient hotels...but we really didn't see any pushers, junkies or other menacing characters to speak of, not even the notorious "Hookers on Davie Street." I'm a product of 1970s New York, so none of the sleaze fazed me in the least--we felt perfectly safe at all times. There are plenty of fancy apartment/condo buildings in the streets nearby, so how scary can it be? (Apparently, most of the city's rough characters now inhabit the districts east of Gastown and Chinatown.) However, the street's clubs and bars can get rather noisy at night. Luckily we were on the fifth (top) floor, and we discovered that the air conditioner's white noise drowned out most of the hollering club kids. According to Vancouver's legendary Nardwuar the Human Serviette, with whom we spent a fun-filled afternoon, the hotel used to be called the Hotel California, and it once housed a rock club called the Cruel Elephant, featuring bands like Hole on the bill. It now houses an Italian restaurant and a dance club, but we didn't patronize either. At any rate, we found this HoJo to be well-suited to our needs, and super-convenient to everthing this largely lovely city has to offer.
Good location
by A TripAdvisor Member
This hotel had a good location, walking distance to a lot of sights. Even though it is a real tuff area, I felt safe during the day. I didn't find the front desk people very friendly. I had requested a room with two double beds and they didn't have any at time of check in. So I took the one with a queen, or so they call it a queen. The room was the size of a match box and we were tripping over all our luggage. The view was to the building next door. Which I could of jumped from my window right into my neighbors room - we were that close.
When I requested to change rooms after lunch, they told me it was to late after the time of check in and they couldn't accomodate me. The lady had an attitude about her that was just not nice. As for the breakfast everyone talks about in the other reviews no one told me about it at the hotel. The hall ways are so hot and you can hear everything going on outside from your room. If I hadn't paid for the room through Hotwire, I would have left to another hotel. If you are on a budget it is an old hotel, but clean and has a great location! The only thing we really liked about our stay is the restaurant next door. Everyone was very nice and food was good!!
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