Reviews Howard Johnson Vancouver

These Vancouver Hotel reviews are the subjective opinion of a Guest and not of Allure Hotels any concerns or request can be made at time of booking either on-line or on the phone.

Guest Reviews of the Howard Johnson Vancouver Downtown
Nov 8, 2009
You pay for what you get. I got a great deal . Rate was 59 CAD on Thursday night and 69 CAD on Friday night. It was a great location, staff was helpful and friendly. Close to walk to Granville Island, Gastown, Robson St, the works! Parking was eary and fairly inexpensive (14CAD/night) The room was small but had what you needed: bathroom, desk, TV and bed. I would probably stay there again and the perk is the LOCATION! Its inexpensive and right in the heart of everything. You can walk anywhere from that hotel!

Guest Reviews of the Howard Johnson Vancouver Downtown
Nov 1, 2009
This was my second stay at the Hojo. The location is great--very central--although parts of Granville are gritty. Overall, this hotel provides good value for money, at least during the low season. However, I was disappointed with the level of customer service during this visit and some aspects of the room. For example, I could not access pay-per-view movies on my TV and although I was told the matter was being looked into, the problem was never resolved. I also had to phone to get updates on the situation rather than staff following up with me. In addition, after my trip, I found out that I could have collected Aeroplan points for my stay had I enrolled in the Wyndham program (which I could have done at the hotel), but the staff did not inform me of this opportunity. I would have appreciated a heads up on this or a sign saying that the stay could qualify for Aeroplan points. I cannot get these points credited even though I am an Aeroplan member because I had not enrolled in the Wyndham program.
In terms of the room, you could hear the bass from a nearby club well into the early morning on Fri and Sat, and since it was not coming in through the windows, all I could do was sleep with earplugs. I also found the mattress I was sleeping on to be very soft and uncomfortable. Finally, the hotel uses strong smelling cleaning products to which I had an allergic reaction (stuffy nose, headache).
I would still recommend this hotel, but caution that you may not get a very good night's sleep on weekends and staff are friendly, but a bit passive.

Guest Reviews of the Howard Johnson Vancouver Downtown
Apr 16, 2009
Having spent a lot of time in Vancouver during University, I knew the area was a bit seedy, so it didn't bother me in the least. This isn't an area to be afraid of- just not great to look at. The hotel seemed very secure and I never questioned our safety.
Initially we were given a very small room with two double beds on the first floor. The pounding bass from the nightclub below was very loud and kept us awake. We requested to be moved to a different floor the next day, and management was very accommodating. Our second room was on the top floor of the hotel- much larger with a very nice tiled bathroom. We still experienced a tremendous amount of street noise and nightclub noise in the evening (sucks when you're getting up at 5am to run a marathon).
All in all, not a bad hotel- if you plan to stay here, bring earplugs. It also wouldn't hurt to request a room on the top floor.

Guest Reviews of the Howard Johnson Vancouver Downtown
Oct 14, 2009
Our first thought was that the room were tiny and a bit outdated. But once we got out and started walking around we realized the hotel was pretty close to everything. We were able to walk to Robson St., down to the ferry to Granville Island. And a cab ride back was only $6-7. The hotels restaurant Wings was a cool place to catch dinner before walking to one of the many clubs within walking distance.

Guest Reviews of the Howard Johnson Vancouver Downtown
Oct 1, 2009
I choose the Grandville HJ's for walking distance to everything. Excellent places to eat within blocks of the motel. Staff was very friendly and helpful. clean rooms. very small-towels very small & threadbare-location not for families. front desk-morning shift cheerful & helpful-afternoon shift rude and unhelpful cafe next door has good food

Guest Reviews of the Howard Johnson Vancouver Downtown
Sept 22, 2009
Over last weekend my wife and I flew to Vancouver. 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.

Guest Reviews of the Howard Johnson Vancouver Downtown
Sep 9, 2009
We stayed here one night while attending the ACDC concert. Although the rooms were small, they were clean. Great wings & things bar attached to the hotel. Granville Street is a busy and loud street and under alot of construction for the Olympics, so don't plan on getting too much sleep. Walking distance to many attractions.

Guest Reviews of the Howard Johnson Vancouver Downtown
Aug 28, 2009
I would like to recommend this hotel to all travelers. If you are on business trip or if you are on vacation, this hotel is perfect place for your stay. They have very nice and friendly staff. Nice and clean rooms, great locations and all for great value!!!!!!!

Guest Reviews of the Howard Johnson Vancouver Downtown
Aug 4, 2009
Stayed four nights as 1st port of call in Canada. Hotel was undergoing a upgrade of the facade along with the streetscape ready for the Winter Olympics in 2010. The check in was quick and without fuss n the room was adequate with a larger then expected bathroom. The beds and general presentation was clean and the bed had lots of pillows and wasn't too soft or over hard. The Hotel has an Internet cafe, that came in handy and is half a dozen blocks from the Centre of town n restaurants which is very handy. The only issue we had was with the neighbouring room which was had noisy guests who enjoyed slamming their door and talking at the top of their voices. I would imagine if u had a room fronting Granville the noise from nightclub next to the Hotel n passing traffic would disturb yr sleep so try and get one at the back of the Hotel. Overall it was a pleasant stay at a Hotel built in the 40's/50's that was clean and comfortable but don't expect anything special. The one good thing going for it was the restaurant for breakfast which provided a good breakfast with friendly service at a reasonable price. Would go back again if ever visiting Vancouver.
 

Guest Reviews of the Howard Johnson Vancouver Downtown
May 2009
I stayed here on my first visit to Vancouver. I picked it for the location and the price. It was within walking distance of several places I needed to check out. I got an amazing rate on it through priceline or one of those other discounted websites.

Now I will say I did some research on the place prior. At the time, one review I read said it was in the middle of the ghetto, there were junkies hanging all outside, and terribly offensive stores all around.

I'd like to rebuttal that by saying Granville is certainly not the ghetto. Junkies- it's definitely possible, but people are more discreet here than in other areas of town (again this is not the ghetto). For offensive stores- perhaps she's referring to the numerous XXX stores. Well- yes, there are many many of those in this Granville/Davie area- but you don't have to go in there!

Our room was nice and clean, but oh so small! You need your room key to work the elevator or to go up the stairs. However, right off the lobby, and up the first half flight of stairs is the little computer area. It was down while I was there. But they do have a little coffee/hot chocolate machine for free! Don't pay seven eleven for what you can get for free.

Guest Reviews of the Howard Johnson Vancouver Downtown
Feb 23, 2009
The hotel itself was clean (and the bar below had great food!) and the staff were ok at local knowledge and stored bags for free, the location of the hotel on Granville is at present being upgraded so around the hotel it is a bit of a mess with construction. The hotel was nice and perfectly located in Downtown and reasonably priced for its location. I liked it, liked the people, and liked how clean the room and washroom are. l recommend the hotel, and I would definitely go back.
There is a bus that can easily take you to Stanley Park, but you can easily walk down to the main shopping & tourist areas.

 

Howard Johnson Downtown Vancouver
1176 Granville Street
Vancouver BC