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
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
July 12, 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
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
May 2009
Not among the deluxe places to stay in Vancouver, but if you are looking for a cheap hotel to stay in the off-season just a few blocks from the heart of downtown Vancouver.. This Howard Johnson's is one of the best deals around.

Downsides -- The rooms are small.. the location looks kind of dicey. If you take a car.. you have to pay $14 a day parking and the parking lot is outside.. tho the lot is monitored from the desk by security camera at all hours.. and you may be approached by one or two eccentric looking individuals in the vicinity asking for a handout .. really, it all seems to be just looks.. the panhandlers are not scary like SF-scary.. in 7 nights of being parked out in the open.. no harm came to our car.. and the block around the hotel.. tho kind of shabby looking in the daytime.. is apparently a hopping club scene at night.. not that weide and Susie, the official Yelper fogies, had any use for the clubs.. but just shows how the young and the hip and the well-off do not avoid this area..

The *main* upside, of course, is location, location, location, cheap, cheap, cheap!!! Sort of like the Imperial Hotel in Las Vegas.. nobody goes there to spend time in their rooms.. they just go there cuz it's easy walking distance of everything happening.. The hip new Yale Town area is just two blocks east.. The busy Davie street area is just around the corner.. the hip nightclubs are just downstairs.. the seawall foot and bike path and Granville island are just blocks away.. and in fact the other end of the downtown where the Canadian place and train station are just a 15 minute walk away.. We walked all over the place once we got there.

Other details, they have free - tho unencrypted -- WiFi internet access.. in their mezzanine area.. for those of you who have laptops so equipped. The staff is reasonably helpful.. Oh one final thing ... electrical outlets are compatible with USA outlets.. so not to worry about frying your numerous rechargeables..

Guest Reviews of the Howard Johnson Vancouver Downtown
Apr 30, 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
Mar 27, 2009
We stayed at the Howard Johnson for 5 nights. When we checked in, we were greeted warm and friendly and were put in a nice queen room on the 5th floor.
The room was average-sized, very clean (seemed to be renovated recently) and we loved the fact that we had complimentary Wifi. Since it was our first time in Vancouver, we had a lot of questions were to go and what to see, and the front desk staff was very helpful and booked us several tours etc.
The hotel itself lies directly downtown, so everything to see is within walking distance, the only problem was that there are lots of bums living on the street, but the hotel itself is very safe (keycard-access elevator).
Overall we had a lovely stay and would definitely stay here again the next time we are in Vancouver!

Guest Reviews of the Howard Johnson Vancouver Downtown
Mar 19, 2009
Rooms are small, decor maybe a little worn, not spectacular amenities. But it's clean, well maintained, and the staff is friendly and helpful. Great value for the moderate price!

Thanks to the staff, who went out of their way to give us an early check in, when we arrived burnt out from an overnight flight.

Granville Street was being torn up, that made arrival and departure with heavy luggage a bit of a hassle. Because of the construction, it was a little hard to get a cab to come very early in the morning to go back to the airport. We noticed a small monetary exchange between driver and desk clerk when someone finally did come.
 

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