Our room was not ready at check in time. The women behind the desk was rude and cursed because her computer was not working properly. It is hard to sleep with all the noise. I found nothing good about this hotel. I rarely write reviews, but this was so bad I felt I needed to warn others. RUN from this hotel.

I loved the location - a 10 minute walk to the ocean, and tucked away in a residential area. (Print yourself a map first, though, if you're trying to find it in the dark - it's set back and hard to spot.)

A great find for our teens, because they got their own room with twin beds. Usually kids are forced to share one double bed, so they loved this.

I thought it was a great deal - the whole area is expensive and hard to book in busy summer months, so I appreciated it.

We commuted all the way from S.F. International Airport to Monterey, CA. Thanks to the safe and fast travel provided by Monterey Airbus, they charge only $40 one-way. Anyway, the driver dropped us off to Howard Johnson Express Inn at 660 Dennet Ave., Pacific Grove, CA. It is within the residential area so we were expecting a quiter place to crash in while touring Monterey downtown, Cannery Row and Fisherman's Wharf 1 & 2. Our room was a king standard, $159/night. From their website I was expecting a small room, but we were suprised we had a fairly spacious room, for 2 people. There was 2 sinks for us to us individually, the kitchen room has complete amenities and we were able to iron our clothes. The bath tub is clean and romantic, the only thing that was small is the toilet room itself but it is enough for us. There was a nice balcony, with 2 vinyl green chairs and a small table. The bed we had was big and very comfortable.

If I were to make suggestions to the owner of the hotel? It would be a more efficient front desk officer, when we were checking out the receptionist was said to be assisting a guest and we waited like 36 minutes (this was not appreciated at all since we could have been late for our trip back to San Francisco). We didn't eat at their complimentary breakfast at the breakfast building because they meals looked cheap and junk.

We went to American Tin cannery or First Awakenings instead, and Toastie's the next days.

My regret was only the first night. The other tenants (3 rooms per building) had kids who were running up and down the stairs, banging doors.. but they left before us so we were in for a good sleep.

I expected HJ to be worse but it exceeded my expections, in a positive note. I actually missed the place now that I am back home.

Arrived on Saturday evening at 6:30 PM to be told that my Visa had been declined earlier in the morning. Apparently they put your card through in the morning of your arrival. I had be using the card all day so couldn't figure out what the problem was. I had booked the hotel 2 -3 months ago for a two night stay as part of a California trip. What was more infuriating is that the woman at the desk refused to let me use a phone to call Visa or use the computer to find other accommodations. She wasn't even sure where I should go to get help! Eventually I ended up at the Marriott in Monterey where I was allowed to use the concierge's computer to find that the closest available accommodations was an hour's drive away in San Jose. When I contacted Visa they told me that the woman had entered the wrong expiration date on the card! I hope all the Howard Johnson's aren't like that. The place looked nice from the outside. Be careful not to run over a deer.