Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel, Hamilton

This place brings a smile to me and my familys face and joy through our whole body. Thank you Royal Connaught! I enjoyed it all. The pool was fun. My kids had the best tie in there life. So did we!

It made me and my family confortable and at home. I recomend it to all ages. The pool and all of the people are amazing. The beds are comfy and sweet.

Suffice it to say that our experience at the Royal Connaught Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel was probably the worst lodging experience I have ever had. The lobby of this hotel is very nice but that is just a facade that hides the fact the hotel is in very poor condition. Much of this hotel seems to be in the original form from when the hotel was built and it has been poorly maintained on top of that. The door to our room could have been forced open just by leaning on it to hard. That made us worry about security the entire stay. The hotel was extremely hot all three nights. We were given a partial refund because the air conditioning was broken the third night but it was just as hot and unbearable the first two nights. The thermostat in our room was smashed. The drain plug on the bathtub did not function correctly. Our message waiting light was on when we checked in. We called the front desk and was told that was from the last occupant and they would shut it off. The light remained on the entire stay. The hotel advertises a fitness center. For health reasons, I need to exercise regularly. I always look for a hotel with a fitness center. Upon check in I was told the property does not have a fitness center just a pool (the location advertises both a pool and a fitness center). On Sunday I went to the pool to get some exercise only to find the pool closed. The hotel had two people at the front desk but it seemed that only one of them could check people in and out. That made for an excessive wait to check in or out. In addition it seemed that only one of the elevators was turned on at any one time. This caused long waits for the elevator and then it was extremely crowded when we finally could get on it. I can summarize the experience this way. We happened to talk to two other guests. One told us he was checking out to go to the Ramada because his room was so bad. The other guest told the person at the front desk that the hotel should be shut down and completely renovated. I agree with that. The Royal Connaught Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel is about the quality of an inner city flop house. A Motel 6 would be a huge step up from this place. At least it would be in decent shape. I frequently stay at the Howard Johnson’s Express in Niagara Falls Ontario. Except for the gouging on rates that goes on in the summer months, this has been acceptable as a very basic motel. However my experience with Royal Connaught Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel will leave a bad taste in my mouth concerning the Howard Johnson chain for a long time.