Spent one Friday night. Front desk person was super helpful. Shared a lot of information about local eateries and gave us discounts at several, courtesy of our stay at HoJo's. Just as an aside we had breakfast at Novel and OMG! it was delish and HUGE! The room was clean, altho there was a bit of a funky smell in the bathroom. Loved the soaking tub though, very comfy and deep. They have a "barbie" sized swimming pool, Literally! About the same size as their spa pool. Room rate was very reasonable and location was great! Walking distance to lots of stuff.

We stayed at Howard Johnson Pasadena for one night in early January. The bed was comfortable and the air conditioner worked. (Even though it was January, we had to turn the AC on). The only "con" was that the towels, though adequate, were not exceptional - it seems to me Ho Jo could update the towels and make a lot of friends in the process. Also there was a stain in the carpet near the door in an otherwise very clean room.

One quirky thing I haven't seen recently in hotel rooms is a bottle opener mounted right on the wall. So if you're staying at Ho Jo in Pasadena and bringing bottles, leave that bottle opener at home!

There is no restaurant at the hotel (other than the complimentary breakfast of which we did not partake), but there are many restaurants nearby, in what appears to be a safe neighborhood near Pasadena City College.

Unless you want to pay for a 5 star hotel there is no other choice than Howard Johnsons Pasadena . Accomadations were excellent and on our stay to see the parade, Owen, Jay and the entire staff treated us like we were part of their own families. Thank you so much for making our Rose Parade visit one to remember.

This hotel is RIGHT on the parade route and the staff set out chairs the night before for guests to use. We had second row parade seats without paying more than what it would cost to stay at any other Pasadena hotel during the rose bowl festivities or for grandstand tickets. What a treat! The staff was incredibly friendly, helpful, and accomodating. The rooms were clean and in good shape ~ we had two nights of comfortable sleep.