Howard Johnson Express Inn Leavenworth

What a RIP OFF of a hotel. I think it’s probably the WORST hotel in Leavenworth. We booked 2 rooms for 3 nights and spent more time out of the rooms than in the rooms. Our daughter and her family’s room was either always to hot or to cold. The heat could not be adjusted and the only way to get the room to not be so hot was to turn the heat off, then in the morning it was too cold. The house cleaning was poor as they found beer cans from previous guests in the drawers and under the sink in the room. We only saw one housekeeper for our floor and I’m sure she was not being given enough time to properly do all the rooms. Management appeared to be skimping on cost and it shows. Our room was the worst. The heating system sounded like it was trying to come through the wall, the vent fan in the bathroom sounded like it was a drilling machine. Our carpet was BADLY stained, VERY dirty, coming out from the wall and had big wrinkles throughout the room. We never heard a vacuum cleaner at all during our time and the housekeeping cart did not have one on it either. The cloth chairs in our room had several mystery stains on them to the point that I would not sit in them. Gross might be an understatement. Our window was very dirty and I don’t think it had been cleaned on either the inside or the outside in a long time. BOTH ROOMS had issues with the water as it was cold one minute and extremely hot the next. Water pressure was not very strong either. Parents, please be close by if your child uses the shower because we had to jump back several times when the water became so hot. That is a HUGE safety issue. The beds in the rooms had very thin covers/​bedspreads on them and the sheets were NOT tucked in on any bed. Housekeeping kept them short at the foot of the bed to be able to fold then at the top of the bed. Outside trash cans were over flowing daily. This was over Christmas and we knew that there were many gift boxes and wrap, but management should still pick up the trash on a regular basis. My grandson broke his plastic sled the first day and when we left 3 days later it was still in the same trash pile. I took a bad fall on the ground floor sidewalk from all of the ice and when I told the young lady at the desk, she seemed like she could care less. Luckily it only hurt for a bit but if an older person or someone else fell in the same spot the outcome could have been much worse. Once again, a huge safety issue. We also had to contend with SMOKERS! No smoking in the rooms, but lots of smoking on the outside deck/​walkways and we had to smell it every time we went outside. More proof to me that smokers are nasty is these smokers flicked their ashes and butts down on the vehicles parked below. I am sharing our experience with Howard Johnson management and the pictures I took. if this is what HoJo has become, then we will never stay at one again. HoJo should be ashamed of themselves for letting what could be a nice hotel, become such a dump.

This hotel was awesome! The walk to downtown was probably 5 minutes, not bad at all. The room was very clean and the parking lot under the hotel is great for the snowy nights! The breakfast is so yummy. Eggs, homemade waffles, biscuits and gravy and juices! I would stay here again!!!

Pretty great motel for the price. Bed was a little too firm for my back. Big ‘living’ area in the room made it nice to spread out and relax. Loved the ability to open the window at night, but it would have been nice to have a screen on the window. Great breakfast spread included waffles, fruit, cereal, oatmeal, eggs, juice, and coffee. The staff was also awesome — very friendly and informed about things to do around town.

The staff was very friendly and the rooms were clean. It’s in a good location as well.

The 3 star rating does not do this establishment justice. We were surprised by spacious, clean rooms, friendly staff, and and extensive hot breakfast. Maybe it wasn’t the Waldorf but it was a great experience.

Very middle of the road hotel. Rooms were clean but a little dated and needing some cosmetic touches. Microwave and mini fridge in the rooms. The beds were comfortable. The AC unit seemed to be working really hard to get to 60 degrees, which it never did. Perhaps a change of a filter would have made the difference. Staff and pool was nice. All in all, it was fine for what we needed. Close enough to walk into town for well-​able bodied folks. Otherwise it’s a 2 – 3 minute car ride.
We’ll be back if we ever need a hotel in Leavenworth again.

We arrived, they put us in room 307. I get to the room before my husband did and the room smelled like wet dog & poop. I called down & asked them for a different room. Cool, I thought. I opened up the door on room 306 & it smelled horrific, as well. This time like filthy feet! We opened the window up & never closed it or the whole time we were there, plus we ran the air to help circulate the air out of the room. The bathroom floor, felt like it hadn’t been washed in a year. Your feet stuck to the floor & was dirty to walk on. The tub & toilet appeared to be clean, but who knows! There was dust on all of the furniture, the windows were filthy, the bedspread & coverlet both had fresh orange colored food on it. I WILL NEVER, EVER STAY AT THIS HOTEL AGAIN! Forget about saying it has improved to me. We stayed there one other time and this time gave them the benefit of the doubt. NOT AGAIN! DISGUSTING, DISGUSTING, DISGUSTING!!! One last thing, we tried to find a list of churches in their little notebook in the room? No church listings. Unheard of. I know they came from East India or Iraq, somewhere over there. You came to America, the land of the free, home of the brave & freedom of religion & you won’t list the local churches in the area for your customers???

We were very fortunate to find an available room opening weekend of the Leavenworth christmas lighting festival. All rooms have been booked in Leavenworth and the surrounding area. We were even more fortunate that the available room was pet friendly so a sweet Swedish vallhund could accompany us on the trip.
Overall, the hotel was mediocre. It is one of the very first hotel upon entering the main streets of Leavenworth, but still about a ten minute walk from the actual festival. The amenities are quite weak here: the pool is located inside a strange looking thing that is very similar to a blow up house, and the continental breakfast is amongst one of the saddest breakfast of my life. However, they did have made to order (self made) waffles.
Our room was decent and nicely sized. We had two queen size bed, a nice TV, and a decently sized bathroom. But I did find the crack in the bathtub annoying. For a pet friendly room, there were no odors, but the noise from the surrounding neighbors were pretty loud at times due to thin walls.
I wouldn’t say this is the best place to stay in Leavenworth, but certainly not the worst. Would stay here again.

One night stay: the bathroom was a bit worse for wear. In fact the hotel is kind of run down overall. That said, it was clean and the price was pretty good. Also quiet. The breakfast buffet was actually pretty mediocre. Its included with your room, but I would pay a few bucks more a night for a slightly better breakfast. The service at the front desk was cordial. Overall I would like to give it a 2.5 rating but its either 2 or 3. Since I didn’t have any major complaints I have to give it a 3. There are better places to stay in Leavenworth — but they are more expensive. Free Wifi, btw.

Great deal on room price. 10 minutes to town walked off dinner. Firm mattress the way I like. a little sound from street traffic not enough to be bothersome. Plentiful parking and 24 hr on duty staff.

What a change this place has been upgraded now the best deal in town! Did the secret hotel pick on
and was not disappointed with the remodeled rooms the older bad reviews freaked me out but this place is clean and updated not a bad walk from town paid only $ 75 including tax spent the money saved on awesome local brew and food. The staff is great ! Friendly and informative the old reviews do not reflect the bargain the new hojos is! Also the free breakfast is better than most hotels we have been to fresh coffee omelets free paper nice pastries. The lady who cooked it all was friendly and attentive.

Ugh, this place is pretty darn awful. But yes, I stayed here.
Traveling to town the first time, my husband vetoed a stay here after checking out the room. Oh no! He said. I don’t care about the deal you got. We are NOT staying here!
Second visit, we were booked in by a friend, and we had forgotten which place we had vetoed a few years prior. Trust me, we did not complain once. Its an $ 80 a night room, and has a microwave and a mini fridge, and two beds, then there is no complaining when you get a deal like that, and its the chosen place and the room is clean, and it even comes with breakfast. No point ending a friendship over a crappy room, right? I’ve learned to pick my battles.
Not to sell myself out, but this place is pretty bad. I may just be too bougie at this point.
I like a good deal, but this is a fairly dated, basic, old hotel with a cursory remodel that even afterwards still leaves it feeling very old and dank, and I think at $ 80 a night, you certainly will expect that. Trust me, your heart sinks when you pull into the parking lot.
On the other hand, you could stay down the street at the Enzian Inn for about $ 50 more a night, and have a nice pool and a good breakfast, heck even an alpenhorn performance. If you are in Leavenworth for just one or two nights, why stay here and save a few dollars, when you can have a far better experience up the street?
If money is a lesser consideration than having a nice experience for you, then I recommend staying elsewhere.

A decent room, if a bit expensive and not terribly convenient.
This hotel is at the south end of town so you will be doing a bit of walking to get to anyplace. Not the biggest deal except it’s generally either hot or cold out in Leavenworth. There is no inbetween! I like to just get a room and park my car so I was pretty committed to walking everywhere.
The room itself was clean, good sized, and comfortable. The bed was comfy and I slept better in it than I usually do in hotel rooms.
Hubby and I didn’t wake up in time to have their complimentary breakfast.

There was a candy wrapper with gum in it on the floor of our room when we checked into this motel. Along with the candy wrapper was a terrible smell of wet dog. Basically, this place was absolutely gross. We stayed here because it was cheap but after seeing the other cute places in town, we decided that we’d never stay here again. I mean, come on, a candy wrapper on the floor? Gross.
Ah — but they do have free Wi-​Fi.

Wish it was a little closer, but for the price that’s probably as close as you will get! Pros: HUGE ROOM!, nice bar/​kitchenette, big bathrooms, wifi, friendly staff, elevator, kick butt biscuits and gravy and clean rooms. Cons: Parking for anything bigger than a motorcycle is scary, beds not very comfy, pretty hard, pretty dated, not bad.

We came from a 5 star hotel in Seattle after attending a wedding so we don’t expect much. The hotel is about 10 minutes walk to DT Leavenworth. The building is fairly old and is as deep as your room, that is the front door is facing the back alley and the back window is facing the main street. The receptionist is friendly and she even called us after an hour or so to check if everything is OK. The breakfast is good. cereals, drinks, fruits and I particularly like the self-​serve waffle maker. There is a Mexican lady with a beautiful smile standing by to top up what’s needed.
My wife forgot to take her purse hanging on the back of her chair after breakfast and the lady chased us to the elevator to hand us the purse. This could have been a nightmare if she lost her purse with money and passports in it because we are Canadians and we could be stranded if we lost our travel documents. Tipping is the least we can do for her. Commendation to the lady waitress who looks after the conference room breakfast. For the money we paid, our expectation is exceeded.

Room with a hot tub in it is only 122 after tax. I’ve been to nicer hotels but for the price it is top of it’s class. Free breakfast in the am includes eggs, cereal, waffles, biscuits and gravy, and fruit. Staff is nice enough. They did lose a star because when I hooked up my iPhone to watch Netflix the audio would not work so I’m pissed off. But if not for that it’s 5 stars

This is a basic average hotel. The price is one of the lower in Leavenworth so I guess you get what you paid for. The location is worth the medium rating and I would stay again. It was clean, friendly and comfortable and that is all you need for a hotel…

Large room, relatively clean although the window looked like it had not been cleaned in at least a year. Staff is OK. It does seem to be a bad sign when the first thing I’m told (literally, the very first thing) upon checking in is that «we have a noise policy — if you have any noise complaints after 11pm please call the operator to report it»… this does not inspire confidence! thankfully there was no issue there.
Kids ‘hocking loogies’ from the upper balcony down onto people and cars below, not really the hotel’s fault but perhaps it reflects upon a significant component of the clientele that frequents this place: Parents with poorly controlled kids on vacation.
It’s a relatively cheap place to stay and serves its purpose. But I wouldn’t go out of my way to stay here. The complimentary AM breakfast seemed pretty nasty, I’ve seen much better at other hotels.
I would recommend staying elsewhere, if you can, unless you have kids who like to spit on cars driving into the garage in which case this might be just your place.
The one plus is that you get a fairly large fridge (I’ve seen much smaller in hotel rooms, was pleasantly surprised about this one) in the room, as well as a microwave.