Howard Johnson Express Inn San Bruno/SFO West

What a pleasant surprise. After looking over countless options on web searchers for a low cost, clean, efficient hotel near SFO I clicked on this hotel and right away thought the reviews were too good to believe given the low price. The proximity to my meeting locations in San Mateo and to the airport were a good fit so I booked a room. I was so pleased with the comfort, cleanliness and quiet, I extended my stay for a second night rather than move to another location that was closer to my scheduled meetings on my second day in the area. This is a wonderful, solid, friendly place to stay with great parking under the building and a elevator that made it a snap to get my bags to my room. Breakfast was all one would need — the coffee was fresh and very good. I saw business travelers, young families all enjoying what was served. Over the two nights of my stay I had fun ordering food that I picked up from two local restaurants, one Thai and one Chinese, both outstanding.

What a surprise! A budget Inn, near SFO that was better in some ways than many mid-​range hotels I’ve stayed in. The front desk staff when I checked in, and checked out were awesome. VERY clean, great linens, FREE WiFi, nice TV, free continental breakfast and free shuttle to SFO. (It does run on the hour, and stops at 2 or 3 places after it picks up at Howard Johnsons, but it was great) I will most definitely be back.

Stayed here this past weekend for an extended weekend trip in the area. Parking is convenient (and free!) below, staff was friendly, and the room was clean. It is not far from SFO and close to major freeways. Breakfast selection was reasonable. Our room also had a fridge and microwave.

Good hotel to stay at. Easy parking and friendly staff that is helpful. The breakfast is great! Nice big TV, mini fridge & my own big bathroom. The desk & chair are also nice. The a.c. & heat worked great. My only complaint would be all the noise over my head early in the morning. I could have slept a little longer if it weren’t for the banging around @ 6:30am. It sounded like an elephant was wrestling a rhino over my head. Maybe it was renovation construction or something. I needed to get up but it was pretty ruff listening to that. Hope it is not a repeat tomorrow. I look forward to another good easy breakfast! There is also a safe in the room.

Clean & newly remodeled. Quality upgrades, well done! Only three levels, request floor 2 since the breakfast bar is on that level, very convenient
Near airport, good for overnight stay.

Our experience was short — about 7 hours, literally just a place to crash before a 3 am wake up for an earlier departure out of SFO. My only major complaint was that the bed SUCKED, zero comfort. My wife had a minor complaint that the room smelled like a ‘foot’. My minor complaint is that the ‘downstairs’ parking was not to be found. This became irrelevant to us as we snagged a spot in the limited parking right off the street. Totally not worth the price we paid, but the room served its purpose.

Clean and comfortable, and you can’t beat the convenient location. Probably a dozen places to eat within walking distance. Best of all the room was huge – much bigger than rooms for the same price at Holiday Inn Express. I’ll be staying here from now on.

Honestly I did not have high hopes for this place. But we had a red eye flight from Boston to SF that was 6 ½ hours and didn’t land until 3am real life time. My wife and I were in desperate need of something cheap where we could catch up on sleep.
This place is 8 mins from SFO, the room was huge, bathroom was newly renovated, and overall decent place!
1 issue is the AC was the coldest AC of all time which we love but they gave us just a sheet to sleep with so woke up freezing.
But besides that such a life saver, might name my first born HOJO!

When I got there I was prepared for the worst due to other reviews of other nearby hotels on Unilocal.But this place didn’t have any really bad reviews — maybe one — and I found out why. My experience was really good. I wanted a quiet room in the back of the hotel and I got it. I have been here for 3 days and have not heard 1 plane overhead. And excellent breakfast for a hotel! Hard boiled eggs, juices, bagels, muffins, peanut butter and jelly. With generous portions and well displayed. Staff is fair and helpful; my room was spacious and accommodating: all furniture modern and everything clean and comfortable. This hotel keeps the Howard Johnson name in good standing.

I really enjoyed staying here, quiet/​clean & good breakfast. Free parking & nice friendly staff & housekeepers. Definitely is worth the price. Better then expected! We would recommend to friends.

Overall this is a «nice» place to stay because the room was clean for the most part and the breakfast was good. Everyone has different expectations and my expectations were much greater. We paid about $ 100 a night with the military discount we received. I traveled with my husband and two infant children and we chose this place because the reviews were good and the pictures looked very decent. The bathroom plug did not close so we called the front desk and they advised us to come down and get a new one, I considered that free labor because though I don’t mind going to the front desk to get the plug, I don’t get paid to make sure their rooms are functioning. I could have stayed at my relatives place if I wanted to do manual labor and pay for it. Not only that, the bathroom had a mildew musk to it which drew concerns and one of the plug outlets in the room had no cover to secure the wires. Having to small children with me, that concerned me as well. The view we nothing like the pictures, instead we had a view of someone’s unattractive back yard. There was a burn stain in one of the covers. I usually keep the blinds open for light in the day instead of wasting energy but I kept those close. I didn’t bother addressing my concerns with them because I just wanted to leave at that point, who knew what else they would have us do to make our stay more comfortable and I found a room at the Hilton for the same price I paid here and received much better service for my remaining stay. This was just not the place for me personally and definitely not the place to have my children.

The room was ok, the location is nice and close to the airport. The shuttle service, however, was just terrible. Both drivers who picked up and dropped us off were rude.
The driver on the return trip to the airport actually started an argument with us when we politely asked him to speed up because we were in a hurry. «Don’t talk to me when I’m talking and don’t tell me what to do,» he immediately jumped. We tried to drop the conversation, while he yelled at us 2 more times when he stopped the van, and when he handed our luggage. Talk about an unpleasant start and ending to an otherwise good trip to SF.

Dies ist ein hübsches Hotel in der Nähe des Flughafens von San Francisco. Man kommst schnell überall hin und in der Nähe gibt es genug Einkaufsmöglichkeiten und Restaurants. Die Zimmer sind gut eingerichtet und die Betten sehr bequem. Man bekommt kostenlos eine sehr schnelle Internetleitung. Das Frühstück war reichlich und es gab für jeden etwas. Das einzige Problem war, das es etwas wenig Tische gab. Und der Preis für das Hotel war sehr hoch, dies ist jedoch meistens so in der Nähe des Flughafens.

This hotel was a pleasant stay. The staff was nice, there was free parking in the garage, and overall it was clean. It is super close to the Caltrain station that takes you to San Francisco and back for only six dollars. I enjoyed the spacey bathroom, the air conditioning with heater, and the fact that this place is the best bet if your trying to go somewhere nice and safe but go into the city for a day, WILL BE COMING BACK!

Free off street parking, clean rooms and a basic breakfast included. Great value!
— Good customer service at front desk. The housekeeping do a great job.
— We had a room on the second floor facing the main street. Traffic gets really noisy in the mornings and the ceilings are thin/​creaky so you can hear every footstep the guests on the third floor make. Request a room on 3^rd floor, not facing the street if you can.
— The wifi is a little dodgy; never actually got it to work on our macs/​iPhone/​iPads.
— Air conditioner works a treat!
— Breakfasts aren’t anything special but they have a decent selection and it means there’s one less hassle to deal with on your holiday.

We got stuck last minute having to book 2 nights at the Ramada down the street due to unavailability here. See that Review. Overall, this place is great, simple, and affordable.

Quiet, comfortable, clean.
I was impressed — was expecting a little less, but was very comfortable, etc.
Very good value.

David was very nice at check in. The rooms are spacious great location to sfo, everything is clean and has a newish feel. I wish they had some sort of gym or cardiovascular room.

Everyone has different expectations when booking a room. We booked this HoJo about a month in advance and got a great deal. We paid about $ 475 for four nights.
The service was great. The staff was very helpful.
Parking can get tight. We were worried there wouldn’t be any parking if we got back too late but there were always several spots left.
This hotel is pretty old so you will definitely notice that but they do a good job at keeping it clean. Just remember to wear sandals in the room because the carpet feels gross. Also, don’t have high expectations for the breakfast. It’s just your usual continental breakfast. Eggs, bagels, muffins, yogurt, coffee, and milk. Nothing fancy but enough to hold you over until you drive into the city.
Overall, I’m not very picky when it comes to hotels but you cannot beat the price. I would definitely stay here again if I’m ever in the Area.

If you need a cheap place to stay for a night or two that’s close to the airport, Howard Johnson is a good option. It was definitely worth $ 69 for an overnight stay. Very close and convenient to SFO.
Hits: free parking, free wi-​fi, free breakfast (coffee, juice, pastries, toast); clean rooms; free shuttle to SFO
Miss: the building is not secured — you can take the elevator from the parking lot underneath the building straight up to the guests rooms without having to bypass the front desk. My husband put a chair and ironing board up against the door when we went to sleep, in case someone tried to break in!

I stayed a night here while doing a quick swing through the Bay Area to see one of my good friends from school. Check-​in was easy — I made my reservation on
; with just giving my last name, I got my key and a quick direction to my room. For $ 60, I wasn’t expecting anything amazing, but I got a very nice corner room that had a large king bed and a huge flatscreen TV (which I didn’t use, but I would imagine worked very nicely). The AC is controlled by a wall unit, and the bathroom has a granite countertop and a showerhead that has good water flow. You also get continental breakfast in the morning from 6 – 10 AM. Parking is underneath the hotel, so if you’re driving in, you’ll want to make sure to turn in right away; otherwise, you’ll have to make a couple of turns around the neighborhood to make it back.
For the price and the convenience for myself (in between Silicon Valley, where my friend lives, and SF), I would definitely stay here again if I was in the area. In particular, given the large discrepancy in price between hotels in downtown SF and here (along with the daily overnight parking charge), I’d be tempted to stay here for an extended stay if I was in town for longer.