I stayed at this hotel in June 2009 for a conference attendance and had a pleasant stay. The rooms are cleaned on a daily basis although I had some problems with the draining system of the shower as the water was flowing out fast enough. The staff is friendly but not a lot of them speak English and sometimes it was a limiting factor. The restaurant is nice but the food seemed boring and the watrons was not so clued on how to assist you when you place an order. It was more the language issue that made it difficult to have a smooth experience, especially for dinner. Sugar and English tea is rare to find and you often have to ask for it.
If you can overcome these difficulties, I would recommend that you try this venue.

Stayed at this hotel with a healthcare delegation (mainly nurses) who were touring the area. Found this hotel to be excellent and better than our Marriott hotel in Beijing. There are not many Caucasions in this city, so not surprizingly few of the locals or hotel staff speak English. They were very friendly, however, and I could usually made myself understood using sign language. Rooms were very clean, had BBC and CNN channels on TV, and a grocery store just up the street. This is not a fancy area of Giuyang, but the locals are very friendly. I would definitely recommend a stroll up the street to Quan Ling Park where the locals hang out. Very vibrant and friendly place. I loved this city and would recommend it and the hotel highly.

Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel is very nice and clean. I had a room that had two double beds. The room was spacious. However, the air-conditioning seems to be stuck at 25 degrees celsius. We called the front desk and they advised us to open the windows because that's as low as the thermostat goes. The Riviera (where you can get drinks in the evening and where the breakfast buffet is served) has nice facilities, but service is really poor. The wait staff did not look pleased to be there in the mornings and trying to get their attention for coffee is a challenge. The evening wait staff did not seem knowledgeable about cocktail drinks and neither did the bartender. Whatever you do, do not order the long island iced tea!