As a single white female I felt ok in the hotel but a person had told me Crown Heights area was "not good" so it set up a certain amount of fear. Basically it was all ok and good except I was unsure if I was safe walking to and from subways and was told yellow cabs wouldn't service the hotel only livery cabs which are more expensive. So I stayed one night instead of two. If I had to do over again I might have explored the area during the day. I thought the room was very big and clean and nice.

My sister and I stayed one week at the Brooklyn Ho Jo because of cost. We would not recommend it to anyone other than a local. If you know the area then you might expect this kind of environment. My sister and I are from the Midwest, however we have travelled the world and this is one of the most major disappointments we have encountered. We were frequently hassled by men at the bus stop and while walking in the area and found our best mode of transport via taxi. Good luck getting a taxi in Manhattan to take you to Brooklyn or a taxi to take you to this location from LaGuardia. The hotel staff barked answers to our inquiries through the bullet-proof glass enclosure. I lived in the East End of London for a number of years and never had trouble like this. Next time we'll spend the extra to stay in Manhattan.

I was naive enough to stay at this hotel because the price was so much lower than Manhattan hotels and I planned to save a little money by taking the train in. When my husband and I arrived at JFK and I asked the info booth if the area was safe enough to walk around we received a resounding "NO" for the 2 ladies at the booth. Gulp. We took a taxi there and had to walk across the street to get to the lobby - it was scary. The lobby counter is behind bullet-proof glass. The hotel elevator was filled with cigarette smoke. The overall appearance of the hotel is run down, chipped paint, dirty. The linens on our bed had human hair all over it including on the sheets. I requested fresh linens.

We checked out the next morning, found a wonderful hotel in Manhattan on expedia for $25 less per night. Oh, well, live and learn.

Stayed at the hotel on March 6th 2010 and paid $178 for one night. The room is very small but I thought for convenience to Utica I would stay the night plus I stayed in the hotel in 2006 and had no problems then. We woke up Sunday morning and everthing was fine but before we checked out we saw a small bug on the spread and I pointed it out to my husband who killed it and we didn't think much of it. On my way back home, I started to itch and started seeing raised red bumps on my arms, neck. When I got home I showed my husband and then I started to question whether that bug was a bed bug.
The next morning itchiness was intense with more raised bumps. They were worse on my back. I searched the internet to realize that the bug was a bed bug. I called the manager at HOJO and he denied the hotel had a problem and stated I must have gotten it from home. He was very rude.
Visitors to Brooklyn should be cautious and stay away from this hotel. THE HOTEL HAS BEDBUGS and you would not want to take them home with you.