The News Tribune
John Gillie
Tacoma's former King Oscar Motel formally assumes its new identity Thursday as the Howard Johnson Inn & Suites Tacoma.
The hotel at 8726 South Hosmer St. has been renovated with flat screen televisions, new furniture and decor.
The new owners added a fitness center and two-room suites to the 67-room property. The motel has meeting facilities for up to 400 persons and a swimming pool.
Rates for rooms at the pet-friendly property will range from $79 to $109 a night. That price includes a hot breakfast. Pets are extra.
An adjacent restaurant will be operated by Ken and Phillip Tran as the Golden Palace II. The restaurant operators have three other Pan-Asian restaurants in the Puget Sound area.
New owners bought the motel in April from the late Oscar Hokold. The motel was closed for remodeling. It opened again as a Howard Johnson in mid-June, said Howard Johnson sales manager Janice West.
The Howard Johnson chain was once one of the best-known nationwide hospitality companies. The chain peaked in 1975, with hundreds of hotels and restaurants nationwide. The chain fell on lean times in the early '80s resulting in the closure of most of the restaurants and the sale of the hotels to a holding company and then to Marriott.
Wyndham Hotels and Resorts now owns Howard Johnson. Wyndham is the parent company of a broad variety of hotels including Ramada, Super 8, Days Inn, Travelodge and others.