Review: Hilton Garden Inn Sioux Falls Downtown

Rate

I booked a single night in a standard King room for 36,000 HHonors points.  Considering the rates advertised, this was a very so-so redemption for me, but I value HHonors points at around .4 cents per point, so this made sense to me, especially with Covid-19 devaluations likely on the horizon in 2022.  

Location

True to its name, this property is a definite downtown location, merely steps away from The Arc of Dreams and just across the river from the main dining and shopping district.  It's also technically walkable to Falls park, which was another draw.  The hotel is also located downriver (on the river) from Falls Park, so for those of you who enjoy waterside properties, it has that going for it as well.

Check in and Lobby

Admittedly, I am not a huge fan of HGI as a brand.  They tend to offer all of the boring appeal of what you'd find at a Hampton Inn, but without many of the perks of staying at a lower tiered property, like free breakfast.  As a Hilton Diamond, I saw that this property did honor a full breakfast for elites in its restaurant, Crave, so I decided to give HGI a try, but more on that later.

Upon entering the lobby, and even walking outside the hotel, you get the impression that this is not only a newer Hilton Garden Inn, but one of the nicer American properties in the brand portfolio.  At its best, American HGI properties can look like The Waikiki Beach location.  At its worst, it can look like a milk toast property like this one, which I'm sure you've seen countless times before in every mid-sized American town.  

The lobby feels new and spacious.  The ceiling is high and the hotel just feels vibrant in a way that many mid-tier properties fail to achieve.

As soon as you walk past the desk, you see a nice lounging area that sits adjacent to more outdoor seating.  

Also adjacent to the lobby is the entrance to the hotel restaurant, Crave, which seemed quite busy and vibrant on the Saturday night we spent there.  We did not eat dinner here, but we went for an evening walk and noticed a very large crowd within, mostly due to the college graduation crowds the hotel was experiencing that weekend.  Interestingly, this also thwarted our hopes for a room upgrade, but that can be forgiven, since it did appear the hotel was sold out all weekend.  We really didn't mind, as our room was ample for a one night stay.

The Room

Upon entering, the room seemed great.  I think the only thing that seemed wrong was the very obviously and heavily used furniture the otherwise very new property had brought in from another previously renovated property.  I have researched this a bit, and apparently it is quite common for mid-tier hotels to purchase used furniture from higher end properties which are renovating.  In this case, the furniture all seemed quite old.

The edges of wooden furniture generally seemed very scratched.

The bathroom, overall felt much never and fresher, which I would take any day of the week if it means having some dated wood furnishings.  The marred up wood probably wouldn't have felt so odd if the rest of the room hadn't looked so relatively great in comparison.  It was all a bit disjointed, but overall felt very much like an HGI room.  

Amenities

There is a fully operational Starbucks near the Lobby, and I have to go out of my way and say that the service at this Starbucks was unusually great for a hotel-attached location.  In fact, it is probably the nicest hotel Starbucks I've ever been in.  I truly mean that.  The hotel restaurant, Crave, served us a very adequate breakfast that I would call just above par for an HGI.  I ordered Eggs Benedict, and as someone who often eats this meal, it was a very standard Eggs Benedict.  I would order it again, especially since the meal was 100% comped for Diamonds.  

The gym, similar to the rest of the property, hit just slightly above par.  It was exactly what I'd hope to get at a larger HGI location.

Conclusion

Overall, a very nice stay, and I must add, the free parking here is a welcome surprise for a downtown hotel.  Would I pay for the breakfast here?   No.  Were there any real problems encountered?  Also no, although it seemed odd that the pool was closed due to Covid, yet the restaurant was packed on Saturday night.  I have had many poor stays during the pandemic, and this was one of the better ones.  I'd highly recommend it if you're in Sioux Falls.