My husband and 20 month old child and I stayed 2 nights at this hotel. The room was clean, the bed comfortable and the lighting very nice. The room size is large enough to easily set up a toddler bed. The hotel restaurant was good - we ate dinner one night and breakfast one morning - love the made to order belgium waffles! Starbucks coffee was a nice touch as well as the freshly baked cookies. The staff are excellent - all very friendly and accomidating. The hotel has a pantry for the guests making it very easy to pick up a carton of milk or another odd or end. The rooms have a refrigerator and microwave making out stay even nicer. They do not have the Disney channel, however, and this we missed.

At barely more than a year old when we visited in August 2004, we found the HGI bright, well-maintained and a very solid pick. Location-wise, the HGI is in a very fast-growing area of the Twin Cities northwest suburbs. It is in close proximity to the sprawling, upscale and still-developing Shoppes at Arbor Lakes, an integrated development that attempts to replicate a "Main Street Downtown" style. (If you're into shopping, then you will certainly have come to the right place.)

Common areas are nicely furnished and well-cared for. Various snack and drink items are available 24-7 near the front desk (similar to what is typical of Homewood Suites). There is an indoor pool, hot tub and exercise room, all featuring windows to the outside but nicely set off so that you're not "swimming in the lobby". While none are particularly oversized, they appear to be plenty adequate for the size of the hotel and the needs of its clientele. There is a 24-hour business center with complimentary internet access on a house computer, as well as in-room high-speed hookups and Wi-Fi in the restaurant-lobby area.

Rooms are well-sized and impeccably maintained. Carpeting, window treatments, bedding and bathrooms are all clearly well above average for the rate range of the HGI.

The Great American Grill restaurant has a decent breakfast, but we found the service was nothing to write home about and that is the only thing that kept us from giving an overall excellent rating to this hotel. Nonetheless, we highly recommend it as a great value and all other aspects of the property do merit an "excellent" rating.