The entry is very open and with light color marble flooring with a seating area with a fireplace and an efficient front desk directly behind. The staff is friendly, but definitely on the younger side. They are lacking that fine polishing required to really excel, but were friendly enough. Being a new facility, everything is clean and in tip top shape. Corridors were clean and bright. Guest rooms on the west side of the building look out across the City of Elko, and hills and mountains directly behind the city. These are preferable. Most of the rooms on the East side of the building face either a retaining wall or the car dealership on top of the wall, these of course, I find less preferable.

Immediately upon walking into the room’s foyer, you encounter what Hilton Garden Inn calls the "Hospitality Center," which houses a refrigerator, coffeemaker and microwave, right next to the small closet, where the iron and board are hidden. Furnishings and décor are the standard Hilton Garden Inn prototype with clean comfortable beds with floral comforters. The doubles here are full-size beds. This is a huge negative to me. My wife and I are not comfortable together on a double and we have to split up with the kids to pull off full size beds. But, oh well! Air conditioning works well and furnishings are solid and very clean. The bathrooms are standard size, but the floors are nice limestone tile and the vanities are granite with good lighting. Complimentary bath care products are from the Neutrogena line, as with all Hilton branded hotels. Great for my sensitive skin.

On site dining is limited to the Americana Grill, which is a simple, cooked to order restaurant. Breakfast was fair, my wife and I had omelets. But the kids had the pay Continental Breakfast, which was sub-standard during our stay. You can also get room service in the evenings. There is decent amount of restaurants within 10 minutes’ drive. But heck, this is Elko, everywhere in town is within 10 minutes’ drive. There is no gaming at the hotel, but the Red Lion Casino is only ½ mile down the road, and Downtown Elko is approx. 4 miles away. One of the best features of the Hilton Garden Inn is their Indoor Pool. It was a very nice and clean facility with plentiful towels. There is a fitness center directly attached.

In summary, the Hilton Garden Inn is a clean, sufficient lodging experience, providing the nicest accommodations in town at typically reasonable prices. But for the most part, the Red Lion Hotel is their only competition.

The lobby is nice with residential style furnishings, decorated in what I would call Idaho Contemporary. It appears it has had a minor renovation in the past few years or so. Check-in was uneventful and the clerk seemed bored. The hotel appeared absolutely dead. Felt like we were the only people there. But, off to our room. We walked down the long corridors to our rooms. The corridors were a little dreary, and new lighting would be nice. We stayed in a double guest room on the first floor facing out to the parking lot. I would have preferred a courtyard room, but I had never stayed here before, so didn’t know to request one. I didn’t think it was worth going back to the front desk.

The room is slightly below industry standard in size, just barely big enough for two queen beds and sitting chairs. We had to squeeze in the crib. The bedding looked nice and new, like a quick attempt at a remodel. Attractive enough, but the furniture was held over from a previous renovation, and is dated. Laying in the beds revealed, they too hadn’t been replaced in awhile. Substandard for a three-star place. Red Lion should do a system wide bedding upgrade to improve its image, like other chains are doing in this class. The bathroom is average size, but fixtures are dated. Need a remodel here, too. The yellowed lighting gave the impression the bathroom was grimy. Bathroom amenities are good, from the Gilchrest & Soames line, standard at all Red Lions.

We tried the recreation facilities. Took the kids out to the pool at dusk, but the water was freezing. Not heated at all. Way too cold to swim. The sauna wasn’t working either. So we went into the whirlpool at the fitness center. It worked well, and relaxed there. There is a restaurant on site, as well as a lounge and Moxie Java Coffee Bar (chain similar to Starbucks). Didn’t try any of them. There are many regional chain restaurants in the vicinity, also the Magic Valley Mall with a Macy’s. Johnny Carino’s has good Italian food. Starbucks is available at Barnes & Noble Bookstore.

Overall, I was disappointed. I would stay here again if the rate was right. But it is definitely substandard for the Red Lion brand. I would definitely try it again if they did a complete renovation. It is the only full-service hotel in Twin Falls, and a great community like this deserves to have a solid three-star hotel.