What a great hotel. Beautifully designed rooms, hotel looks great inside and out, and the free breakfast trumps the competition (omlettes made to order). Reasonable price. 8/10

This was a short 2-night stay and the hotel was great. The staff was very friendly and welcoming. Being a new hotel, everything was immaculate and clean. Parking and access were very easy. HD TV in the room with many channels in HD. Bed was comfortable. Breakfast was good with quick service and a decent selection in the buffet. If I had to nit-pick, my only issues would be the lack of a stairway in the middle of the hotel (I felt silly taking the elevator from my 2nd floor room to breakfast), a few very minor random finishing details noticed in the bathroom (sloppy construction work), and the A/C didn't cool the room enough.

As compared with other properties in Watertown this is a good property, however if compared with HGI’s elsewhere it’s subpar. HGI’s are one of my favorite properties, but as mentioned elsewhere this one falls short. Don’t get me wrong, even a subpar HGI is better than MOST other properties, however for what I was charged for this room, I expected more.

The evolution bed was good, with excellent feather pillows. There was light traffic noise from the road, but was not intrusive for the most part.

I give this property an 85/100 overall and a 70/100 for value.

We spent a night here last month. We opted for the Romance Package because it sounded lovely and the website implied that breakfast would be via room service. We arrived to discover that this "Garden Inn" is located between a busy interstate and a huge, mostly untenanted strip mall, next to a Holiday Inn of similar size. Granted you could walk a quarter mile to Starbucks or Ruby Tuesday's, but there was NO shopping available that didn't require driving. Thinking we'd have more quiet, we asked that our room be away from the highway.

Check in was normal. The people were friendly. We entered our room to find a nice-enough looking king bed with a jacuzzi in a raised "marble" surround. I would NOT have described the room as a suite as the website did. There was a single room, with a king bed, a desk and a chair. There was a small counter with a small fridge, microwave & coffee maker. In every other hotel I've stayed, a suite included a separate sitting area, with at least a couch. Most have had separate TV's etc.

The Romance Package, which we thought would include flowers, a bottle of sparkling cider and breakfast in bed (this is what we've received at other chain hotels) consisted of a bottle of sparkling cider in an ice bucket and two glasses. Adding the package added more than $25 to our bill. Hardly worth it.

The bed was advertised as "Evolution Adjustable", supposedly meaning that we could each adjust our side's softness. Either the bed didn't work or we are too insensitive, but we could feel no real difference no matter where we set the dials on each side. Linens were scatchy, as though not laundered enough to get the newness out of them. I found this very uncomfortable, especially with the pillows.

Even thought we were on the strip mall side of the hotel, we were not saved from traffic noise. Apparently the mall is used as a thoroughfare by the locals and this included people with no mufflers and folks who believe the music in their cars needs to be heard by everyone within a 2 mile radius. We were woken several times during the night by this kind of noise. We later realized that there was two pizza joints in the strip mall, and a Buffalo Wild Wings on the other side of the Holiday Inn. We suspect these establishments might have drawn the rowdier motorists. My main point here is that we could HEAR all this through the windows. I shudder to think what the guests on the side of the highway have to listen to, especially since there are ramps with steep grades beside the hotel. Imagine the sound the 18-wheelers must make climbing or slowing down on those?

The next morning, we called Room Service to order breakfast. OOPS. There must be some misunderstanding, breakfast is never served in-room (even though the website promises it with the Romance Package). We had to dress and traipse down to the dining room. No time for a morning jacuzzi after all.

Breakfast was good and the wait staff were very friendly and helpful, but still, we were disappointed. We did get a window seat with a lovely view of the strip mall, though!

If you are passing through, this hotel might be alright for a stop over. It is NOT a destination or a place to spend a romantic evening. You cannot walk to shopping or dining unless you don't mind quite a hike. The Salmon Run Mall is on the other side of the highway and would be a very long walk, over the bridge crossing the highway.

Furthermore, it is at least another 25 miles to the 1000 Islands. Watertown bills itself as the gateway to the 1000 Islands, but you are nowhere near the water at this location.