I think HGI is an excellent product although it's priced pretty high sometimes. I'd pay a 25% premium for an HGI over a Hampton Inn -as a Diamond I make it up with the $5 pantry credit, the free full breakfast, and the extra 400 airline miles. The rooms are usually a bit bigger, especially vs. old Hampton Inns, and they are tremendously consistent.

I do wish, however, that they had a junior suite per floor in their standard 6-story design. Some of their properties, like the El Segundo LAX one, have a more spread out footprint, and those properties have some sort of upgrade room.