From the Beloit Daily News, Friday, July 17, 2015
http://www.beloitdailynews.com/business/newly-renovated-garden-hotel-caters-to-community-families/article_b82792b8-2ca3-11e5-8c7c-0b30061b4969.html
The sun is out and the pool is open at the garden.
The Garden Hotel and Conference Center, 200 Dearborn Ave., South Beloit, is charging $6 per person for day passes at its recently renovated pool.
General Manager Chad Bryden said the pool opened three weeks ago and has been a big hit at the newly remodeled hotel. He said the pool had a new drainage system, too.
The pool isn’t the only thing redone at the hotel — conference rooms, banquet space and an arcade have all been completed in addition to 159 rooms that are available for rent.
There has been a lot of landscaping, new furniture brought in, and heating and air renovations over the last six months, Bryden said.
The hotel also sports a redesigned restaurant — The Greenhouse Bar and Grill — which features a dinner menu of all-American cuisine. Appetizers start at $6, sandwiches start at $8 and salads at $6. There will also be soup, chicken and seafood entrees as well as dessert. It boasts a Friday fish fry priced at $10.99 and a prime rib special on Saturdays at $18.99.
There will also be live local entertainment every week. “We have more freedom with not having a ‘brand marketing’ scheme like other hotels,” Bryden said. “We can really be involved in the community and be more local.”
The hotel will be hosting a block party on Aug. 15, featuring bands inside and outside and a DJ by the pool.
Bryden said there are still minor changes to be done to the hotel’s executive suites and repaving of the parking lots, but that the major work is done.
The hotel is also looking at renovating land in the back to use for outdoor sports to provide activities for kids and teens. Bryden said he wanted the hotel to cater to families. “We’re very family-oriented,” Bryden said.
The original hotel opened in 1964, but closed in August 2007 after the basement flooded. In 2009, the then-Ramada Inn closed after losing its franchise agreement. It was then renamed the South Beloit Inn until it closed in 2010. Prior to Ariva Hospitality purchasing the building in June 2013, the building had sat vacant for over three years.
The hotel runs daily specials on its Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Garden-Hotel-Conference-Center/1465880906995658.