Holiday Inn Des Moines Downtown Hotel

The hotel was very nice. Great room and also a shuttle to take us to the concert. Only thing lacking was a refrigerator in our room. That would have been a great bonus. The food in the restaurant was also excellent.

The heated swimming pool was filthy and had a broken ladder as access point. There were no steps for the disabled to get into the pool . . . just a broken ladder. The elevators are unbelievably slow and I literally sometimes waited over 15 mins. just for an elevator ride. The mattresses were spongy and made for awful sleeping, if sleep was even possible. The restaurant served fermented applesauce in the salad bar the night I ate there. It would have poisoned anyone who swallowed it. They laughed it off, and didn't remove it from the buffett. The parking situation is awful, the underground parking garage offers barely enough room to back out of any spot without colliding. They operate a free shuttle back and forth to Mercy Hospital, a couple of blocks away. I called for a shuttle-ride back to the Hotel from the Hospital early one winter's evening in Feb. 2007, and 15 minutes later it still hadn't arrived. I called the Hotel yet again, and the woman who answered was shocked I was there waiting, as she had no idea. Some guy had taken my call the first time, I guess he just blew it off. Overall, you'd do a lot better by just driving out to Clive on the west side, and staying in any of the hotels out there. (I have had a good experience in the La Quinta Inn out there). You'll be so glad you avoided this awful Holiday Inn!

It was an undesirable location, but convenient for my needs during that particular visit. There are no other amenities within walking distance. It is only a block from a rough area of the city, so I do not recommend wandering around alone at night. It is convenient to the freeway and only a few blocks from downtown. The staff was accommodating, courteous and competent, if not friendly. They had wi-fi internet connection.

This hotel made me feel relaxed: The room was large and quiet. The temperature controls worked well. The housekeeping and kitchen staff was considerate of special needs or requests. The entire hotel felt very safe.

I loved the atmosphere.

It was ok. The restaurant was more like a lunch room instead of a restaurant. So I did not buy meals there.