Hampton Inn & Suites Des Moines Downtown

The view was excellent, but almost everything else let us down. The hot tub was one of my two must-haves when booking, and after we came back from exploring for a few hours, we found a sign saying it was out of service. Staff said it had been down for over a week with no repair date. They suggested the neighboring hotel’s tub through the courtyard, but our key cards wouldn’t let us in. We would’ve booked elsewhere if we’d known. Our room had other problems. The TV faced the entry door, with the bed around an adjoining wall, and we were told the swivel should make it fine. It didn’t. The balcony door wouldn’t latch properly, and though we were on the sixth floor, wind howled through the room all night. We were promised a manager would follow up after our Friday stay, but by Monday nobody had contacted us. At check-in, the clerk called it a “newly renovated” room. It looked more like a rushed cosmetic refresh than a real upgrade. Breakfast was a letdown, too. Around 8 a.m. the hot trays at this Hampton Inn & Suites were nearly empty, and what was left looked dry and as if it had been sitting for a while. The coffee station was messy, with hot chocolate powder everywhere and trash on the counter, while a front desk employee sat on their phone. We’ve stayed at many Hampton Inn & Suites properties and haven’t had these problems before. We loved Des Moines, but the hotel didn’t meet basic expectations. The view was great, which is the other thing I look for, but we wouldn’t stay here again.