Econo Lodge Urbandale - Northwest Des Moines

The room was clean and the beds were comfortable. There was a good parking lot, plus a fridge, TV, and microwave. The Econo Lodge seems to be getting updated, and it was a nice stay. A few people appear to live there; some were a bit noisy with their kids, though I think it was the parents slamming the doors.

We had a comfortable mattress in a really clean room, and the staff were great. The area felt quiet and safe, and pets are welcome. I'd definitely come back, and would recommend it to families with kids or pets.

The people next door were apparently smoking pot, and the smell was awful. In the middle of the night they were banging on the door and screaming. We stayed because we only needed the room for a few hours, but I did wonder whether we were being watched. The room had plenty of problems too: one headboard was coming loose, both comforters were stained, the hair dryer was missing, and the TV remote didn't work. The shower knob had broken off, so I had to use my Gerber to adjust the water.

We left after only an hour, and I still wasn't sure whether the refund had come through. First, there was a mess over the reservation: my husband had booked it and forgotten to put my name on it. The hotel made changing it difficult. The booking website updated it without a problem, but the hotel said it couldn't check email and could only get a fax. After waiting more than an hour, the desk attendant told us to cancel and book again. The new booking cost over $30 more than I'd originally paid. Then we finally saw the room. It was disgusting. We found two bugs in five minutes, the towels had nasty stains, and the bedding had holes and stains. There was no WiFi at all. We asked to move, but the other room still had no WiFi and was missing its shower head. The front desk was rude and said he couldn't help. After an hour of stress, we left and found another nearby place that gave us no trouble.