Hampton Inn West Des Moines Lake Drive

It was a quick stop after a long road trip, and I wish we’d had longer to relax. The rooms were clean, the staff helpful, the breakfast really tasty, and the price was great. We had a wonderful time and would definitely recommend it.

Check-in and checkout were easy while we were traveling, and the room was cute and clean. There were mints waiting for us too, a first at a Hampton Inn for us!

We’re a military family moving from VA to WA and had to stop here on the way. It was a regrettable stay. Our military payment required a specific receipt and card, but they charged the wrong card and told us to take it up with corporate. We had two rooms, and both had shower problems: one shower didn’t work at all, and the other wouldn’t drain and had someone else’s hair in it, probably because it wasn’t draining. We brought it up in the morning, but they wouldn’t apologize or offer any accommodation, only said they’d put in a work order. They told us to call corporate if we wanted a discount. The staff were rude and unprofessional. Customer service matters, and I hope people considering this place choose somewhere else.

The hallway door sensor was broken, and people, including employees and probably guests, kept propping the door open with a rock. That meant there was no security. It was fixed on the third day to work with key cards, but never with the app’s virtual key. The Hilton app says the digital key opens all access doors, but that door didn’t respond to any key. The app also gave false information during remote check-in, saying all the pillows were down, which my wife is deathly allergic to. One pillow had no pillowcase. The room was very poorly lit and smelled nasty when we arrived, though it had just been cleaned. Turning on the heater may have contributed. The plugs on both sides of the bed charged our devices incredibly slowly. After several days, housekeeping apparently didn’t notice we’d used the spare toilet paper, so we had to ask the front desk for more. There were plenty of good points too. The hotel is a fairly short drive from the State Fair Grounds and other sites, with lots of shopping and dining nearby. Apart from one or two unpleasant exceptions, staff were routinely friendly and helpful. Each morning they left what I call “goodie bags” in the lobby, with fruit, a snack like a muffin or bagel, and bottled water. Much appreciated. The free self-serve continental breakfast was decent, with a good amount of seating and different options each day.