Sonesta Simply Suites Des Moines

The service and the uncomfortable interactions with staff made this a terrible stay, and I won't return. There was only one employee handling check-in for a large crowd, so the wait was extremely long. Then, after we got our key, we opened the door upstairs and walked straight into a room that already had guests in it. That was alarming and unprofessional. They moved us downstairs, where we found a clogged toilet. I asked the front desk for help and was told it would go on housekeeping’s schedule, even though it was a sanitation issue. We came back hours later and nothing had been done. After I raised it again, someone eventually came by and left a plunger for us to use ourselves. The next morning, an employee knocked and said she needed to “check the room” because we were supposedly smoking. I let her in, but she seemed visibly shaky and behaved very strangely, which made us extremely uncomfortable. Being falsely accused on top of everything else was frustrating and unnecessary. As a business owner, I understand customer service and professionalism. This experience lacked both. Between the room mix-up, the unsanitary conditions, the poor service, and the uncomfortable staff interactions, I can confidently say I’ll never stay here again.

We booked and paid for two rooms months ahead, then called the day before driving up to confirm everything was still set. They told us yes. When we arrived the next day, though, they said there were no rooms, even with the prepaid booking and the confirmation from the day before. There were about ten other people outside with the same story, trying to figure out where to stay, and others waiting to be turned away because they didn't know how to book rooms properly. The place seemed very disorganized and unprofessional. They even said a room might open up later, but they couldn't say for sure. How do you not know what's available, or that you've overbooked so many people, without telling anyone? Wouldn't recommend this place at all. Booking and paying clearly doesn't mean you'll get a room.

They canceled our reservation because of construction, and we only found out when we arrived at 4 PM. The hotel said they’d texted and called, but I had no record of either. The situation could have been handled with grace and compassion. Instead, the clerks basically said it was canceled and we’d have to deal with it, as if we had any way to fix things. That attitude completely put me off the place. From the parking lot and what my family members staying there told me, it looked like a dump with construction all over. Stay far away.

You may wait 20 minutes to an hour for the after-hours on-call person. No one seems to be at the desk. Rooms are dated and have ripped furniture, and they won't be cleaned until two days before you leave. Bring earplugs, too. The rooms don't block noise, and they seem not to care if people run wild all night. There are lots of homeless people. This hotel needs serious help.