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Des Moines Marriott Downtown
Categories: Event Planning & Services Hotels Hotels & Travel Hotels Restaurants Hotels, Restaurants [Edit]
700 Grand AveDes Moines, IA 50309
(515) 245-5500
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Valet
- Attire:
- Casual
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- Paid
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
12 reviews for Des Moines Marriott Downtown
12 reviews in English
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Review from He and She I.
Independence, IA
11/15/2011 2 Check-ins Here
This is one of my favorite Des Moines hotels...conveniently located and easy to get to. The staff is incredibly focused on service, and the hotel is clean and well-maintained. There is construction going on, but they are working to minimize the problems.
The elevators are a little bit of a problem, and actually stopped working for a while one evening.
The snacks provided by the hotel for our convention were inventive and relative healthy. The foods at the lunch and dinner were different than normal buffet fare, and we enjoyed them. The buffet choices for our small meeting were as good as I've ever had.
The breakfast buffet at the restaurant was exactly what I needed. -
Review from Terje M.
Sacramento, CA
2/23/2012
I arrived at the Des Moines Marriott at approximately 12:30PM on a Thursday. The room was not ready yet, as to be expected so we checked our bags and went out for lunch. While at lunch they called and let me know my room was ready which I found very nice.
When we picked up our keys they informed us that there was a wrestling tournament of some kind happening and they asked that we wear a plastic wrist band after 5PM otherwise we would not be allowed to get to our room. This was ridiculous to me. They said it was because of the high amount of teenagers there due to the wrestling thing. This did nothing to curb the teens from running around the hotel while their parents got drunk in the hotel bar from the ice chests that they were hiding under their tables.
Speaking of the bar, I recommend sticking to bottled beer. I tried having a rum and coke and a friend had a gin and tonic and they were the worst drinks we have ever had. They tasted liked like the liquor had been watered down or maybe the bar tender didn't know what he was doing.
As for the room, it was average. Clean but not sparkling. There was no in room fridge which I found strange but we made due with ice. The bed is very comfortable and I was a fan of the sheets. There are inputs to the TV on the wall where you can plug in an xbox or something which I thought was pretty cool. Didn't have anything to plug into it, but the option was nice. Wi-Fi internet is not free, which bothers me especially in this day and age. I don't know if wired was free since I only had a ipad with me. I did find that if I went down to the Starbucks in the lobby there was free wireless and I was able to connect there and then go back to my room on the 8th floor and was still connected.
Over all, our stay was just okay. I have stayed in nicer hotels and I have stayed in much worse hotels. The staff was very nice and helpful but the bizarre wrist band thing left me with a bad taste in my mouth. If I am ever in Des Moines again, I will look in to staying elsewhere. -
Review from Sean P.
8/23/2011
I travel a fair amount and am a Marriot Rewards customer and this is by far one of the worst Marriots I have stayed at. The front desk lady was pleasant and welcoming but beyond that I would not recommend staying here. The walls are extremely thin and as I am out with clients until late I felt bad coming in at 11:30 and could hear everything (especially couple a room away, if you know what I mean). The room does not have a mini-refrigerator and the rooms are just ok.
Also a fair warning it is valet parking only on main entrance which is $21 per night and self parking is $10 or something. The only reason to stay here is for a conference as meeting rooms looked ok. If you like your privacy (yes couple down the hall I am talking to you) and want to leave when you please with convienent self parking this is NOT your hotel! -
Review from Stacy L.
7/7/2011
NEVER again. I stayed for business, instead of my normal hotel, on the recommendation of colleagues. It was horrible from the minute I checked in.
I had never stayed here before. I am a Marriott Rewards member and have never had a bad experience. The staff always acknowledges my membership and are, usually, quite pleasant. The guy at the front desk was rude and very stand offish. He never mentioned my membership. "Where do you work? I have never seen this room rate." His tone was accusatory. Almost like I hacked into the computer and fixed my room rate. He handed me my room key and turned away. Never told me my room number, I had to open up the little packet to find it. I had to ask where the elevators were.
The room was unpleasant. The tub was so dirty, I wore my flip flops to take a shower. I could hear every little noise. The room next door had a very early wake up call, which woke me up. I could hear them using the hair dryer. I heard everybody in the hallway. The elevators were scary.
I would not recommend this place to anyone. The only reason they stay open is because of convenience. The one good thing is they are hooked to "The Hub." You can get to most of the businesses in the area without ever stepping foot outdoors. -
Review from Caleb A.
Lake City, FL
5/18/2011 1 Check-in Here
Ehh.
The elevators are rickety/outdated and just doesnt match the semi-updated decor of hotel.
I thought as Marriott- it was fairly up to par.
Id only stay here if I can keep getting the $89 rate from Priceline. -
Review from Meghan B.
Bloomington, IL
4/5/2009
The only complaints I have are the usual complaints for hotels of this caliber. Why do we pay for extras like internet or parking when the hotels that are half this price give it all to you for free? Seriously, this is maddening to me. I know I could get free wireless in the lobby, but still.
Beyond that, clean, comfortable rooms. Great conference facilities (although it does sort of lack a common space to meet and greet people), friendly staff, excellent workout space, fast elevators, modern enough, etc. etc. etc.
Centrally located to walk to most other destinations. I'd stay here again if needed. -
Review from Andy R.
Chicago, IL
10/21/2009
We stayed at the Marriott downtown this weekend for a wedding. When we made the reservations months ago we requested adjoining rooms so Grandma can help take care of the little one. When we checked in they didn't have any. What a bummer! I asked if they could upgrade us to a suite or have any other options explaining our situation with the baby. The reception guy looked in the computer and they were able to upgrade us to a special concierge level of the hotel with adjoining rooms. When we got to the rooms they were just standard rooms on a special floor. When we called the front desk to ask about the concierge floor we were told the only thing special about the floor is the lounge, however the lounge is closed on the weekend. BTW - Closed on the weekend is an understatement. Everything in Des Moines is closed on the weekend!
Everything about the Marriott was enjoyable; friendly staff, clean rooms and common areas. We got the room for $99 a night which seemed reasonable to me coming from Chicago. -
Review from Erica H.
Grimes, IA
9/14/2010
We stayed here on our wedding night, along with the rest of our wedding party. We had two choices, the Savery or the Marriott - the Savery had very prohibitive policies on reserving a wedding block, and the Marriott didn't, so they won.
I've never stayed in a bad Marriott, and this one is just fine. Nothing overly special, but predictable and nice. The staff was exceptionally helpful, I appreciated that. I'd stay here again, and would not hesitate to recommend it to friends or family staying in Des Moines. -
Review from Tom M.
Chicago, IL
4/18/2008
Great hotel!
I think I like the charm of the Savery Rennasaince a bit better, but this is a fine place to stay: great rooms, amenities, and location.
Room service food is great - I highly recommend the Cobb Salad and the Chicken Quesadillas - delightful!
OK - the elevators seem to be slow/always busy - but otherwise, I have enjoyed each of my stays here all the same! -
Review from Sean W.
Cedar Rapids, IA
4/9/2010
Stayed here for a soccer tourney.
In the heart of downtown.
Nice views and clean rooms.
You can walk downtown very easily as well as use skywalks.
There is also some parking ramps around the area and may take some weaving and one-ways and wrap arounds to find. Might wanna valet.
Staff is nice and friendly and even brought up a small fridge to keep in my room.
Kinda pricey, parking is a b!tch, but events and downtown life is walkable, so a plus.
Would I stay here again. Yes.
and when I do I will update with more details. -
Review from Joe J.
Iowa City, IA
3/20/2011
Overall a nice hotel. I can only give a one star rating because wireless internet is not free... $13 bucks a night. Lame.
-
Review from Anne S.
Emeryville, CA
11/1/2008
With the caveat that I had to stay here for 7 weeks for work and anyplace gets old after seven weeks, I will say that the Marriott wasn't fabulous, but was ok. Rooms are like every other hotel ever, passable, but instantly forgetable. Don't go looking for any cool extras like heavenly beds or free internet., but it was good enough. Hotel food is generic midwestern fare. Fine for a few days, but kind of greasy and gets old fast.
Location on the skyway system is great if you have business in the area and the weather is bad. And on the plus side, it had an impressive gym, much more than I expected.
On the con side, for the seven weeks I was there, I swear that for six of them, there was a different high school group every week attending some event or another (girls basketball tournament, boys basketball tournament, science fair, etc.). So, the hotel was always teeming with squirly teenagers swarming the halls, slamming doors, giggling late into the night, and riding up to the top floor to look out over the "big city" since many had never been in such a tall building before. Do ask if there are any teen groups when you check in and then ask to be on a floor where they're not!
Finally, the only other downside was the absolute lack of transportation in the city. Accidentally missed the shuttle to the airport one week when I was leaving and asked for the front desk to call a cab and was told that it would take over an hour to get one. WTF?? What kind of hick town is this? There are literally like two cabs in the entire city! And apparently, neither of them is operational on Saturday morning. So my only alternative was to wait a half an hour for the shuttle to return then wait for him to wander around waiting for other guests before going to the airport and nearly missing my flight (luckily, it's a very small terminal). Literally had steam coming out of my ears, was so mad. Granted, not the hotel's fault that I missed the shuttle, but they couldn't have been less concerned about he fact that I was going to miss my flight. And a little disclosure when you check in about the lack of cab service would have been nice.
Transportation woes aside, the Marriott was passable. Truth be told, I hope I don't have to go back to Des Moines any time soon, but if I do, I'd probably check other options, but would not rule out another stay here.
