This hotel was one the worst we have ever stayed at. The non-smoking king room we stayed in had a damp carpet and smelled like some one had definitely smoked in there. My husband and I both never have problems with allergies but that night we coughed almost continuously and ended up with irritated throats the next morning. The king bed dipped on the sides and rose up in the middle causing me to almost roll off the lumpy mattress in the night. The breakfast offered was just your typical continental basic and no one had bothered to refill most of the items. Also the breakfast area which was a part of the reception/ lobby area did not have adequate seating. The parking area outside was poorly lit at nite and since we checked-in late at night and the fact that the entrance to our room was from a staircase from the outside of the hotel it made me a little nervous. Stay elsewhere if you can.

Usually I give as positive reviews as I honestly can, but this one will not be positive. To start with, the room was not clean. The carpeting was damp and within a few minutes of being in the room, I was accosted by a cricket and several flying insects. There were stains on the bathroom door, the walls, and even the ceiling. The fitted sheet kept coming off the bed, and I woke up in the middle of the night very hot because the a/c turned itself off for some reason. (To be fair, I was able to restart it.) Several of the tv stations came in very fuzzy.
Though free wi-fi is advertised, it didn't work. I went to the front desk to see if I could have a different room with better reception, but the employee there told me that it didn't work well throughout the building. I was not offered a new room or any other solution other than permission to use the public computer in the lobby. The Net was so slow on the lobby computer that it was useless. (Moreover, there was a sign next to the computer saying that it was only for quickly checking email, though nothing could be done "quickly" on that thing.) I tried the wi-fi in my room again but it still didn't work. So I then asked to speak to a manager, but was told that would only be possible if the owners were working, and they were in China for 2 weeks so it wouldn't be possible. It was very disappointing as I never would have chosen that motel if I'd known that they didn't have wi-fi.
By morning I thought I was done discovering disappointments, but not so. The water in the shower never got hot, though I let it run a long time. It did get warm enough to tolerate, but never hot.
On the positive side, the coffee maker, fridge, and microwave all worked, the bowed out shower curtain was good, and I was glad to see high energy bulbs in the lamps. Additionally, the front desk employee did give me a phone number for a pizza place that delivered there.
But generally, it was a disappointment and I would not recommend this motel to anyone. Most disappointing of all was the apathetic customer service.

This motel was nothing exciting but was acceptable. We did have to walk through a hot hallway to our hot room which took a rather long time to cool. The carpet was not horrible but definitely not clean. The stairs and the walkway need some major repair. I did feel safe with my kids which was very important for me. The breakfast was decent with waffles but the juice was so watered down it wasn't really juice.

What could have been a very bad experience at the Travelodge, Des Moines, IA, turned into a wonderful stay thanks to Mr. Young Kim, General Manager. I had made our reservations through CheapMotels.com. and the cost of the room had been immediately debited from my checking account. But, when we arrived at the motel there was no record of my having made the reservation. Mr. Kim immediately called the online service and, after at least an hour, finally got the issue resolved. Had he not gone to bat for us we would have been without a room, the Travelodge would not have received their money, and we would have been out the cost that had been debited from our account. He was professional and courteous but persistent, exactly the tact that was necessary in this case. Before he had completed his call he gave us a room. It was much more than we expected. Not only was it quiet and clean with comfortable beds (expected) but it had a frig, microwave, coffee maker and safe. When I booked the room the information said no coffee maker, frig, or microwave, and a safe wasn't even mentioned. Again, our thanks to Mr. Kim for a great stay and our encouragement to others to try the Des Moines, Iowa Travelodge.