Name: Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Des Moines-Northwest by IHG
Address: 4800 Merle Hay Road, Des Moines, Iowa, United States of America, Des Moines, Iowa, US
Price range: $85–$134 per night
Rating: 7.65

What guests think

At Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Des Moines-Northwest by IHG, guests frequently praise the friendly, accommodating staff and convenient location, while noting dated facilities, mixed cleanliness, and maintenance issues such as HVAC problems, elevator delays, and occasional pool closures.

Many find the beds comfortable, but rooms are often described as worn, with small or poorly ventilated bathrooms, musty odors, and occasional broken appliances. The attached Bennigan's is convenient, though breakfast is typically not included and feedback is mixed. Expect a practical stay with welcoming staff but variable upkeep and amenities.

Facilities

Cleanliness

Rooms

Service

Location

Dining

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AI-generated summary based on recent guest reviews

Facilities

Facilities feel dated. Reviews repeatedly mention pool issues (cold water, occasional closures or poor upkeep) and slow or malfunctioning elevators; the attached Bennigan's is a convenient on-site option.

Related guest reviews

10

Rob

Sep 8, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

The room was comfortable and clean. The service was great. The fitness room was great to have.

8

Brooke

Apr 10, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

Pool was closed. Super disappointing for a family stay.

6

Kimberly

Dec 6, 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

Pool was cold Room was dated and could be cleaner. On arrival we had a king suite and were provided two towels and two washcloth. The bed was VERY comfortable.

4

Kristie

Nov 5, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

The toilet seat was broke. No toilet paper holder, water pressure was horrible. Tv kept cutting out. Elevators didn't sound good.

4

William

Jun 16, 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

There was just issue after issue it seemed. The elevators were terribly slow and did not function properly to the point only 1 was operating for most of a day stay and it took 45 minutes for them to get someone who was stuck in one out. The room was dusty, the ceiling clearly had water damage issues they just slapped paint over. The room smelled off like a musty smell, the shower has cracks all over that leaked out onto the floor. We requested towels multiple times and they never brought them to our room. The room next door to us was loud and obnoxious the last nights with a screaming child after 2 calls to the front desk to ask them to keep it down or move our room. They told us they would handle it and nothing changed.

8

Jerry

Sep 19, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Close to interstate, food and gas nearby Check in through Expedia was easy, the booking desk attendant was friendly and very helpful Pool was a little chilly and no hot tub if that is your interest. We stayed overnight on trip to KC. Would stay again if the need arose

2

Colleen

Jun 5, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

They had a car show going on so parking lot was full. Property looks very run down with little upkeep. Room was dirty, hair in sink, lotion on wall and lotion pump, cracked tile, missing grout. Smoke alarm had bright blinking light all night. Pool water was green. Peeling flooring. Pooling water just sitting on floor. Hallways had terrible smell including weed smell inside and outside property.

6

Larryn

Apr 6, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

The property appears as though it has had some updates. Room was clean, updated bathroom but overall super small for a 2 queen room. We used the pool a couple times and it was a good size and clean. Unfortunately, no hot tub. The staff was friendly and the space overall was good! We were a bit disappointed in the breakfast setup. It was $16 per person for a buffet style breakfast. While the wait staff was great and dining area was clean, the food was mediocre. As a family traveling with kids, we would much prefer a continental breakfast. Overall it the stay was just fine!

10

Daniel

Jun 14, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Restaurant adjacent. Nice decore. Nice people.

10

James

Apr 23, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Great stop for one night on the road back home. Attached restaurant (Bennigan’s) was very convenient, good food & good service

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Cleanliness

Cleanliness is inconsistent: many guests found rooms clean, yet others reported dirty or musty areas, stained linens, and maintenance grime. Several reviews mention bed bugs, which concerned some travelers.

Related guest reviews

10

Kristen

Oct 27, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

The rooms were clean. Staff was very friendly and helpful! The parking seemed safe.

4

Christine

Jul 6, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Woke up to a bed bug on my a this morning. And several bites. Horrible! And dog pee in the elevator

6

Kimberly

Jun 20, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

It’s fine for a one night stay traveling through. The room was dingy and musty smelling. Stains on the carpet. But, the bed was comfortable and AC worked well. Not terrible but not great.

10

Jacqueline

Aug 11, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Everything was clean at the hotel.

2

Gabriel

Jun 30, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Bedbugs!!!

2

Nubia

Apr 24, 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Hotel room 220 had bed bugs. We have bites all over body. Management was made aware. They said they would return my stay payment but only gave me a discount for the inconvenience. Wich did not even cover for the precautions we had to take in order to not expose our home to bed bugs. Terrible experience, painful and uncomfortable.

4

William

Jun 16, 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

There was just issue after issue it seemed. The elevators were terribly slow and did not function properly to the point only 1 was operating for most of a day stay and it took 45 minutes for them to get someone who was stuck in one out. The room was dusty, the ceiling clearly had water damage issues they just slapped paint over. The room smelled off like a musty smell, the shower has cracks all over that leaked out onto the floor. We requested towels multiple times and they never brought them to our room. The room next door to us was loud and obnoxious the last nights with a screaming child after 2 calls to the front desk to ask them to keep it down or move our room. They told us they would handle it and nothing changed.

4

Patricia

Nov 3, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

Room was very dusty. Lamp shades were furry at bottom

2

Colleen

Jun 5, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

They had a car show going on so parking lot was full. Property looks very run down with little upkeep. Room was dirty, hair in sink, lotion on wall and lotion pump, cracked tile, missing grout. Smoke alarm had bright blinking light all night. Pool water was green. Peeling flooring. Pooling water just sitting on floor. Hallways had terrible smell including weed smell inside and outside property.

6

Romina

Aug 10, 2025

·

Stayed 4 nights

CHECK IN AGE IS 21. Expedia has the minimum check in age as 18 which is incorrect. I called before hand and spoke to reception, to ensure I was able to check in at 19 years old and they told me I'd be completely fine as long as I had an ID and card to put on file. We were turned away at check in because I was told incorrectly. After we inconvenienced a friend to drive over and help us get checked in, the room did not appear in the cleanest state. There were stains on the towels and sheets. There was mold growing above the shower. Overall an OK place to stay, we had somewhere to sleep. I would not stay here again.

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Rooms

Beds are generally comfortable, but rooms are dated with recurring HVAC problems, small or poorly ventilated bathrooms, musty odors, and intermittent maintenance issues like broken fridges, weak water pressure, leaks, or nonworking TVs. Noise from elevators is noted in some rooms.

Related guest reviews

6

Nick

Dec 8, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Had a few issues, first room had no hot water and wouldn’t get warm. Rooms very small, was able to change rooms and that helped but what a hassle! 2nd room had stuff written on the walls and barely anyway water in the toilet.

6

Kimberly

Dec 6, 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

Pool was cold Room was dated and could be cleaner. On arrival we had a king suite and were provided two towels and two washcloth. The bed was VERY comfortable.

6

Jenna

Nov 9, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

The rokm was cold, we tried adjusting the thermostat multiple times, but it wouldn't adjust. When we arrived it was 65, we turned it up to 72 and when returned it was back down to 65. We all, including kidsz had a hard time sleeping because if jt. Small, but no trash can liners.

4

Christopher

Apr 19, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

I arrived late at the property, and check in was easy. One pro for this property was the lobby was nice, and the staff that I encountered were very friendly and helpful. With that being said, the elevators were creepy, my room had a mustiness to it, the room was boiling hot when I arrived, there’s no vent in the bathroom so the steam is trapped and becomes condensation that then floods the floor and makes it slippery. Also, the bathrooms are just tiny in general. I am a 5’11 larger than average man. Not super fat, but not skinny by any means. To paint the picture, I’ve got a belly, but my legs could easily crush a watermelon. Anyway, when I was sitting on the toilet my left thigh touched the sink stand(not cabinet it’s a stand) and my right calf touched the tub while my feet were only spread a couple inches apart. I get that I’m a bit bigger than some people, but this is the US, and it’s the Midwest. This is a country full of plus sized people so the toilet should have more that 4 inches of space on either side of it. Over all, I wouldn’t stay here again unless they added vents to the bathrooms, fixed their bathroom/toilet situation in general, and got less creepy elevators. The lobby is all fancy and inviting but the rest of the hotel screams “GET OUT”.

6

Mark

Aug 11, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Stayed in room 520. Ceiling damaged, tub stained, toilet chipped, lamp shade crumpled, chair fabric damaged, comfortable bed. Room needs attention.

8

Thomas

Sep 7, 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

Mini fridge was not working.

6

Teresa

Jul 20, 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

Very clean room. It’s just outdated and the water pressure was terrible.

6

Katie

Mar 29, 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

The showers weren’t ideal, the water ran onto the bathroom floor so we had to use towels to soak it up. The heat kicked on every few minutes with a loud noise that made sleep difficult.

4

Benjamin

Jul 11, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Tv was broken, window to the room was broken and water leaked in from the storm . Carpet was wet ,

8

Jeanne

Apr 17, 2023

·

Stayed 2 nights

My room was about 4 rooms away from the elevator and I could hear the elevator rather loudly in my room. The hotel is dated, but was clean. Staff were friendly and helpful.

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Service

Staff are frequently praised as friendly, helpful, and accommodating. However, guests also report occasional rude interactions, poor follow-up on requests, and isolated issues with check-in, billing, or the shuttle.

Related guest reviews

6

Michelle

Apr 8, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Don’t count on the airport shuttle. I called before our flight into Des Moines, and was told they “couldn’t find” the driver. That they would call me back. They never called me. When our plane landed I called the hotel 3 times and no one picked up. It was 8:30 pm. We took a Lyft.

2

Patricia

Nov 28, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

Location. Ambiance. Bad=check-in person very unhelpful and over charged me twice. Didn't listen to the fact that I had booked via hotels.com and still charged me twice.

10

Lorilei

Feb 14, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

We had issues with the heat blowing cold air in the room. When the maintenance person came to help he was abrupt and rude, pushed a few buttons and then snapped “Is it blowing cold air NOW?!!? before turning and leaving. When I asked why he spoke to me that way he refused to answer. Ten minutes later it was blowing cold air again. When I went to the front desk he was talking about me and shushed everyone at the desk. He had to come back up and fix it (it still didn’t fix it) and refused to apologize. I had to make another trip down and ask to be moved to another room. The staff never apologized for his behavior and I had to ask for the name of the manager. When you drop $200 on a room for one night you don’t expect to be treated so rudely.

10

Barbara

Oct 8, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

The staff is so friendly! They go above and Beyond to make sure your stay is all you want it to be.

4

William

Jun 16, 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

There was just issue after issue it seemed. The elevators were terribly slow and did not function properly to the point only 1 was operating for most of a day stay and it took 45 minutes for them to get someone who was stuck in one out. The room was dusty, the ceiling clearly had water damage issues they just slapped paint over. The room smelled off like a musty smell, the shower has cracks all over that leaked out onto the floor. We requested towels multiple times and they never brought them to our room. The room next door to us was loud and obnoxious the last nights with a screaming child after 2 calls to the front desk to ask them to keep it down or move our room. They told us they would handle it and nothing changed.

10

DAVID

May 1, 2023

·

Stayed 3 nights

Excellent, enjoyable, stay. Check in staff was friendly and very helpful. Room was excellent and clean. Will definitely stay here on my next trip to Des Moines.

10

Sarah

Oct 10, 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

Very helpful and friendly front desk staff. Clean, very quiet, and felt safe.

10

Jennifer

Jun 2, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Cheyenne at the front desk was great. She was extremely helpful. We had an issue with our room and she very promptly took care of the issue and moved us to another room.

10

Michael

May 11, 2023

·

Stayed 2 nights

Clean and quiet with great check-in staff.

6

Mark

Jul 11, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

Front staff very unfriendly.

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Location

Convenient for highway access and getting into Des Moines, and many guests felt safe. A few note the surrounding area feels seedy or has limited dining options, and the entrance can be hard to find.

Related guest reviews

10

Jeff

Jul 1, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Short distance to des moines. Nice place

10

Christopher

Feb 21, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Was a little hard to find the property but was a nice place to stay at for the weekend.

10

Roland

Oct 7, 2024

·

Stayed 3 nights

Property and everything within the property was and is great, however is in a seedy part of town. The hotel is relatively secluded so no issues but worth knowing.

10

Barbara

Jul 26, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Front desk personal was very nice and friendly for 12:30 at night. Room quiet . A little hard to find but would recommend it.

10

Melissa

Sep 15, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Convenient location. Good price point

8

Jerry

Sep 19, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Close to interstate, food and gas nearby Check in through Expedia was easy, the booking desk attendant was friendly and very helpful Pool was a little chilly and no hot tub if that is your interest. We stayed overnight on trip to KC. Would stay again if the need arose

10

Roland

Oct 28, 2024

·

Stayed 3 nights

This is the second time I've stayed at this property, with a few more visits scheduled over the next couple months. The area itself is not great as it's a seedy part of Urbandale, however the hotel itself is tucked away off the main street and is fairly clean and welcoming. The staff has always been top-notch and the rooms (cleanliness and amenities) is adequate if you just need a safe, clean place to lay your head. Definitely would recommend this location.

10

Joshua

Sep 2, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Favorite place to stay in Des Moines, great location and cleanliness

8

Tayler

Aug 12, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

The hotel conditions were satisfactory. The area the hotel is in is a little limited in food & entertainment options and you can easily miss your entrance to the hotel with how the streets are structured surrounding it.

8

Jacob

Dec 17, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Very little lighting in the rear parking lot

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Dining

The attached Bennigan's is handy and generally liked. Breakfast is often not included and paid options get mixed reviews, from mediocre buffet value to good weekday service.

Related guest reviews

8

Mary

Apr 6, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Check in went well. We reserved 2 rooms. One of the rooms, a mouse was spotted. Was moved to another room & a small discount was given. We were given coupons for breakfast, but heard several quest upset that a breakfast wasn’t included.

10

Casey

Dec 9, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

Likes: clean, convenient, comfortable, and friendly staff. Dislikes: had to pay for breakfast.

10

John

Oct 1, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

Meals are through an adjacent restaurant. Unsupervised children running through upper floor hallways which for elderly customers is an accident waiting to happen.

10

Justina

Mar 28, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

It was an excellent stay and restaurant attached was great

10

Charles

Jan 16, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

We arrived during a bad snow storm and learned that the hotel had a Bennigan's restaurant attached. We had dinner there and observed the restaurant manager going above and beyond to make sure all of the guests were allright and had everything they needed. He checked in with everyone repeatedly. We also observed hotel staff help a woman clear snow from her car and start it so that she would not have to be in the cold. What excellent customer service!!!

8

Robin

Jul 29, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Room was spacious, bed was very comfortable. Food option was Bennigans only no continental breakfast offered.

6

Larryn

Apr 6, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

The property appears as though it has had some updates. Room was clean, updated bathroom but overall super small for a 2 queen room. We used the pool a couple times and it was a good size and clean. Unfortunately, no hot tub. The staff was friendly and the space overall was good! We were a bit disappointed in the breakfast setup. It was $16 per person for a buffet style breakfast. While the wait staff was great and dining area was clean, the food was mediocre. As a family traveling with kids, we would much prefer a continental breakfast. Overall it the stay was just fine!

6

Terence

Aug 25, 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

Review said breakfast was provided as it is in the other holiday inn express that I have stayed at but it was not. Had I known this I would have booked a different hotel. Staff was not welcoming.

10

James

Apr 23, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Great stop for one night on the road back home. Attached restaurant (Bennigan’s) was very convenient, good food & good service

8

Jack

Apr 10, 2023

·

Overall a great stay! Comfortable room, clean, and nice, helpful staff. The breakfast buffet was tolerable, but the weekday, sit-down breakfast was excellent. Nice place, although my wife and I did lose our virginity in room 331, and haven’t been able to find it since. Oh well.

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Month	Average price
January	$81
February	$82
March	$90
April	$107
May	$111
June	$119
July	$108
August	$140
September	$96
October	$105
November	$93
December	$81

Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8 $99	9 $95	10 $95	11 $109	12 $102
13 $90	14 $90	15 $90	16 $90	17 $90	18 $122	19 $114
20 $90	21 $90	22 $90	23 $90	24 $90	25 $130	26 $134
27 $90	28 $97	29 $93	30 $93

Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
				1 $102	2 $134	3 $120
4 $97	5 $97	6 $93	7 $94	8 $94	9 $110	10 $110
11 $94	12 $91	13 $85	14 $85	15 $94	16 $110	17 $104
18 $94	19 $94	20 $91	21 $91	22 $86	23 $111	24 $111
25 $94	26 $91	27 $91	28 $91	29 $91	30 $106	31 $100

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Monthly average prices

About this property

Location

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What guests think

Property Policies

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