Sheraton West des Moines Hotel

The staff is friendly, helpful, and attentive, providing excellent shuttle service. Guests appreciate the comfortable, well-equipped rooms with clean bedding for a good night's sleep.

After a long day on the road my friend and I were contemplating our options. I had enough points for a reward stay at a Marriott property and we were really just planning to get a bite to eat and a quick night's rest before finishing the drive to Chicago in the morning. Sheraton's are usually nice, right? Oh boy... The hotel is basically in an office park. There's nothing wrong with that. However, it seemed a little ridiculous to pay $10 to park in a largely abandoned parking lot in the suburbs. Parking should be included in the stay at a property like this. Fine. Check in went smoothly but wasn't particularly friendly. Status wasn't noted and we weren't told anything about property and amenities. Whatever, let's just get to the room. We were on the 9th floor (second to the top) and it's clear that they're struggling mightily with a leaking roof. The ceilings and walls in the hallways were a disaster. Thankfully, the room wasn't bad--but the room had issues. The TV, toilet, and telephone didn't work. OK. Fine. Going to ask for a new room. Went back to the front desk and got a new room, also on the 9th floor. Fine. The hallways were bad but the rooms didn't seem to have much, if any, damage. I was given a $10 dining credit for my trouble. That was much appreciated. The new room was much better. The telephone didn't work in this room either, but the TV and the toilet worked just fine. After getting settled in, we headed down to the lounge to get some food and a drink. The ceiling is leaking on to the bar! This hotel is really struggling and not winning the fight against the water. My drink was fine and the food was OK. It is extremely clear that the property owners are trying to extract every last penny out of a tired property that is ready for retirement. This property does not meet the expectations of a Sheraton (or frankly even a Fairfield or Courtyard). I think we'd have fared better at a Fairfield Inn. At least in that case we'd have been provided a complementary breakfast.

The room was comfortable and quiet. There is only one pair of elevators and we stayed at the hotel during a baseball tournament.