Homestays in Iowa, United States

We travel a lot and stay at many places. We wanted a sample of a bed and breakfast and a more traditional stay while going to our Godchild's wedding. It is an older Victorian house with about 15 rooms, which does give breakfast. Here are a few items that need to be attended to to bring this facility up to par. The wallpaper in our room and the hallways were starting to peel away and instead of gluing, they put matching tape to hold it together, there were stains on the rugs in our room and holes in the carpet in the halls. On each floor, the fixtures, old as they be, did'nt have matching bulbs, or many bulbs were missing. So the lighting was off. The shower caulk in our bathtub was moldy. The left handle on the sink was loose and came off. The ceiling above our bed was patched and not repainted so there were two different colors. The chairs were antique, for the ambiance, but they could not be sat on. The owner needs to put more money into restoring this location. Also, communication with the bed and breakfast was different. Every time I would call, the owner would just text me. I had to get all the info, and codes to get into the place by text. It would have been nice to get this info ahead of time and maybe have a copy in the room as well as how to use the TV, because it was apple tv. Also, there is no AC in this old house, which we understood, but there were portable AC units in halls and rooms, we were hoping that the electric panels could take all of these plug ins, along with microwave and refrigerators in the rooms. No one is ever at the front desk, you can only text him to talk. Not personable, I understand because of covid, but we felt that we were let alone in the house with no one at the desk. He just told us that we can text if we need anything. I had to text and ask for my receipt after I got home. I probably would not stay here again. Needs work and better communication.

I stayed here on October 27, 2019 with my son when we went to Ames for a tour of Iowa State. Location was close to campus and they advertised wonderful homemade breakfast. I even spoke to the manager ahead of time to make sure they could meet my son's dietary restrictions. When we went down for breakfast in the morning, no one from the hotel was there. The other guests and I waited for a while, tried calling the hotel number, but there was no answer. (We actually heard it ringing at the front reception area, but there was no staff in the building). While we were on the university tour, I received a voicemail message (which I still have) from Noah, the manager who apologized and stated that they were offering each of us 50% off on our next two stays. He stated that he would keep a list of our names and I should call, rather than book online, and he would be sure to give the discount. Well, my son decided not to enroll at Iowa State, so we had no reason to return to Ames. I thought about calling to request some money back, instead of the discount that I was not likely to ever use, but I thought that would be a hardship for a small business, and I didn't want to be ”that person,” so I let it go. I guess it doesn't pay to be nice. Well, now that my daughter is considering Iowa State, I called to reserve a room with my discount. They refuse to honor it or to offer any sort of discount at all. First, she said it was because Noah is not there anymore and they cannot find the list (but she was able to verify my prior stay). I offered to play the voice mail message that I still have. Then, the reason she gave is that she never would have resolved it that way. This leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. Too bad for them - we are going down on a Sunday night and the place will likely be mostly empty. If my daughter does end up going to Iowa State, we'll certainly never stay here.

We travel a lot and stay at many places. We wanted a sample of a bed and breakfast and a more traditional stay while going to our Godchild's wedding. It is an older Victorian house with about 15 rooms, which does give breakfast. Here are a few items that need to be attended to to bring this facility up to par. The wallpaper in our room and the hallways were starting to peel away and instead of gluing, they put matching tape to hold it together, there were stains on the rugs in our room and holes in the carpet in the halls. On each floor, the fixtures, old as they be, did'nt have matching bulbs, or many bulbs were missing. So the lighting was off. The shower caulk in our bathtub was moldy. The left handle on the sink was loose and came off. The ceiling above our bed was patched and not repainted so there were two different colors. The chairs were antique, for the ambiance, but they could not be sat on. The owner needs to put more money into restoring this location. Also, communication with the bed and breakfast was different. Every time I would call, the owner would just text me. I had to get all the info, and codes to get into the place by text. It would have been nice to get this info ahead of time and maybe have a copy in the room as well as how to use the TV, because it was apple tv. Also, there is no AC in this old house, which we understood, but there were portable AC units in halls and rooms, we were hoping that the electric panels could take all of these plug ins, along with microwave and refrigerators in the rooms. No one is ever at the front desk, you can only text him to talk. Not personable, I understand because of covid, but we felt that we were let alone in the house with no one at the desk. He just told us that we can text if we need anything. I had to text and ask for my receipt after I got home. I probably would not stay here again. Needs work and better communication.

We travel a lot and stay at many places. We wanted a sample of a bed and breakfast and a more traditional stay while going to our Godchild's wedding. It is an older Victorian house with about 15 rooms, which does give breakfast. Here are a few items that need to be attended to to bring this facility up to par. The wallpaper in our room and the hallways were starting to peel away and instead of gluing, they put matching tape to hold it together, there were stains on the rugs in our room and holes in the carpet in the halls. On each floor, the fixtures, old as they be, did'nt have matching bulbs, or many bulbs were missing. So the lighting was off. The shower caulk in our bathtub was moldy. The left handle on the sink was loose and came off. The ceiling above our bed was patched and not repainted so there were two different colors. The chairs were antique, for the ambiance, but they could not be sat on. The owner needs to put more money into restoring this location. Also, communication with the bed and breakfast was different. Every time I would call, the owner would just text me. I had to get all the info, and codes to get into the place by text. It would have been nice to get this info ahead of time and maybe have a copy in the room as well as how to use the TV, because it was apple tv. Also, there is no AC in this old house, which we understood, but there were portable AC units in halls and rooms, we were hoping that the electric panels could take all of these plug ins, along with microwave and refrigerators in the rooms. No one is ever at the front desk, you can only text him to talk. Not personable, I understand because of covid, but we felt that we were let alone in the house with no one at the desk. He just told us that we can text if we need anything. I had to text and ask for my receipt after I got home. I probably would not stay here again. Needs work and better communication.