102 Reviews
Iowa House
Ames|1.8km from Emma McCarthy Lee Park
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.
