It was a place to sleep, and it was nice to be able to walk to the river right behind the hotel, but the service and the quality of the hotel itself left a lot to be desired. Biggest complaint: darkness. The hallways and the ice/snack machine room were very dark. Many rooms were obviously unlocked (anybody could slip in and hide) and several times at night there was nobody at the desk even though the front door was open. Dangerous, even if we are in Iowa. Booked for two people, received shampoo, soap and towels for one. The "continental breakfast" was horrid. The cheapest bread available, a poor selection of bruised fruit, and two generic cereals. The snack machine was nearly empty and the candy bar I bought had to be over a year old--it was inedible! Telephone only worked intermittently. Was refused the points for staying there because I booked through Hotels.com. Needed salt for some food I cooked in the microwave and there was none in the hotel. Not enough electrical outlets for cell phone and computer. When I complained, I was told the manager would call me. The next day, the manager "was not in" and I never received a call. I want a refund!!! Will never stay there again--mostly due to the poor response to my complaint. Penny-wise and pound foolish. No wonder the parking lot was empty.

Terrible experience, and we will definitely not stay there again! We booked a room at this hotel through Hotels.com, a non-smoking room. When we arrived, we were put in a smoking room. The rooms around us were both non-smoking, as well as the room above us. We know this because our friend was in that room. You couldn't smell the smoke in the hallway, but when you walked into the room, it was like someone was chain-smoking in there. I called the desk, and Jessica said that we booked a smoking room, and that because we prepaid for the room, she could not move us. She said the only non smoking room left was a jacuzzi suite, to which I asked to be moved to and would pay the difference, and she said she couldn't do that. She said that even if she could, we would still have paid for the smokey room, plus she would have to charge us full price for a new room, and we wouldn't get our money back. The surrounding hotels were sold out so we were forced to stay there. We opened the windows and turned on the fan to air out the room, and went to dinner. Jessica did bring down some air freshener to try to cover up the smell. When we returned from dinner, the smokiness was worse than when we left. We were not next to an exit, and again, the surrounding rooms were all non smoking. My husband was running a marathon the next morning and had to breathe this crap all night. We didn't sleep well at all. The free wifi was not available in the guest rooms, we had to go sit in the lobby to use our computer. The room was in desperate need of renovations, as there were stains on the ceiling and walls, and the whole room wreaked of smoked...the mattress, pillows, towels, etc.

I happen to work for a company that owns nearly 30 different hotels, and Days Inn is one that they own in MN. I inquired about what the policy is if someone gets put in a smoking room when they reserve non smoking, and was told that all they have to do is change the room number. They said it's common for hotels.com to book the smoking room even though the customer actually thought they were reserving non smoking. It was a simple thing that could have been done, and instead of making the customer happy, Jessica chose to blow smoke and as a result we had to suffer. Terrible customer service, and I am all too happy to share my experience with all.

Value received for the price was great. Was just looking for a place to sleep. Did not use any services except the ice and vending machine.