The Current Iowa, Autograph Collection — Hotel in Davenport

I was looking for a fancy hotel to take my daughter to for a mom & daughter mini spa getaway &, in my mind, this was the perfect place.

The only free parking is in the public parking garages which were too far away for me to carry heavy luggage with a child in tow. Oddly enough, the only parking close to the hotel was the paid valet lot (currently not valeted, yet still being charged for) that sat directly across the street, literally 20 steps, from the lot to the hotel entrance. You have to have this in order to be a called a 4 star hotel, but the proximity makes it feel like it’s just for the sake of checking off a box & not actually being provided to take great care of their customers.

The inside aesthetic really is top notch, luxurious & playful, & unlike any other hotel in the Quad Cities. It’s the number 1 reason I booked & I suspect the reason most people book.

I really enjoyed the fact that you can’t use the elevator without a key card & that you only have access to your floor. It felt secure. That is until my food delivery driver told me there was no one at the front desk so they just used the unsecured stairs to walk to my room - lol. So in my mind, it just became another showy & not substantial amenity.

Speaking of food. I planned on ordering from the hotel, or their sister hotel Blackhawk, for dinner but ended up ordering food from outside the hotels instead - which I was bummed about - room service is fun. I had scoped out the menus beforehand but when I went to place an order, none of the food I saw online was available to be delivered (or ordered at all). I know, pandemic. So pass there. They told me I could still get food from the rooftop bar but it was mostly apps to pair with drinks &, in all honesty, there was no way I was going to take my 5 year old to a rooftop bar for a late dinner.

I booked a deluxe queen room. I saw photos online of the rooms with bathtubs so I thought there would be one in our room - but there wasn’t. I went back through the photos and descriptions of the rooms on their website & realized there was nothing said about tubs - for any of the rooms. So that was confusing. But my bad, I should have confirmed.

The room aesthetic was delightful, art hilarious, finishings & amenities top notch. But what I wasn’t expecting was how poorly I was going to sleep in the room. The beds were uncomfortable, the thermostat couldn’t be set any lower than 66, & we heard the train all night long. I normally sleep better in hotel rooms than I do at home so this really threw me for a loop. The mattress & pillows were so lumpy that I actually woke up hurting (I’m only 35 - this should not be - lol).

The pool area was great with couches and a huge hot tub that looked like a small swimming pool. I guess saltwater jets create REAL bubbles so that was a fun surprise. However, I did specifically book a hotel with a pool for my kiddo & the pool was, oddly, not built for kids (the same depth & too deep all around) or for swimmers (too short & shallow of a pool to do laps in).

The restaurant staff did go above & beyond for breakfast. I was again disappointed in the small menu offerings but they lit a fire outside just so my daughter would be comfortable and they were incredibly attentive & kind to her - the only time at the hotel I felt like having a kid with me wasn’t obnoxious to everyone else around me.

I may sound really picky but here’s the thing - this is a 4-star hotel that I paid $350 to stay in for 1 night. I just expected more. But maybe their ideal clientele is just patrons of their very popular rooftop bar. All of my complaints seem like they wouldn’t be a deterrent to that crowd.

So if you’re looking for a hotel with a great vibe, IG worthy photo ops, and a place to crash after a long night, this is your place. If you’re looking to actually spend time on the hotel grounds, take advantage of the pool, relax & sleep well in your room, I’d...

For starters, I tried to leave a review on Marriott’s site first and they’ve “selected” them from those that have taken surveys, so take that for whatever it’s worth. For background, I travel for a living and I’ve spent 47 nights at Marriott properties so far this year. Twice that amount in 2020 through the pandemic. My last time at the Current was almost a year ago and I’ve been staying a sister property nearby once per month ever since. So, at this point I’m familiar with the options in the area.

I’ll start with the good. As others have said repeatedly, it’s in a good location, the view from the rooftop bar is great the hotel itself is stylish and clean. Although they are clearly short-staffed (like almost every hotel I’ve been to for the past 6 months), everyone I’ve interacted with has been nice and accommodating as best as they could given the circumstances. Also, my room is sizable, clean and well-appointed.

Here’s why I give it 2 stars. First of all, the rating is relative to the expectations the hotel sets through their pricing, their claim to status (AAA Diamond, blah blah blah) and their competition (also well-located only a few blocks away).

Although the rooftop bar has a gorgeous view, it smells and looks more like a club than someplace you’d like to have dinner or breakfast. Fine for a drink, and even that is dependent on what type of crowd happens to be there. The last time I stayed here, there was pretty much a full blown party happening. The employees were clearly overwhelmed (one ran past my on my way off the elevator dropping f bombs about a large group that left without tipping), which can happen anywhere but that’s not typically the scene at a hotels in this category. Fair enough, but at the time it’s currently the only restaurant option at the hotel. And that sucks. Acknowledging the short-staffing situation, relative to others in the same category they’re falling way short.

There’s no bottled water anywhere. None in my room and none in the gym. Also, no visible store area to grab one quickly either. Sure, if you ask the front desk they’ll dig a bottle up for you but it’s inconvenient at best. It’s a little thing and probably nitpicking but it’s a pet peeve of mine. A hotel in this category is about the little things (even in the bizarre semi post-pandemic travel circumstances of the moment), and this is a little thing that’s EASY to get right.

Parking is inconvenient. They charge for it and the lot is across the street. You’ve got to cross in the middle of the block and it’s more of an issue than it could be. Again, relative to the competition, a comparable hotel a up the road has a large parking lot adjacent to the hotel. It’s easy and it’s FREE.

It’s loud. The hotel throws off a party vibe with it’s art and cheeky presentation. I think this ages better when well maintained and this place is starting to look a little worn. The party vibe might have something to do with it. Idk. Anyway, this place is loud. There were people in and out of their rooms throughout the night. Talking loudly in the hallway, etc. I’m not a light sleeper and they woke me up twice. The second time was around 3am and I wasn’t able to get back to sleep. I’m traveling for work and if I’m not able to rest well at 3am because it’s loud it’s a dealbreaker. In fairness, I called the front desk and eventually it was resolved. Doesn’t do me much good when I’m wide awake but they handled it. Also, for some reason the street noise from traffic can be loud as well. But that could be the case anyplace I’m the area.

When I stayed here a year ago, I enjoyed it well enough. There were some issues along the lines of what I’ve described above, but we’re living in strange times and that was smack dab in the thick of it, so I thought I’d give them the benefit of the doubt and give it another try. I...

Bottom line - the room and facilities are fantastic, the service was very disappointing.

I stayed at the Current as a nice treat for my wife and I on Valentine's Day. We never do anything on Valentine's Day so this was going to be something special. We booked a couples spa package. When we got to the hotel nobody seemed to know anything about the package. It was supposed to include a couples massage, $100 dining and 4 drink vouchers. We were told at the front desk the 4 drink vouchers were included in the $100 dining voucher but it was clear from the details in the package I booked they were separate. We were told there was champagne waiting in the room for us. When we got to our room, which was very nice, no champagne. I called down but we did not receive the champagne for another 3 hours. We went to get our couples massage and the room was absolutely freezing. My nose was cold and I was shivering the whole time. I've never had a massage before but it was so painful I needed to ask her to be more gentle, not a problem but she didn't ask what I would prefer. When we got out of the massage they asked us how we would like to pay.... This was baffling since once again nobody seemed to have any idea about the package for which I had paid more than double the price of the standard room. We were walked up to the front desk like we were trying to steal the service and had to wait there until finally they told us we could go as they would charge it to our room and figure it out later. They did not figure it out. They charged it to our room but it appeared as a separate charge on my credit card ($170) and in the folio a tip of $25 was charged to the hotel stay as well. If I had been given an opportunity to tip I would have tipped but it felt like a bitter pill to swallow to see the tip on our bill after we had been marched up to the front of the hotel and made to stand around until they figured it out. So not only did I pay $600 for a couples spa package that supposedly included a massage but I also separately paid $195 for a massage and tip.

When you go out to eat at a restaurant on Valentine's Day it is never something to write home about because they are always busy, so understandably service and quality go down a little. When we got to Viva, just off the main lobby, even though we had made a reservation for 730, we saw the person with whom we had made the reservation walk past us with a shrug and raised eyebrows. We sat in the lounge area near the bar for another 10 minutes until someone finally acknowledged us. I get it, it's a very busy day to eat out. I was a little surprised that Viva had about 3-5 tables empty the entire time we were there. Viva had a very simple menu for the night but we still waited about an hour for the main course after eating our salads. I get that it's busier than normal but with so many table open and very low turnover at the tables around us I did expect a little more out of our dining experience. To be fair the breakfast the next morning was adequate and prompt.

I had been told by others who have stayed here that the service they received left something to be desired. Against their advice I booked. The rooms were fantastic and well appointed. If you are only looking for a room this may be a great place to stay. If you are looking for an experience I would look elsewhere.

Update- The overcharge was refunded. I hope they can figure out the packages because it was a great...