Hotel Millwright In Amana — Hotel in Fairfax

We had heard good things about Hotel Millwright in general. Going down the rating I will address the rooms. I opted for a spacious king room at $250 a night after tax. It was spacious and clean. That's where it ends. The rooms have no sound proofing. They will tell you it's an old building etc. They could have sound proofed the walls as the rooms are modern. It's just an excuse they came up with. Our room was by the elevator which hummed very loudly and woke us up every time it was used. There were wooden stairs outside a bathroom wall and when someone used them you heard loud creaking. The hallway was a long corridor with nothing to absorb sounds. Doors slamming loud conversations went right through the door. The hallway wood floors made popping noises under your door as people walked by. Door had big gaps around it. I did mention no sound proofing. We heard the man next door snore then start choking ALL night long. No exaggeration. Then at 3am we were awakened by him throwing up in the bathroom. Our room also had drain pipes poking out the ceiling in 4 different spots. When someone used either toilet or sink, not sure which, you could hear whatever running through them. If you are someone who likes to sleep in, forget about it. Maid service starts at 8:30am. And I did mention no sound proofing. Also, recommend going to Casey's on arrival to get snacks and drinks. Everything food wise closes at 9:00pm. We didn't and thought we would pop in to the hotel restaurant after having drinks. Nope, they decided to close early with no other options but to walk to Casey's. As we had been drinking that wasn't an option. The only option was to eat from the limited Lobby snack bar with inflated prices. So if you like microwave mac-n-cheese and ravioli you'll love it. And btw no pool, workout room, free breakfast. Not even free coffee in the lobby. Nothing! You pay for every limited thing offered. I would recommend spending your day in Amana, but stay in Iowa City or Coralville. At least you have a variety of places to eat that don't close early. As far as location, I cannot knock it. Close to the Brewery which has weekend concerts. But, the Brewery and the outdoor lounge is open until 11:00pm. So if you are there to party all night until closing and then some, it's for you. If you are just passing through or aren't into the party scene, you might think twice. Even after closing hooping and hollering went on until 2:00am. Door slamming, loud voices, neighbor noises and elevator use went on until 4:00am. So think twice about parting...

While being modern and having high ceilings the rooms didn’t have overhead lights which made the room dark when trying to work. The town itself is old and missing many amenities. The beds were hard but that’s typical for a hotel. The blankets were scratchy and uncomfortable, a horrible wool that we immediately threw to the ground during our stay and never used despite it being “from the community.” I don’t need lambs wool I would prefer cotton or viscose. The parking was terrible, we pulled up to the front doors to unload and then realized the parking lot was about a 5 minute walk away and down the road so we had to leave our luggage sitting at the front door while we parked the vehicles. The real issue was with dinner. After being told I would win a prize for ordering the makers mark flight by my waiter she came back to inform me she was incorrect. When I asked for my prized that had been promised to me she looked stunned stupid and just stared her dead eyes at me. I tried to order a neat Jim Bean and was told they do not carry that and our waiter had never heard of it in her life. When I assured her that they carry it and asked her to ask the bartender she said I was wrong. After 20 minutes of waiting our waiter came in with my drink exclaiming that the bar tender said it was their most popular bourbon and it gets ordered everyday. Then we ordered 50$ over cooked ribeyes. I ordered mine medium rare and it came out a solid medium, not happy but I can forgive it. The mixed spring vegetables were just steamed broccoli without seasoning. The salad never came. And the steak was tough and I get better meat in hy vee. When we finished eating and the waiter took our plates she exclaimed that she realized she forgot our salads and asked if we wanted them with our desserts. After informing her that that was the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard from a waiter we left the restaurant and went 12 feet down the very loud and echoey hall to our room which was immediately outside of the restaurant. You can hear every conversation in the hallways because the sound just bounces off the walls and makes its way into your room. Do not say anything embarrassing because everyone will hear you. Needless to say the Amana’s are old and crotchety and not worth going to visit, the restaurants still seem to be cooking last centuries recipes and doesn’t realized we have found spices. Don’t go to the hotel millwright, it’s not...

This is a very cool hotel to look at and explore, even the themed rooms are neat. Beyond that? Well, not so much. We were booked in here for 3 nights, in room 203, from June 6th, until checking out on the 9th, 2024. Thursday, our first night, was perfect. Beginning Friday, at about 4pm, it was horrible. It turns out that a bunch of old biddies were having a big sorority reunion, and I'm guessing that from looking at them, these hags probably graduated somewhere during the Eisenhower administration time. They were rude, they were noisy, they showed no respect for other guests. These broads were totally clueless. Slamming doors and yelling in the hallway all day long, late at night, early in the morning, and all times in between. Some of these fossils decided to gather in the room next to us on our final night......at 10:45 in the evening! Talking with other hotel guests AND employees, it wasn't just us having a problem with these ancient relics, either. I guess they had everyone ticked off. They were spread throughout the place (like a virus), and down the hall from us to the elevator. I was told by one employee that the ringleader of these museum pieces, has been extremely difficult, the whole time, to deal with since she called in January trying to set up this event. When they invaded on the 7th, I was told that she was even worse in person and extremely demanding. Aside from that part of the adventure; the walls are too thin, the hallways need excessive sound dampening, and the doors need mechanisms to slow them down when they close. This place is too noisy! Talking with an employee here I'm told that the hotel is co-owned between a company that manages it and the Amana Society. So, she continued, unfortunately the Amana Society is too cheap to go along with some of the suggested and requested updates and improvements to mitigate the noise. Surprise, surprise! The staff were very nice and as helpful as they could be. Would I ever come back? No. As so many others have said, this place is just too noisy. Since the Amana Society is so parsimonious, don't hold your breath on improvements anywhere in the near future. Simply find a quieter place to stay and just visit this...