Hyatt Place Iowa City Downtown — Hotel in Iowa City

Alright, so I really liked it. I would love to give it five stars BUT I had two major issues and those were with the room.

The first is that the air conditioner/heating unit is LOUD. It actually woke me up a few times and I am not even a light sleeper. It would be a good idea to get a quieter one or modify it somehow because it was hard to sleep. The second big issue is that the bed and the pillows were very soft. If you like a soft bed then maybe this would be great, but I have some back issues and can’t sleep if the bed is too soft as it can actually hurt my back. I prefer a firmer bed and pillow.

Those were the only big issues with the rooms. The view from the room is great as you can see out over Iowa City. Although there was some dude in the room on the opposite side of the courtyard who walked naked out in front of his window and did not bother to close the blinds and I didn’t want to see that. So be warned that you need to close the blinds on the window.

As far as cleanliness goes, the room was very clean and the bathroom was very clean and was also spacious enough and had a working fan which was nice. The shower was also big, and it had soap and shampoo and conditioner in a dispenser in the shower. It did have a little water pressure issue as the faucet leaked at the same time as the shower ran, but that might have just been my unit and I could still shower with no difficulties and plenty of hot water. So good job on the shower.

The room also had a comfy couch, plenty of closet space, and had a little refrigerator and a little coffee maker with coffee and tea. The TV could be seen from the bed, although the channel selection could have been better.

As far as the service goes, the staff were mostly pretty friendly. Especially the next morning. There was a guy with long hair working the front counter who was a bit unhelpful and made me come in as well as my wife to complete check in (she went in with my id). It would have been nice if he could have helped us as it was really cold out. However he explained it was for security. The staff did help us by giving us toothbrushes and toothpaste which was nice.

Parking is not free, and is 12 dollars a day. However you could get to the garage with an elevator and it is heated and safe.

The breakfast was delicious. Not the best hotel breakfast I have ever had, but was pretty good. It wasn’t just a basic continental breakfast. They had scrambled eggs, and also had “Canadian Turkey Bacon” which was nice. They kept the coffee on all morning and it was piping hot and decent quality. The view from the breakfast room was also great, and the tables were clean.

Overall a great place, but you should really work on the heater/AC as well as on the bed situation, maybe in a two bed place have one soft and one firm bed?

TLDR Decent hotel. Great breakfast....

This was the first time to stay at this property in Iowa City. Also my first time to stay with Hyatt Properties. They have a good rewards program too. I stayed on the 7th floor. The room had a good view of the city. There was plenty of room for myself. The sofa was comfortable and the king size bed was just as comfortable. I would recommend this room because of the available space. You also have a sofa sleeper in the room. I stayed here for five nights. Everything was in walking distance for me. The Studio 13, a great place to visit and relax, was about a 7 minute walk from the hotel. I asked at the front desk, Mason who was working, what he recommended for dinner that served pizza. He recommended several places and Sam's Pizza was one of his recommendations. I visited Sam's Pizza which was just several blocks, 4 minute walk, from the hotel. The food was delicious. The small pizza was the right amount for one person. There is underground parking for hotel guests that is share with the adjacent apartments. Hotel guests park in designated areas on levels P-1 and be P-2. There is enough space to temporarily park in front of the hotel to check-in and the staff will give you directions were to park. You need your room key to get into the parking area along with access to the floors of the guest rooms. I did have any breakfast there but from what I saw it was your typical variety especially during covid-19 protocols. There was bar in the lobby which has several local beers available in the bottle of of tap. I would definitely try the local variety versus the national brands. There is a fitness center and pool on the property. Because of covid-19 the water fountains are turned off but if you need to fill up your own water bottle the fitness center has water available that appears to be filtered. Check-out was easy. The entire hotel staff was friendly and courteous. I would definitely stay here again for business and for pleasure. The rates are reasonable. Definitely join the rewards program for Hyatt. I did join, and after staying just the five nights, I already have earned enough points for one free night at several Hyatt Properties in Dallas, TX. Thank you Mason and the rest of the staff for such a wonderful week...

There were several disturbing things about our stay at this location. I booked my reservation through Priceline and paid for the room in full. I knew there would be parking to pay upon arrival. When we arrived at the hotel.they charged us $25 per night for a total of $75 as a "deposit* for the room. We had already guaranteed the room with a credit card. We objected to the $75 deposit and were told that all hotels charge this "deposit". They stated that the deposit would be refunded in about 5 days after.checking out of the hotel. In all my.62 years of travel I have never paid a "deposit" per night fee. I have paid a resort fee for upscale resort facilities, but I assure you that this hotel does not have any extra amenities that would justify a resort fee. The hostess checking us in tried to argue with us like we didn't know what we were talking about. She stated that she pays a room deposit like this everytime she stays in a hotel. My husband and I have traveled extensively over the years and have NEVER encountered a "room deposit" like this one. My guess is that Hyatt Corp has found another way to gain access to additional money to invest short term for their gain before giving us a refund. Also, we did not receive an itemized bill under our door at checkout, so I called the fromt desk. They said that they don't do that but would give us a receipt if we came down and physically checked out or they could email.us a receipt. I decided to go downstairs to get my receipt , but their computers were down so I gave them.my email address to email us the receipt.its been quite a while and I am still waiting for my receipt. I could go on, but I will stop here. Needless to say, I will not be staying at any Hyatt hotel...