Des Moines · Hotel shortlist
The best hotels in the old town, Des Moines
Daniel Kovac Central Europe
These are my five favourites in Des Moines, out of the 63 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, all five scoring 4.9.
The Oakwood Inn Okoboji is the one I would book myself.
Highest rated of the five
The Oakwood Inn Okoboji
★★★★★4.9 from 429 reviews
The Oakwood Inn Okoboji comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.9 from 429 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.
It is a 4 star property, found under old town and around $149 a night on the dates we checked.
63 hotels in Des Moines qualified for this list and five made it. Lake view condo! Updated unit with 8 beds and 6 waterpark passes at Bridges Bay. is the one I would book if the first is full.
Why it works for this trip
- Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip
- Parkinga real consideration if you are driving in
- Step free accesslevel entry and a lift
- Dogs allowedno kennel to arrange before you fly
All five, ranked
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1
The Oakwood Inn Okoboji
★★★★★4.9 from 429 reviews
- Parking
- Pet friendly
- Air conditioning
- Accessible
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2Lake view condo! Updated unit with 8 beds and 6 waterpark passes at Bridges Bay.
★★★★★5 from 392 reviews
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3Bridges Bay spacious, well-stocked kid-friendly home. 6 Pool Passes. Sleeps Ten
★★★★★5 from 314 reviews
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4Bridges Bay Ranch style, single story home with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms
★★★★★5 from 206 reviews
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5Beautiful 1500+ sq ft cabin with outdoor pool just steps off the patio
★★★★★5 from 198 reviews
How this list was put together
63 Des Moines hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.
Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.
The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.
What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.
Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.
Daniel Kovac Central Europe
Takes the same two weeks every August and drives somewhere far with his wife and daughter. Twelve countries, all by road, all in one battered estate car. Plans routes on paper maps.
Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.