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Des Moines · Hotel shortlist

The best hotels near Wells Fargo

Ellie Brandt

Ellie Brandt Southeast Asia

Updated 1 September 2026 · 18 Des Moines hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Des Moines, out of the 18 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.6 down to 4.3.

All five are inside 700 m of Wells Fargo, so you can walk it.

Des Lux Hotel

Highest rated of the five

Des Lux Hotel

★★★★★4.6 from 851 reviews

Des Lux Hotel comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.6 from 851 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 poi and around $170 a night on the dates we checked.

18 hotels in Des Moines qualified for this list and five made it. Hotel Fort Des Moines, Curio Collection by Hilton is the one I would book if the first is full.

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All five, ranked

  1. Des Lux Hotel1

    Des Lux Hotel

    ★★★★★4.6 from 851 reviews

    under 200 m from Wells Fargo, about a 1 minute walk

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    • Hotel Fort Des Moines, Curio Collection by Hilton2

      Hotel Fort Des Moines, Curio Collection by Hilton

      ★★★★★4.6 from 811 reviews

      200 m from Wells Fargo, about a 2 minute walk

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      • Kasa Downtown Des Moines3

        Kasa Downtown Des Moines

        ★★★★★4.8 from 185 reviews

        500 m from Wells Fargo, about a 6 minute walk

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        • Surety Hotel, Autograph Collection4

          Surety Hotel, Autograph Collection

          ★★★★★4.5 from 486 reviews

          300 m from Wells Fargo, about a 4 minute walk

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          • Hilton Des Moines Downtown5

            Hilton Des Moines Downtown

            ★★★★★4.3 from 1,434 reviews

            700 m from Wells Fargo, about a 9 minute walk

            • Pool
            • Gym
            • Restaurant
            • Bar
            • Parking
            • Kid friendly

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          How this list was put together

          18 Des Moines hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating first and on how close they are to Wells Fargo second, then 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.

          Ellie Brandt

          Ellie Brandt Southeast Asia

          Works weekends at an animal shelter and saves the pay for off-season flights. Hostels, night buses, and volunteering at animal sanctuaries for a bunk. Six countries in three years.

          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.