Iowa City · Hotel shortlist
Cheap hotels in the city centre, Iowa City
Amara Nwosu Africa
These are my five favourites in Iowa City, out of the 7 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4 down to 3.5.
Every one comes in under $130 a night, and the one I would book first is $64.
Highest rated of the five
SureStay Plus by Best Western Coralville Iowa City
★★★★★4 from 366 reviews
SureStay Plus by Best Western Coralville Iowa City comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4 from 366 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 3 star property, found under city centre and around $64 a night on the dates we checked.
7 hotels in Iowa City qualified for this list and five made it. Quality Inn Coralville - Iowa River Landing is the one I would book if the first is full.
Why it works for this trip
- Poolsomewhere to cool off between walks
- Spatreatment rooms on site, no booking a taxi for it
- Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip
- Family roomscots and larger rooms rather than a squeeze
- Kitchenettebreakfast on your own schedule
All five, ranked
-
1
SureStay Plus by Best Western Coralville Iowa City
★★★★★4 from 366 reviews
- Pool
- Spa
- Gym
- Parking
- Kitchen
- Pet friendly
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2Quality Inn Coralville - Iowa River Landing
★★★★★3.7 from 542 reviews
- Pool
- Parking
- Pet friendly
- Air conditioning
- Accessible
-
3Travelodge by Wyndham Iowa City
★★★★★3.9 from 1,066 reviews
- Pool
- Spa
- Restaurant
- Parking
- Pet friendly
- Kid friendly
-
4Days Inn by Wyndham West Branch Iowa City Area
★★★★★3.5 from 451 reviews
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Parking
- Pet friendly
- Kid friendly
- Air conditioning
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5Super 8 by Wyndham Iowa City/Coralville
★★★★★3.5 from 766 reviews
- Restaurant
- Parking
- Pet friendly
- Kid friendly
- Air conditioning
- Accessible
How this list was put together
7 Iowa City 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.
Amara Nwosu Africa
Books holidays a year ahead because court calendars demand it, then travels hard for three weeks. West Africa most years to see family, somewhere new in between.
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.