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Waterloo · Hotel shortlist

The best hotels near Waterloo Regional Airport

Britt Sorensen

Britt Sorensen India and the Himalaya

Updated 1 September 2026 · 18 Waterloo hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Waterloo, out of the 18 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.5 down to 4.2.

All five are within 9.7 km of Waterloo Regional Airport.

The Black Hawk Hotel

Highest rated of the five

The Black Hawk Hotel

★★★★★4.5 from 322 reviews

The Black Hawk Hotel comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.5 from 322 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 poi and around $121 a night on the dates we checked.

18 hotels in Waterloo qualified for this list and five made it. Hampton Inn Cedar Falls Downtown 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
  • Kitchenettebreakfast on your own schedule
  • Parkinga real consideration if you are driving in
  • Step free accesslevel entry and a lift
  • Dogs allowedno kennel to arrange before you fly

Check rates Read more

All five, ranked

  1. The Black Hawk Hotel1

    The Black Hawk Hotel

    ★★★★★4.5 from 322 reviews

    4.3 km from Waterloo Regional Airport

    • Parking
    • Kitchen
    • Pet friendly
    • Air conditioning
    • Accessible

    Check rates Read more

  2. Hampton Inn Cedar Falls Downtown2

    Hampton Inn Cedar Falls Downtown

    ★★★★★4.3 from 517 reviews

    4.3 km from Waterloo Regional Airport

    • Pool
    • Gym
    • Parking
    • Pet friendly
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning

    Check rates Read more

  3. Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Cedar Falls near University3

    Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Cedar Falls near University

    ★★★★★4.2 from 576 reviews

    5.9 km from Waterloo Regional Airport

    • Pool
    • Spa
    • Gym
    • Parking
    • Kitchen
    • Kid friendly

    Check rates Read more

  4. The Historic Weis Mansion B&B4

    The Historic Weis Mansion B&B

    ★★★★★5 from 70 reviews

    7.8 km from Waterloo Regional Airport

    • Parking
    • Kitchen
    • Air conditioning

    Check rates Read more

  5. Comfort Suites Cedar Falls Industrial Park5

    Comfort Suites Cedar Falls Industrial Park

    ★★★★★4.3 from 525 reviews

    9.7 km from Waterloo Regional Airport

    • Pool
    • Spa
    • Gym
    • Parking
    • Pet friendly
    • Kid friendly

    Check rates Read more

How this list was put together

18 Waterloo hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating first and on how close they are to Waterloo Regional Airport 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.

Britt Sorensen

Britt Sorensen India and the Himalaya

Her work season is winter, leaving whole summers free for mountains in the other hemisphere or trekking at altitude in Nepal and Peru. Carries the lightest pack of anyone she travels with.

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.