Red Lion Inn & Suites Des Moines - Hotel in Des Moines - 22845 Pacific Hwy S, USA

The first room we were given was filthy. The bathtub looked like it had not been cleaned for a long time and had hair stuck in the jet intake. It is a non-smoking facility, but the hallway and eventually our room smelled like marijuana. No one working at the hotel seemed to mind. The backdoor to the facility was never locked (even at night when it was supposed to be), so anyone could come in. Their paper sign taped to the backdoor, saying "no visitors after 9pm," went unnoticed as it seemed more like a brothel than a hotel. It is not the hotels fault, but the location is terrible. My husband woke up early and had a feeling he needed to go check on our truck. While he was outside, he noticed that the car next to ours had the drivers window broken out. We were lucky as the guy at the front desk chased off the guys that broke the window before they messed with our truck. He also heard about 10 gunshots really close. With the backdoor not being secure, we felt very unsafe. We had booked 2 nights and only stayed for 1. I would not recommend staying at this hotel.

We did not feel safe and the room was unhygienic. The room we were given had candy wrappers, trash, and hair on the floor, ants circling the bed, rips and stains on the upholstery. Several vehicles parked in the front lot had clearly been broken into and were in very poor shape. The area is comprised of generally unkempt properties and loitering is clearly a problem. We didn’t last 15 minutes and booked a different hotel as soon as we stepped foot in the room. The staff was friendly but no word on a refund at this point. Learn from us and do not waste your time.

Motel staff is friendly. That was the good part. I get the feeling this motel is part of the LEC, which is an organization that houses local homeless families in nearby motels. Unfortunately some of these families are not individuals just needing helping hand but sponge off of Government funding and are heavy into drugs. This was our experience when we stayed here. People hanging out, loitering in the parking lot, leaning up against their broken down campers with their dogs running amok, smoking cigarettes, smoking joints, smoking crack. Keep in mind if you stay here that you are paying over $100 a night, up to $200 in some cases, while these people are getting to live here for free. Our room was pretty icky feeling, there were ants crawling out of the air conditioner and up onto the window. The View out our window was that of a trailer park with junker cars all over, people working on them and blaring loud bumping music until 3:00 in the morning, in addition to the bar playing loud music right next door. The sheets were clean, but did have stains, the bathroom and shower were not cleaned properly, there was quite the Hairball in the shower drain which clogged it, there aren't any additional interior door locks such as a swing arm lock for security. The breakfast would have been okay if the gentleman running the front desk had not lost the keys to access the cabinets where he could restock breakfast items, and to top it off one of the people living here walked into the breakfast room and proceeded to steal dish brushes and things of that nature. I've included a couple of screenshots of the LEC, what they do and how they work, please note that you will absolutely be dealing with this if you come to stay here.

The one staff on duty was overwhelmed, but you could tell he was trying to keep things afloat, and he wasn't rude. Everything else was awful. Blankets had stains. Bathrooms had stains. Ants in the tub. Awful smell in the hallways. AC unit didn't work. Lock between rooms didn't function. People were in and out of the hotel making lots of noise all through the night. Dogs were barking all through the night. If I didn't come in late and if there was any other options I would not have stayed here. Unless you are homeless and on drugs, this is probably not a place you want to stay. I have stayed in other Red Lions before and always had decent experiences, but now I'll put them in the same category as Motel 6 and never plan to even consider another Red Lion again.

This hotel is dumpy. Shaggy looking rooms. Clean sheets and comfy bed. The people staying next to me were smoking meth and cigarettes, they were up all night talking, their dog was barking. Bo, who works at the front desk, was wonderful. He got breakfast ready early because I was leaving earlier than 6 AM. Sounds like smoking meth is a common occurrence at this hotel from the response I got. I originally tried to book a hotel room at the Wyndham, but they were full, so the guy on at the booking company recommended the Red Lion, he said it’s very safe and close to SeaTac. He said five minutes, but it’s actually 20 minutes away. Now I’m coughing due to the smoke and other chemicals I was breathing. Awful experience.

Positive: Nothing. Negative: Homeless walking around hotel and behind hotel. Tents set up next door. We did not feel safe staying at this hotel. I would not recommend this hotel even though it is close to the airport.

The rooms were ok and not bad but the rest of the place is a dump. Service wasn't bad but there wasn't any breakfast of any kind. It was almost $200 almost as expensive as a nice place.

Forget everything you have known about a well run, well maintained, clean hotel bc this place has never known any of it. This is the grossest hotel I’ve ever stayed in. I almost asked for a refund upon first seeing my room and regret not doing so and then booking anywhere else. To begin with there is either food or snot on the wall under the room number. The pillows on the bed are about an inch thick. I requested extra pillows and was given three of the smallest lumpiest excuses for a pillow that should have been thrown out a decade ago. My TV remote stopped working and the tv was blasting volume while staff worked to reset it and finally did fix it after ten minutes. The plugs built into the lamps do not work so I had to get behind the nightstand to plug into the wall which is when I saw the absolute filth on the floors behind the bed and furniture. Left over trash from who knows how many guests ago. The heat in my room doesn’t work. It only blows cold air even with the thermostat set to 75 and heat. The sheets and towels are worn out and stained. The door to my room has clearly been pried open from the inside by a previous guest, no doubt trying to escape this excuse for a hotel. Staff is kind but that does not make up with all the issues with this place. Do not try to pour hot water in your cup from the coffee maker in the lobby because that doesn’t work either. Room looks over the hoarder / meth house by the parking lot. Key cards only work upside down which is what this hotel should be…. Upside down and out of business. Do not stay here!!!