The small continental breakfast is not well published. As an alum, it is so nice to have a central place to park and tour. Free parking too. Always nicely maintained. Great to just leave the car parked.

I don't even know where to begin. I stayed there for a wedding weekend in late September of 2011. I booked 3 rooms at $120 each! You have got to be kidding with that price. I understand it was a football weekend, but they really charge that much when Iowa is playing Lousiana-Monroe?!?!? Come on! I live in Chicago, so I know a thing or two about pricey hotel stays, and this was a joke. The hotel is obviously a converted dorm. The change to a hotel looks like it was made in the 70s and the place hasn't been touched since. The bedding was old, worn thin, dusty, stained, and smelled like mold. The carpet was also stained and dirty. There isn't much in the room (no fridge)... 2 beds, a small table, a tv (no DVD player although there's a Red Box in the lobby, interesting to say the least), a closet, and a small cramped bathroom. Speaking of the bathroom, I was not able to enjoy a shower all weekend. There was no hot water, and even if there was the shower head was so old that it was litereally spitting water at me. At first I thought that I must have gotten the worst room in the hotel and was about to make someone switch with me since I had gone through the trouble of booking them. Not so lucky. I actually had a decent room compared to the other two I had booked. Not one person I talked to in the rooms immediately surrounding mine had hot water all weekend, and the shower heads were all the same (spitting water). Then there was the ice-maker. At first I thought it would be convenient to have the ice-maker literally outside my door (I could honestly fill a bucket of ice without leaving my room). With no fridge I went to the gas station and paid $5 for a cheap styrofoam cooler. Then I heard the ice-maker about 10 minutes later. My door was closed and tv was on and I swear it sounded like the building was falling down that machine was sooo loud. Not only that, but the walls are so thin that you could literally hear every word out of anyone's mouth who was in the hallway. I could have a conversation with my buddies in the room next to me through the wall. I actually did this in the morning. When I woke up, in a normal voice, I asked my buddy if he was awake and we talked about where to go for breakfast. We were in seperate rooms, but were having a conversation like we were in the same room! I've never experienced anything like it before. Then there is the air quality issue. I honestly don't even think this building is safe to stay in. I work in Construction Management and can honestly say if anyone had breathing issues like we all had when we woke up at iowa House in a building I was working on I would have professional air quality testing done immediately. We all woke up sneezing and completely congested from the stale, moldy air. I am still having issues and I checked out over 24 hours ago. I've been in old buildings, I've been in dirty buildings, I've been in buildings with mold growth, I've been in buildings with flood damage, I've been in buildings with fire damage, I've seen it all, I've managed build-outs and clean-ups of the worst situations, and I've managed the construction of ground-up new facilities. I know what I am talking about. This was one of the worst functioning buildings I've ever walked into in my life. From the mechanicals to the decor, this place is old, dirty, run-down, unsafe, and far over-priced. The only thing that it has going for it is it's close proximity to campus.

They also had the stones to charge my credit card an extra $15 a night for "incidentals". After a phone call this morning they've since reversed those additional charges, but just the fact that they had even would consider it is beyond insane.

Put another way: if I ever have to come back to Iowa City and the Iowa House is the only hotel with vacancy I will be sleeping in my car.

Booked two rooms to accommodate our family during student orientation. The only reason...THE ONLY REASON...you should book into this hotel is if you want to be on campus (Iowa House Hotel is located in the U of I Student Union). This location was desirable as we were there to participate in Student/Parent Orientation. Orientation activities ended both late in the evening and back at the Student Union...so it was very convenient for my incoming Freshman and all programs for adults were in the Union so it was convenient for us.

We paid $95/room which included a cont. breakfast (bagels, yogurt, dried cereals, etc.). This was no bargain, but I suspect the Iowa House knows when families will be looking for rooms and jacks fees accordingly. I saw below someone paid in the $65 range: still no bargain given the condition of the hotel.

The good: frig in room, sheets looked clean, bed was comfortable, microwave/coffee pot in room. Plenty of towels.

Lots of bad: The rooms were plain, spartan, shabby and dirty. The bedspreads were ancient, dusty and stained. Deep stains in carpeting. Deep stains on sides of box springs. Funky smell in elevator. The bathroom was tiny with the towel rack mounted above the toilet (be careful standing up!). Easy chair in room, but no floor lamp. Air conditioner is of 1970's vintage with three settings: low, med, high. High produced a wisp of cool air unequal to the task of cooling the room. Window blinds kind of close but not all the way. No dvd player (but a Redbox in the lobby, go figure), No "On Demand". No room service, no pool, no gym, no spa, no restaurant. Not even any carts in the lobby to help with hauling luggage. Very much like a dorm that has been converted (forty to fifty years ago) into a hotel. For some reason we couldn't get WiFi in hotel. No automatic close on the doors (they stay open when you leave the room).

Service seems to be run by the students themselves. Most were earnest and polite but struggled with check in and check out. Went to front desk to ask directions to a vending machine (at about 9 pm) for a popcorn run. Woman at front desk was coaching someone over the phone about some computer security related issues. Could have been a friend, a co-worker, a second job...who knows? I purposely waited to see how long she would leave me hanging without acknowledgement. Five minutes. Of course, I figure she was a student...but honestly, where's the common sense.

Next morning I called the front desk to asked for late check out. The immediate answer: "no". I decided to argue. "We have two rooms, so clearly there is the potential for late check out in one of them. Your maids will be busy but not in every room." Stumped the guy... but, I got to hand it to him for his adherence to policy, he held his ground. We checked out at eleven.

We now have the lay of the land in Iowa City and on campus and won't be staying here again.

Other reviewers have given this a pretty fair assessment generally. This is a bit worn around the edges, but keep in mind it is right in the middle of the campus in the Iowa Memorial Union. For the money, it is good value.

The room was clean and decent sized. The bathroom a little small with little counter space. A mirror in the room itself would have made it more practical for two in the room.

It was clean with a large flat-screen TV with cable, free wi-fi, free parking and free continental breakfast. The staff was very friendly and helpful. The setting, on the edge of the Iowa River, is lovely.

Two issues: The room's air conditioning kept it too cold no matter the setting (I finally solved this by putting suitcase on top of wall-mounted vents) and the sign on the front is missing some letters (not a good first impression).

When we were there, there was no food available in the building or nearby except for breakfast and vending machines. Downtown is just a couple short blocks (uphill) away.