Magnuson Hotel Des Moines Airport, Des Moines

We booked sight-unseen, mainly because it was $50 less per night than the Fairfield Inn across the street. The reviews were pretty good, and the price was right. It's in a convenient location, just off the highway near the airport on the southwest side of Des Moines. The hotel is very long from front to back, and really the only thing we didn't care for about the hotel itself is that the lone elevator is located halfway back in this long hotel. But we were able to park close to the entrance near the elevator, so other than having a long walk to breakfast each morning (we stayed two nights), this was okay. Our room and bathroom were spotless, and fairly roomy with a comfortable chair and ottoman by the window, an upholstered bench, and a spacious desk. Wifi was free, which is always a big plus for me. The carpet near the elevator looked a little threadbare, and overall the hallways look about due for a carpet update, but other than that everything was in good condition. The beds were very comfy, with lots of pillows. The closet was spacious, and hidden behind a full-length framed mirror that doubled as the closet door. The complimentary hotel breakfast (a hot buffet with eggs, sausage, and biscuits with gravy, as well as the other usual continental breakfast items) was served at the adjoining Bennigan's, and the food was great. We had some service issues the second morning (things weren't stocked -- at all -- and the breakfast attendant was beyond surly when we inquired about it), but a complaint about this at the hotel desk was extremely well received, and the hotel management bent over backward to apologize in such a way that we knew that they would take the steps necessary to avoid it happening again. Unlike a review I'd read before we booked, and that I just re-read now, we didn't have any trouble with noise from adjacent rooms. And the only time we heard the planes from the airport was when everything else was very quiet, and even then the sound was muted and nothing that disturbed our sleep. Would we stay there again? Yes, definitely. The only change I'd make is that I'd drive the car closer to the elevator before unloading it to one of their carts, so that I didn't have to push it all the way through the hotel with all our stuff on it like I did this time!