Fairfield Inn & Suites Ames

It’s a nice hotel and the recent renovations put it a step above a lot of the others in the area. If you’re coming for leisure, this would be a great option, but if you’re coming for work– pick another hotel.
The main reason: complete lack of Internet bandwidth. You will get kicked off repeatedly and don’t even think about a VPN connection or any VOIP calls on your work computer.
Based on the design, I’m guessing the new hotel being built across the street is a Courtyard. That’s where I’ll be next time (or perhaps an IHG option) as that line typically understands that if you want to cater to business travelers you need to have enough internet bandwidth for every room to have one or more devices connected at once. Welcome to 2015.

Clean. Comfy beds. Friendly staff. Mark the manager will accommodate. Good location central to all Ames!!!

Location is just off the highway. Not much there but not far to anything you need. I stay at a lot of Marriott Fairfield Properties. This one is definitely nothing special. Was given a room that had a major issue with sewer gas. The General Manager did not resolve the issue. Had to end up contacting Marriott Corporate. The are better choices in Ames. Beware of this poorly managed property.

I had a quick overnight at this property a few weeks ago. They met my minimum requirements for a hotel; conveniently located off the interstate, I felt like it was safe, every staff member I came in contact with was friendly and helpful and my room was very clean. The first thing I noticed when I entered my room was that it was cold enough to be a meat locker. I went to turn on the TV and it didn’t work. I called the front desk and said «either your TV doesn’t work, or I don’t know how to work your TV.» She told me it was probably the TV, I needed to unplug it from the wall then plug it back in and it should turn on. Fine, that worked. By then, my take out dinner was cold, so I went to use the microwave and it didn’t work. I realized that it wasn’t plugged in, and to plug it in I had to move the large cabinet that was also holding the refrigerator, away from the wall. I had to unplug the refrigerator in order to plug in the microwave, heat my food, unplug the microwave, re-​plug in the refrigerator and move the furniture back. That was annoying. My room must have been located near to the laundry room because as I was eating my dinner the floor started to vibrate, which I recognized as the spin cycle of a washer. I didn’t sleep well because it was like the air conditioning unit and the refrigerator were having a competition as to which could make the loudest noise. Then to top it off, the smoke detector was almost directly above the bed. Every 10 seconds it flashed a bright light that lite up the room just to let me know that it was indeed working. For a limited service property, they had quite a few options (hot & cold) for breakfast. I’m realistic, I wasn’t expecting the Ritz. I’d stay here again next time I’m traveling through Ames.

Hotel is under renovation. It would have been nice if they told us that, but no, we had to walk in to rolls of carpet in the lobby, buckets of joint compound and wall knives everywhere. oh yeah, the gym is completely full of joint compound dust and errant construction materials. the carpet in the hallways are not completely down yet and business computer station is nonexistent.. plus, i didn’t have bath towels the first night (yup, used about 2 hand towels to towel off after my shower). the plus side, they did have a pretty decent breakfast the next morning.

The location was awful – all by itself by the highway, near nothing but the DQ and a gas station/​convenience store.
But here is my beef – I used points on a football weekend to stay here. The first room I was given wrapped around the elevator – I kid you not. And, my Marriott profile specifies «room on a high floor away from the elevator». Since we checked in early, I told the front desk – no can do pooh. Move me. So, they moved me to room 100 right by the door that everyone comes in. Although I wanted to ask to be moved again, I was afraid I’d end up in the elevator itself or up on the roof – apparently these people don’t want to give DECENT rooms to long time Marriott guests with over 600,000+ points, who use points to stay there. I will never stay there again, and I will be complaining to Marriott.

Excellent staff. Clean and well kept. Good breakfast for a hotel breakfast. I think the name of the gal at the front is Sabina. She is very helpful and kind. So nice to run across people who like their jobs and understand service.

It was my first time in Ames, attending a workshop at the university. I arrived in town much earlier than I planned, so I stopped by the hotel because it is right off I-​35 as I came into town. It was about 11 am and staff was busy cleaning rooms and the hotel. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get an early check-​in. Luckily a room was available, but I was skeptical because it was the first room on the first floor, across from the lobby bathroom and facing the parking lot. Fortunately, I didn’t experience any unnecessary or excessive noises coming from the lobby or parking lot. The bed was comfortable, they have DirecTV with plenty of channel options, and the wi-​fi works great. There are not many restaurant choices close by, so you definitely need a car to explore the town and its eateries. It takes about 15 minutes to get to campus.

First time staying at this Fairfield.
Location is handy if your doing any business in the Ames area. Easy on/​off the highway and major roads. Clean, Efficient… very nice.

I stayed here last week while in town on business.
The good things: Convenient to I-​35. Clean facilities and room. Very friendly and helpful staff. Reasonable room rate which includes continental breakfast.
The not so good things: Location is outside of the main part of Ames among some gas stations and a couple of other similar hotels. No decent restaurant selection within walking distance. Limited choice of television channels. Slow internet connection at peak times.
All in all, I have no regrets staying here.

Clean and comfortable. Little pricy for what you get.

Fine for what it is, but had a couple of small issues. HBO didn’t seem to work in either room we stayed in, the shower head dripped constantly, the fridge ran so loudly I unplugged it, and the alarm click display didn’t work.
Though despite all that the Fairfield Inn delivers what I expected, free breakfast ad Marriott points (which you can’t get anywhere else in Ames currently).
And, the customer service was fantastic. Chris from the front desk baked us cookies while we hung out in the lobby and even came to pick us up in Campustown (two carfulls) at 2am.

This hotel is very new (less than a year old) and features good amenities at a reasonable rate. They have clean, large rooms with a flat screen TV in every room. They also have a pool, spa and 24 hour workout facility.
Disclosure: My business does work for this hotel.