Gateway Hotel and Conference Center

Went out to this Conference Center location for a company party.
Signs from the highway lead you right up the conference center. It is a very nice facility. The room is very large and a dance floor was put down for us.
Once the majority of all the people arrived they let us go table by table to get food.
There was 2 buffet lines with the same food set up. I love when they think smart and make two lines for the amount of people they were serving!
They had a very good selection of food. Nice salad, sides and the option of chicken and prime rib. I skipped the chicken and went for a big hunk of meat. It was really good. The food was all good and we all agreed that it was a excellent choice on behalf of the employer.
There were multiple bar stations to make sure that you had your drink on as the live band stared up.
This wait staff was very helpful and made sure we had everything we needed. Kept and eye on us and cleaned out our plates and were able to get refilled on our water really easily.
Good job overall!

It’s a nice place with VERY helpful staff, but I’d say it needs some updates to justify it’s price. I stayed 2 nights for a wedding and the room I was in joined the next room by two closed doors. The first night I could hear my neighbor coughing, and the second night I could hear the couple in the next room… talking, let’s say talking, late into the night. I didn’t call the desk to complain because on neither of the nights were they being loud, there’s just nothing stopping sound from traveling between rooms.
Like I said, not a bad place, but you can easily find nicer for cheaper in Ames.

I’m staying here for a work trip. If it was up to me I would have booked the holiday inn down the road. My double bed room didn’t have a fridge, the décor was a bit dated, and the bathroom was a bit dingy. The worst problem was the water pressure – it was the most unsatisfying shower I’ve taken since my days of cold bucket baths in the peace corps. I can rough it, but for a room that costs $ 299 a night, I expected much better. The layout of the lobby is weird – massive cement columns hide the reception desk. I would never come back, and I hope to never have to again. The staff are nice though.

Gateway is not a new hotel. It’s been around since at least the 1970’s. It’s aging well, however, despite changes in ownership. The conference center is a unique facility for Ames and the Iowa Stater Restaurant is a decent dining alternative. Very conveniently located near the Iowa State Center, Reiman Gardens and especially the Green Hills Retirement Community.
I think Gateway is the nicest hotel in Ames. The executive rooms are outstanding. Rooms in the tower are a little less impressive, but still nice. Most lack refrigerators, an issue since refrigerators are standard at many lesser motels. The concrete based construction is much more solid and quiet than your typical motel. Wifi is free and easy to access. There’s a pool and fitness area, but don’t look for a free breakfast. There is none. Rooms are well maintained, but décor exposes their age a bit.
Perhaps most importantly, Gateway has the best elevators in Ames, at least from the perspective of a little kid. Special lights. View of the outdoors.
You can make reservations on virtually any of the online booking sites. On this visit I used
, but I have also stayed here with significant savings after throwing the dice on
.

Gateway is a nice hotel, a little off the beaten path (if such a thing exists in Ames). Apparently they have nice walking /​running trails around the property, but the weather was so atrocious I didn’t have a chance to check them out. We didn’t partake in the restaurant, but had good service at the bar. Nice place, reasonable rates most of the time.

I’m not sure why this has such bad ratings on here. I came here and stayed a night for a wedding recently and found the hotel enjoyable. First and foremost, the front desk staff was nice and helpful. Absolutely no problems there.
The rooms I thought were pretty decent. Bathroom was decent, although the towels they gave me were obviously a little old. They were not tattered, but they were obviously worn in. It reminded me of some of my personal towels, not necessarily a good hotel towel. In any case, my bed was comfortable too with a nice comforter. I could have used a down pillow or two, but that’s more of a personal preference. My room had a sizable HDTV too and had a number of channels available. The only thing I wish I had was a fridge. I thought that was kind of weird there was none available. I would recommend they invest to put some in some rooms honestly. There was also free wifi in there, which was nice and becoming more of a standard. My cell phone connection was bad in my room though, but I’m sure that varies from room to room (location based).
The rest of the hotel was decent too. The building itself has some weird concrete thing going on in some areas, but they went to good measures to mask it with nicer couches, running water, etc in the lobby area. Standard hotel that’s a step above average for sure. I thought the price was fair for what you get (I believe $ 109/​night is standard rate). That might be expensive for Ames, IA, but really not that bad overall. I wish there were more things around the hotel too, but that’s me talking since I live in the middle of Chicago where that’s the norm in many places that I can walk out my front door and be presented with numerous options. This is not a knock about the hotel, but more of a warning if someone plans on staying here who IS used to that environment and wants that type of environment.
Overall, the place is pretty good. Not perfect, but they can easily improve upon it by adding mini fridges and replacing some of their bathroom towels with newer ones. All in all, not a bad hotel for a small town like Ames.

Never nice but high in price and can be very hard to book an event!

Nice bed– really needs a fridge. The only problem I had was they were late on getting me my room so I had to go drive around for a few hours before they would give me a key. And I also told them I was staying a little later than check out. They said that was fine and then locked me out!
Figure it out!

I stay at the Gateway Hotel once a year during our girls’ weekend in Ames. The staff is nice and the beds are soooo comfy! I’ve managed to get a rate below $ 100 every time I stay, which is awesome. I get the feel of a really nice hotel for pretty darn cheap.
I’m wondering if they’ve done some renovations in the last couple of years because I was really surprised to see past reviews. Every part of the hotel was spotless — and I’ve been happy every time.

A couple of years ago we stayed at the hotel. It was not all that. The room was laid out weird and so one person would have to move in order for the other person to get past. The Travel Lodge on the other side of town was a better deal considering the price.
To make sure this is crystal clear? I am NOT picky when it comes to a hotel room. If its expensive? I expect certain things. If its a cheap room? I am also very happy. I am not a snob and stay away from anything that is.
I was disappointed. I was hoping it was still a good place like from way back. Now it is just so-​so. Nothing special. They must have allowed dogs, though, as we still had Buddy, our dog, back then.
Moderate? Expensive? I think somewhere in the middle.

This hotel was just ok. I laughed a little laugh upon entering the room, as it was not as nice as the website had depicted. I think it’s been awhile since the hotel invested in anything new.
The room was clean, but not hiding its wear. There was a water stain on the ceiling, the tele was a bit fuzzy on certain channels, and made a very faint high pitch ringing sound. I was so happy to be done with the day, that it didn’t bother me much, but I could see how it would some.
All in all, the service was excellent, the lobby was very nice, and there was plenty of parking, but I can’t say that I was wowed over. Maybe I should ask for a goldfish next time.