Hotel Vetro

Ghastly, shady online booking with
— avoid this at all costs.

Long Review incoming:
We used hotelVetro as our wedding reception venue. Our wedding’s theme was Super Mario, so we had a lot of geeky things to put together and the hotelVetro staff was very welcoming of our idea and very into it as well.
The reception was pricey yes, but you get what you pay for. The reception and cocktail hour were done spectacularly. We had three different kegs of Iowa local beer (Des Moines and Iowa City) and local Iowa wine. The food was well done, and the cake was beautifully served.
The staff even allowed us to have video games set up, as well as accommodated setting up our gift table, centerpieces, and cake table (with coffee and many types of tea). The staff even took our presents to our room (which was a complimentary honeymoon suite).
The honeymoon suite was gorgeous. It was very modern, and we were greeted with complimentary breakfast in bed the next morning, as well as champagne, chocolate dipped strawberries, a fruit/​cheese platter, and roses and rose petals strewn about the room.
I am very happy with my decision to choose hotelVetro for my reception! Please look into it if you want top notch service and quality and are willing (and able) to spend some extra $$$ for it.

Great hotel experience! Eli and other staff were extremely attentive and customer service oriented, which made our stay very comfortable as well as memorable. The staff gets five stars alone. The room was refreshing for its modern design, décor and overall layout. The corner room overlooked the Ped Mall which made for wonderful views despite a bit noisier room during the evening hours… E.g. Live bands which we enjoyed. This hotel will be the «go to» accommodation during our next Iowa City stay. Due to the hotels centralized location, we were able to walk to multiple restaurants, bars and attractions.

We came here for a wedding. It was very fancy and trendy, and the room was actually very pleasant! I liked the light from the windows, the bathroom was nice and big and the bed was comfortable. It has a very «modern» décor. The location is also very nice on a large pedestrian walking area and very close to the university. I found it very pleasant walking around here.
The only problem is their management of guests. The hotel was booked and they were unable to get the earlier guests out of our room and the room cleaned in time for checkin. With the wedding rapidly approaching in a couple hours and no room to change/​shower we were a little pissed at the time. However the staff was nice and apologetic about it, and we did manage to get in the room with a slim amount of time to change.
Overall we liked this place a lot and would recommend. Just be wary on a busy weekend.

Great place to stay. Centrally located. Easy walk to everything: mall, college, hospital, river. Comfortable. Roomy. Well appointed. Highly recommended. Only issue is the young staff who is friendly but clueless when asked about things to do other than what collage age kids do. Research and you’re golden.

Like some other reviewers I wanted to like this hotel. It is situated right in downtown Iowa City and walkable to some restaurants. The room is quite nice and the bed is comfortable. There is a parking garage next door and you have to get it validated at the front desk in the lobby every time you park your car which is an inconvenience especially when the rooms start from the 4^th floor and up.
The next morning I left for my work meeting. I pressed the elevator button and waited for about 10 minutes before I realized that the car was never called. The light that I pressed was not lit up. So I pressed it again. The light did not light up. I pressed it several times more thinking that perhaps there is a problem with the button, but either way the car did not show up. At this point I am not about to step into the elevator if it is possibly stuck. I decided to take the stairs instead. Anytime I go through the stair wells I check to make sure I can get back out and so I check the doors from the other side. It is locked. If I were to step into the stairwell and close the door behind me I cannot get back in. I went back to my room to call front desk to let them know the elevator is wacked out and ask about why the doors are locked in the stairwells. However when I called down nobody answered. I called 5 or 6 times and it just rang forever. I finally picked up my cell phone and called the main number to see if calling from an outside line would make a difference. No one answered. All I wanted to do was get the hell out. Finally someone picked up and I asked why no one answered the phone. He told me that he was on the other line, as if I should somehow understand. This is a hotel! Why is there only one person minding the phones and the front desk? Anyways I told him about the elevator and how I didn’t feel comfortable taking it because it never showed up and so I want to take the stairs but the doors are locked from the otherside. He told me that the doors are locked and that only the engineers have the keys to open them. He said you can go to the stairwell but you can’t get out without a key. Only the engineers have the key. I said «that is ridiculous… what happens if there is a fire and we need to take the stairs to escape but we are locked out?». He said «The engineers will unlock the doors in an event of a fire». I asked «what if the engineer is trapped somewhere and can’t unlock the doors in time?». He said «We have several engineers». WTF??? Anyhow he said the only way I can get out is by the elevator or take the stairs, but if I choose to take the stairs he would have to call an engineer to come up and take me down the stairs to open the doors for me. Of course I chose the stairs, but why should I have to be escorted to take the stairs. He said he will send an engineer up to me. I waited for 10 minutes before the engineer showed up. We walked all the way down to the lowest floor and when he opened the door it was to the back of the building and we were trapped in by huge dumpsters on all sides. How do I get out? We basically had to squeeze our way between the dumpsters to get out. I can already see this as a fire safety hazard. Luckily I had taken my luggage with me and decided to check out of this dump of a hotel, which I did. The service, I admit was not the problem. They were very pleasant and helpful with me. The hotel needs to fix some of these issues with having only one person minding the front desk and the locked doors in the stairwells. It took me ½ hour to 45 mins just to get to the lobby.

Made reservations, confirmed. Sent to another hotel due to overbooking. Won’t be back. I do not appreciate being lied to.

The Hotel Vetro is a boutique hotel, and boutique hotels are a little different than your average chain hotel. And while Hotel Vetro isn’t a chain hotel, it is owned by one (The Sheraton across the street is Vetro’s big-​name big brother).
I drove in from Chicago and I found the hotel fine using a nav program. I approached from the south on Linn St. and had to drive around the block a couple of times before I figured out that there are two parking spots on the west side of the street dedicated to check-​in traffic. In order to reach those spots one must approach the hotel from the north. During the day there is little chance of swinging a U-​turn on Linn St. so take my advice and roll in from the north to save yourself a little time.
Check-​in was easy and the clerk was very polite. He explained the room to us, informed us of the parking garage we were to park in during our stay and asked if we needed anything. Our answer being «no,» we parked the car and headed up to our room on the fourth floor.
The room has a modern feel to it with floor-​to-​ceiling windows, modernist furnishings, a pillow-​top mattress, big TV, full-​kitchen and a large tub with a separate standing shower. Although it was generally clean, it didn’t have the white-​glove cleanliness and attention to detail that I would expect at the $ 180-​$ 325/​night price point (which is pretty high for Iowa, although I have seen reports of the rooms being discounted for less). The furniture was left somewhat askew and there were a few small areas that needed a good dusting. The bathroom, mercifully, was extremely clean, however there were too few towels for two guests.
The Internet was included in the price of the room which is good because the signal in our room was fair and the speed of the broadband was atrocious. I had to use LTE for most of my stay because the slack-​jaw inducing, mind-​numbing dial-​up «speed» of Vetro’s Internet was completely unacceptable.
Otherwise my stay was pleasant, quiet and generally very enjoyable. It’s not like your average hotel, and it’s different in a good way. If they can get in at a good price, I’d definitely recommend this place to friends who are visiting Iowa City.

Very expensive price for a hotel with NO amenities.
Paid $ 197.00 includ tax and parkg. $ 12.00 parking even in Iowa City!
Loved the style of the rooms, very minimalistic, concrete floors modern etc. Booked this hotel because of the style of the rooms actually, BUT…
SERVICE? NONE.
There is no such thing as a front desk. There is a girl struggling with every guest’s demands and needs but she is by herself with no one else around. Interesting.
Is this a hotel or a residence that likes to rent out rooms to make extra money?
Needed help with luggage, they had to call someone from another property to help me. 30 minutes later a guy arrived. He asks me, «So how is your night so far?»… and I said, «I’m not having one. I need to get in my room, take a shower and relax».
As one weary traveler to another, if you are looking for a real hotel this isn’t it.
Room Service? Nope.
Got a restaurant to deliver food… barely

Vetro looks so cool from the Ped Mall, we’ve been wanting to stay there for a few years. The actual experience did not live up to expectations. Wifi was broken, AC was loud and had a high pitched whine and the general atmosphere was noisier than anticipated (party on the floor below until 3am). When we left, I explained the issues to the staff and only received a polite ‘thank you’ with no apology. For the quality (average), Vetro is overpriced.

Great hotel. Standing shower is why I came.
Modern but read the reviews on Unilocal all true.
Dirty hotel. I woke up to an unswept rubbish pile outside my door.

I booked and PAID more than a year in advance for a suite with a balcony only to arrive right at check-​in time and find that our room choice was unavailable. The staff was unable to explain why. I made this reservation in April 2013 for a Verde Suite and paid $ 446.88 at the time of booking for one night. It was University of Iowa’s graduation. We booked this hotel because we wanted a balcony. I could have stayed in a regular room elsewhere for a much more reasonable rate.
I saw many angry guests who could not get into their rooms and by then it was well past check-​in time. The 2 staff members working the front desk appeared overwhelmed and unable to deal with the problems they were encountering. I would have expected Hotel Vetro to have been better prepared. Of course they were going to be busy! The «special event rates» are high. College graduations only happen once. It was very disappointing. Oh, and the $ 50.00 rate differential that I was told would be credited to my credit card account never appeared. I had to call a month later for that. And the emails I sent to the hotel manager and the Club/​VIP Ambassador? Never received a reply. Very poor customer service.

Here’s the thing: You want to like this hotel. You want to believe that Iowa City is capable of a chic, hip, trendy, modern boutique hotel. Don’t be fooled. Vetro is not it.
We were there as part of a wedding party — and part of the room block. On Friday morning, we asked about laundry services to get a dress steamed (for Saturday night). We were told that they don’t offer laundry services on the weekend (what?) but they would check on steaming. They confirmed with us that they could get it steamed and that we could pick it up at the front desk in a few hours. When we went to pick it up from the front desk the next morning, they informed us that they were unable to find anyone to steam it so it had just sat there all day. Thanks for letting us know when we had the chance to take care of it ourselves.
The room reeked of wet dog and our attempts to remedy it on our own were unsuccessful. Housekeeping came up and sprayed ¼ bottle of industrial Febreze all over our belongings (!) and the concrete floors (making them very slippery) — and everything was more wet and sticky than before. So the next morning, we called again requesting that maintenance investigate the issue — it seemed something was wrong with the AC. I understand it’s summer in Iowa and 85% humidity finds its way through every crack and opening. So while we were waiting to get back into the room to get ready for the wedding (pictures/​etc), they decided to shampoo the carpet and bring in an industrial fan that made hearing anything but your own thoughts impossible. Fine, fine — we can be flexible. When we got back that night — THE SMELL WAS STILL THERE. That’s a bigger maintenance issue that they can deal with when I’m gone.
Sidenote: housekeeping didn’t bother to stop by after that fiasco, so everything was askew and messy, leading to the next issue…
The icing on the cake was when we ran out of toilet paper (no extra roll anywhere to be found). We called the front desk and he said «I’ll send some up IMMEDIATELY.» He seemed to sense the urgency that two women sharing a room not having any TP (or tissues) was an urgent problem. 30 minutes later, we still hadn’t received a visit from the TP fairy, so my friend went to the front desk to get it herself. The front desk attendant told her he was unable to give her any because Housekeeping wasn’t there yet, but they’d be there in 15 minutes. She asked again if he could just hand her a roll of TP and he could be rid of our requests. No, he could not give her toilet paper.
Let me pause for you to take that in. He could not hand her a roll of toilet paper.
So we hurried to get ready and got the heck out of there. What kind of hotel can’t give someone toilet paper (especially after they failed in so many other ways)?
What Vetro struggles with is customer service. In ALL instances, communication would have made the problems mere inconveniences. But instead, they assured us that XYZ request would be taken care of, and when they couldn’t deliver (for reasons beyond any rational person’s comprehension), they failed to communicate that. A simple phone call to explain the issue and apologize for the inconvenience would have smoothed over what instead became a snowball effect of irritation and major issues.
Vetro management — if you want to be treated like the Big Kid in town who has its act together, you have to do that — get it together. You’re not a hotel in the middle of the rural Midwest. Act like the major market boutique hotel you advertise yourself to be.

I actually wanted to write this review at 6:00 am the morning of my stay. That was when the first delivery truck backed in to the loading dock 4 stories below my room. Rumble, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Bee, Beep, Beep… air brake — shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, truck door — slam, trailer door — clackity, clackity, clackity, clackity, slam, hydraulic lift — rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr­rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, unload — slam, bang, pow, bang, boom.
But no, I was ignorant enough to think that was a one time thing. Some driver really trying to be a go getter and get an earlier start. An unfortunate, one time, faux pas.
So I pulled the covers over my head and tried to fill out the remaining hour of sleep I had left of the 5 hours I had due to cramming the night before a big client presentation.
I don’t know how long it was before the next truck came but I counted 5 in the next hour before 7 am.
Not cool Hotel Vetro — not cool at all.
And yes, previous reviews of poor housekeeping are accurate. I had a tattered bathroom rug, some sort of bleach stain on my room rug, and it felt dirty. There was a hair in my sink and a rust ring in the shower. Nothing egregious but cumulative it adds up to a solid «I won’t be back».

Great location at end of pedestrian mall. Decent sized room with kitchenette and modernistic feel. Bathroom was separated by fogged glass sliding door, which may be an issue for some.
Housekeeping sucks. They made the bed and nothing else. No vacuuming, picking up, throwing out trash or cleaning the bathrooms. I had to call front desk twice to get someone up to room to clean the bathroom. Even then they didnt get there til 5 pm. Staff was friendly enough. I will give it another chance but will bail if I have same housekeeping experience.

We stayed here for one night for a nearby wedding, this is truly the type of hotel I wish I could just move into. The room was very large with a kitchenette, couch, chaise lounge and king size bed, and the bathroom was amazing with separate tub and shower, all enclosed with glass walls and doors… super modern and clean. The floors were concrete with some carpeting in the bed and living area. The the exterior wall of room had floor to ceiling windows. I just loved the décor and the modern simplicity. A top complaint of mine about hotels is generally the bed… and Hotel Vetro’s bed and pillows are a 10 out of 10. This is not a chain Hotel… it is truly nice to see the craftmanship and quality the owner put into each and every room… that is truly hard to come by! If you are in Iowa City to see a Hawkeyes’ game, you must stay here!

Stayed here on a Monday night as a late birthday celebration with my boyfriend. We utilized the $ 11 self-​parking in the ramp next door. Check-​in was simple. We didn’t go explore the hotel, only what was visible on our way out to dinner. My bf used the fitness center on the third floor and seemed to enjoy the facility. The selling point for me about this hotel was the big bath tub :) Loved the bathroom: large tub and shower, make-​up mirror, great lighting, hair dryer included. The complimentary toiletries by Sprout Out were fantastic. Not much of a view from our fourth floor room, but the room itself was more than we expected: lots of space, storage, very comfortable bed.
My only complaint is the air conditioning; it was so damn loud when it kicked in! The room had a full kitchen, including silverware, glasses, and plates; I believe cooking pans could be rented from the front desk. Kind and helpful staff, clean facilities, and great for a date night. There are plenty of bars and restaurants within walking distance.
Note: you will be charged $ 50 for a deposit in case there are any damages to your room. That money will be refunded to you after check-​out.

A strange place — sure not your average corporate chain hotel. We got this huge suite for around $ 150 a night (and school was in session) — kitchen, living area, huge bath area. Obviously designed for someone staying a bit longer than one night. Not sure why I got this — I just used the regular web site reservation system and asked for a room for 2. The sign on the inside of the door says it goes for $ 350/​night — that I can believe on football weekends.
Décor could only be descibed as white-​on-​white minimalist modern, not exactly warm. Floor to celing windows completely across two walls — were nice during the day, but not much for privacy unless the blinds were closed, which actulaly takes a while — there are so many windows. Weird polished concrete floors didn’t help the warmth aspect.
Very comfortable and quiet. Clean. Certainly «boutique» — front desk is in fact just a desk in the middle of the lobby staffed by one person. Note no hotel parking — municipal garage next door is $ 11/​night (which I’ve come to learn isn’t so out of line in IC, where parking costs everywhere seem out of line with the size of the city).
If you can get a suite like this for the price I paid, you gotta go for it.

Overall a very cool modern hotel for a city that really screams Heartland in most other aspects.
There were some odd rules here — 11 pm quiet time, and key entry after 11, but I have to say I understand. Something about Iowa, but there are about 3 loud college bars on the pedway nearby and getting in and out requires a key. Seems sensible to me.
The rooms are ultra modern with concrete floors. I think it might not be a great place for people with kids. I can just imagine kids hitting the floor and getting up without front teeth.
For adults the place is pretty awesome. My room had a kitchen and the large tub and shower were modern and nice. The row of soaps in bottles were pretty good. Little things were a bit off — no bar of soap for 2 days, then on the third day Eureka! Strange.
Two free bottles of water each day! That was nice.
Free wifi with provided password.
Grocery store on the first floor with gourmet items for your kitchen and a great place to pick up stuff for a cocktail party.

Pretty solid boutique hotel. Not sure if it’s worth the price though. For an ultra high end price you get basic amenities including sharing the Sheraton pool…
Check the Sheraton before staying here and if the prices are similar go Vetro, but if it’s a big difference go Sher.
Out of town family stayed here and the rooms were very elegant and sheik but the smaller rooms are very small. The suite are pretty dope and this time were only 10 bucks more than the cheapest room. Certainly worth the extra cash.
The lobby is simple but they do have a piano and Internet service with a color printer for you.