The Hotel at Kirkwood Center

We stayed in a king room. It had no bathtub — I found that weird. The water went from lukewarm to scalding hot without touching the faucet in the shower. Also, the shower did not have a light and was a little dark. There was no seat inside the spacious shower. Do they realize that it is hard to shave your legs with no place to put your foot? And there was a little tiny shelf in the shower — I think two shelves would be appropriate. No blower in the bathroom either. It was a beautiful room though. One problem is the buzzing noise we heard from that little area in the kitchen area that held a blue filter. It was a little hard for us to sleep with the constant noise. The food we had was nothing to brag about and the drinks were overpriced. The gal at the front desk agreed to shuttle us in the company Lincoln Towncar, but unfortunately, she did not know how to park. We asked her to back into the parking spot so we could unload our things and she didn’t know how to do that — ODD. Makes you wonder how she got a driver’s license in Iowa to begin with and especially how she was approved to drive for your hotel. We got there safely and she was nice and helped us with our things. we wanted to tip her, but she drove off quickly. The other odd thing was we could not find the stairs — we took the elevator, which we normally do not do. Either my husband and I are blind or their simply weren’t signs showing where the stairs were. Lastly, there is no way indicated to turn on any of the tvs in the fitness room on floor 2. You should also invest in an indoor and outdoor pool. Every member of staff was very professional and friendly. We’d recommend your place — but you are a little pricey for the area and audience. A continental breakfast would help. And have you looked at the prices on menu??? Who would pay $ 14 and tip for a fried egg sandwich? ?? not anyone coming to nowhere Cedar Rapids, IA that’s for sure! 779−770−7207

Wow! What a great concept. A modern hotel with spectacular service and food… All run by students. Highly highly recommend

This is such a nice place! Really great staff – consistently excellent. The rooms are big, comfortable, and well designed! Loved the breakfast and the bar. Seriously, this has to be the best hotel in the state, right?

Amazing hotel. Great rooms. Great staff. Run by the students of the college. Wish we found this place 4 years ago instead of when my son graduated from college.

We visited this hotel one night last weekend. My husband’s work Christmas party was being held there, so we booked a room to stay the night.
We had heard from other people, beforehand as well has that night, that some people go to the work party just because they like the hotel.
The room was very clean. My only negative the whole time is that we found a Gatorade bottle top near the edge of the under bed. Otherwise, as far as the room goes, I don’t think I’ve stayed at better. We were mixed on the bed as far as comfort. I loved the bed but not the pillows… he was the opposite. They were both fine… you’ll never be as comfortable as in your own bed!
I hear the food is awesome, but we only had the food at the party… and that was awesome.
I’m sure that we’ll be staying here for he next party. This hotel is 3 hours away from home. I don’t know if I would have picked it beforehand, but I will now.

I had a very nice experience here. This is a place where students from nearby Kirkland Community College learn hospitality and it seems like they have learned their lessons well because nearly everything about this place was excellent. It is a modern looking place, very clean, everything in place, seems popular for locals for special events (there was a wedding reception here when I stayed). There is a lobby bar with a fireplace and plenty of seating indoors and out. The staff were super friendly and accommodating. My room was furnished in a very contemporary style, and was immaculate, with a comfortable bed, lots of large pillows and very nice bathroom. Aside from the water pressure in the shower being weak, my room was outstanding.
I did have a few gripes. The fitness center picture on the hotel website is looks large with many cardio machines. The picture, however, is not the hotel’s fitness center but the fitness center at the Kirkland Community College, about 1 mile away. The hotel’s fitness center is very disappointing and is a stark contrast to everything else which is so luxe.
I ordered room service — Chicken Caesar salad. It was delivered very quickly but I found the food substandard. It had high quality components — delicious croutons, a deep-​fried soft-​boiled egg, parmesan crisp — but the Romaine was not fresh, the chicken tasted funky and it was underdressed.
Then I found out the TV wasn’t working properly. I phoned the front desk and someone was dispatched immediately and when the problem could not be fixed, I was given the option of moving to another room. I declined and was then offered $ 20 off my room and free breakfast in the morning. That was a very nice gesture (the breakfast was really good). And the way the staff turned my dissatisfaction to satisfaction was definitely worth an A+!

We stayed here this summer both going to and returning from Green Bay, WI on a long-​distance drive from Lawrence, KS. This is a remarkable find in the midwest – hands down – and was the perfect stop-​over for a couple of adults with two 16 yr. old girls in tow (daughter and friend). Out of the way, quiet, in the country (OK, sort of… not exactly an exaggeration). Our understanding is it’s part of the local two-​year college that has a hotel and restaurant management program so many of the staff working here are students. Restaurant was outstanding for breakfast and dinner. Service was outstanding and rooms at around $ 150 a night were in the luxury arena. Having just returned from a trip to NYC where a similar room would cost $ 600 a night and up, I have an added appreciation for The Hotel.
Service here is simply spectacular from the front desk to the housekeeping to the bar. Speaking of the latter, they offer fine locally made spirits from Iowa corn. No complaints!
Just don’t see how you can go wrong with a stay here. Just be aware though, it’s not in town and you really are sort of in the country, but for us, that was just fine.

I ran across this hotel while searching for a room so that I could attend the J&P Cycles open house. It was a little out of the way, but since rooms for this event are at a premium, I went ahead and booked. Upon further investigation, I discovered that this hotel was associated with the local community college’s Hospitality and Culinary programs. Having a son in culinary school, I was pleased that I would be supporting these programs.
I must say that this was one of the best decisions I ever made. Not only did we have an extremely luxurious, spotlessly clean, and perfectly appointed room, but the staff is stellar. We were welcomed, and treated like honored guests even though we pulled in dirty and bedraggled from a 4 hour motorcycle trip through the rain. When one of our party left his helmet on the reception desk, a staff member took it to his room. When another member came down to get a couple glasses of wine from the bar, a staff member helped her carry everything back up to their room. I mentioned that my son was in a culinary program as we were leaving for dinner, and the bell person told me she’d be pleased to show us around when we got back. True to her word, when we returned, she gave us a full tour; even though it was after 10:00 PM.
I have already told my husband that in the future, if we attend the J&P Rally, I won’t even consider a different hotel. This will be the only one I will book in the Cedar Rapids area.

Stayed here early May ’13 for my nieces’ wedding. What a wonderful experience. We were going to stay at the hotel where her wedding was, and then I googled «best hotel in Cedar Rapids» and this popped up. I’m originally from CR, but moved to DFW 30+ years ago. The Hotel is beautifully decorated, love the Iowa art/​pictures in the rooms. The finishes in the rooms were high-​end, absolutely LOVED the mirroe in the bath with the light built in to it. Wonderful linens, bed very comfortable. With 2 queen beds, it was actually about $ 5 cheaper than the other hotel where the wedding was. We usually stay with family when in town, with a wedding going on there just wasn’t enough room. Would stay here again in a heartbeat, even if there is room with my sibs!

I love this place! It’s such a pleasant surprise. The service and amenities are fabulous and the restaurant food is really, really good. As a matter of fact, I was sorry we drove to Mt. Vernon one night and ate at the over-​rated Lincoln Café and didn’t return to the restaurant for dinner. And hey, you Iowans, shut up about the costs of the dishes on the menu. You’d not get that quality/​quantity any where else in the world priced that decently. I’ll return again and again.

One of the best hotel experiences I have had! Everything from the room to the food to the service was excellent.

Just stayed at the Kirkwood again, while visiting on business.
Again, very nice, very clean, efficient etc…
Great bedding… internet works great.
Only issue this visit… breakfast was ok, and no Coffee refills offered. Not the end of the world… but expected and appreciated.
Server also didn’t get my breakfast bill rung up… so I had to ask that it be done for my final billing. Luckily they did that quickly after I asked.

I stayed here for one night back in November 2011 and was very impressed by the room and the facility. It’s certainly one of the nicest hotels in Cedar Rapids, and it’s away from the city a bit which I think is nice. If it were closer to town, it would probably stick out like a sore thumb because it is so new and modern unlike most places in Cedar Rapids. The lady who checked us in was pretty friendly and got us our room keys right away. The room was very modern and looks just like the photos on their website. Nice bathroom, comfortable bed, nice view from the window, all around just a good stay!
The only reason I’m not giving this place 5 stars is because i feel that it’s still slightly overpriced even though many of the older hotels in Cedar Rapids are still pretty expensive for what they are. I feel that I should have probably paid $ 20 – 30 less for the room than I actually did pay. However, I was very happy with my stay and would certainly stay again!

I stay in 50 hotels a year. This is the best and will match or top any of the $ 300+ places I’ve stayed in San Fran, NY or Chicago, except there is no TV in the bathroom.
The food is five star too! Tell them Mark Faust sent you!

This is by far the best hotel in the area. I had my wedding their this fall (you’ll want to try and get your name penciled in a year or so in advance, or you choice of dates will be slim). I booked 14 mos out when it was under construction still, and I hear its even harder to get into now. Well worth it. The cost was comparable to some of the other «nice hotels» in town, but the other ones all paled in comparison. You also get more food/​drink for the same price because they don’t charge an event space rental fee, but rather establish a minimum budget that needs to be spent of food/​alcohol per your guest count. They catered to our every need, and have great relationships with the local vendors. If you’re doing your wedding there, have them do your cakes! Saralynn and the students make the best cake I’ve ever had. Oh, did I mention the rooms in particular the presidential suite are amazing. We got the suite for the price of a regular room on our wedding night. They had gotten us a bottle of champagne, truffles, and a nut mix set up in our room complimentary while we were at the wedding. They helped make my wedding amazing!

Our first stay here. Wonderful experience throughout. Nothing to not like about this hotel. All the amenities one expects at better hotels. Thanks folks. Really well done.