My first visit was a good one, as Stephens Auditorium was a positive experience, combining…read moreoutstanding customer service with a terrific music venue that hit all the notes. Parking is easy and organized. A handicapped friend raved about their parking situation. The interior is immaculate, with great acoustics. The balcony and side balcony seating are superb options. There are some beverages and nibbles, but I would show up fed! Some social causes were highlighted in the main lobby. I appreciated the kindness and professionalism of the staff and security personnel. The Barenaked Ladies and Toad The Wet Sprocket were fantastic, and the 2600-seat venue performed well!

Covid brought AmesCommunityTheater and Stephens together and we had our first play here since the…read morepandemic began. They did an awesome job with masking and social distancing! The place is very clean. See pics. The play was very good. Marcy'sDinerTantrumScale 5/5-NoScreamingKids.

you really can't go wrong with the entry level class where you are serve, ask questions, taste…read moretest, and bring home a recipe. it's a curated but chill environment with no such thing as a stupid question.

5/5 experience. I attended a 4 course (5 if you include the wedge salad) Italian style menu/demo…read more This reminded me of a supper club I attended years ago in south Florida. This concept was slightly different as the pasta portion was hands on. I really enjoyed that because I learned a good bit about pasta & Ive made it in the past but it was so dense. Food was delicious throughout. They also have a bar & have some seasonable cocktails so that was a nice touch. I enjoyed that it was interactive & open. The space itself is designed well & the kitchen is what I dream of having in my own home one day! Haha. They offer so many different events all with different price points.

I generally liked it a lot. It was conveniently located and was everything I needed in a place to…read morestay. Also the breakfasts were good and the downstairs area was quite nice. The upstairs hallways and rooms were a little disappointing in terms of niceness, but everything I needed was there. I would give it 4 stars based on the above. However, I had some problems with my door code to get in on the first day. When I called to get it worked out, the employee gave me the master code. Obviously, yes, I wanted into the building and my room. But it's never acceptable for a guest at a hotel to have a code for other rooms. If relying on a locking system like this, there needs to be a secure way to solve problems without giving out the master code. For this reason, I have to deduct another star.

We loved our stay here. Very comfortable and close to everything. The host staff were attentive…read more And all the to-go goodies - they thought of everything!

What an incredible stay. The vision and plans to transform this property to its true potential are…read moreastounding and I cant wait to follow the progress and to return to stay again. The lavender and sunflower fields are beautiful and the lavender products are wonderful! I truly enjoyed my stay, thank you so much for your hospitality.

Lance and his team are inspiring, caring, and provided a clean room with fresh linens and air…read moreconditioning during our RAGBRAI stay. I appreciated the delicious breakfast and most importantly the people we met. His friend Troy delivered us to the RAGBRAI route in the morning! Great hospitality! We can't wait to see Lance's vision develop.

Customer service was horrible. Hotel smelled like urine. I will never return and would suggest no…read moreone ever stay at this establishment.

My brother and I needed a place to stay for a family event and thought that we would try a local…read morenon-chain hotel/motel if it had good ratings. To give you perspective I travel a lot for business and personal trips. This place is without a doubt my least favorite place I have stayed. It is tired and out dated and there is no way my wife would have stayed here. It was kind of clean but no way would pass a inspection if it was part of a franchise. The only toiletries provided was a small bar of soap, lotion and mouthwash - we had a laugh about that. They do have wifi and decent TV lineup and a basic continental breakfast. The bed was firm and the air conditioner worked. There are 2 other franchise options within a block of this place. I would take one of those options before staying here again.

Stopped for lunch at The Traveling Pig, a new food truck that is making the rounds in Ames. They…read morehave great porchetta sandwiches based on flavors from around the world. I had the BBQ and it did not disappoint. The sauce was amazing and the slaw on top put it over the edge. The "truck made" chips were also fantastic. I know the truck makes the rounds around Ames and if you follow them on Facebook, you can find out where they are. I'm hoping to visit them frequently this summer.

Few words can describe how incredible of an experience my wife and I have had using Ben as our…read morego-to photographer for all occasions. My wife hired Ben to take her senior photos in high school and we just recently hired him to shoot our engagement photos and our wedding. He has a natural eye for a good photo and can adapt quickly to new settings, conditions, and environments. Despite being young, he has a lot of experience and a breadth of knowledge in great locations for photoshoots. Even if he's shot at a location many times, your photos will still feel unique and personal. Perhaps the best part of hiring Ben as your photographer is his personality. He's easy to befriend, personable, and is incredible with kids. He's very patient and if it weren't for his easy-going persona, I'd have been a nervous mess during all our photoshoots. Rather, I recall commenting to my wife how genuinely enjoyable it was to get our photos done with Ben. It felt less like a "to-do" or a chore and much more like an experience. But of course, you hire a photographer for the results. And the results are stunning. I don't generally enjoy looking at pictures of myself but Ben's photos feel less like looking at pictures of yourself and more like reliving moments in time. He has a such a knack for capturing the beauty of a moment. Perhaps the best part is that he gives you lifetime access to all the full-resolution digital copies of all the photos he took/edited. There may be a premium for this built into his fees, but compared to other photographers I've used who charge exorbitant fees for each digital copy you want to acquire, this is a probably still a steal. To say Ben is a photographer is to say Picasso was a painter: he's one of the friendliest, most talented, and natural artistic professionals I've ever met, and if you want a photographer that won't leave you disappointed, Ben is your guy.

The fam and I were in town for a 95th birthday party! (Woo! Happy Belated Birthday, Ellen.)…read more Courtyard by Marriott Ames was conveniently located, well priced and offered most everything we were looking for during our short stay. (Check-In is at 3pm, Check-Out is at 11am.) Loved that there is a pool (no hot tub) and a nice workout facility. The rooms were modern with smart TVs (helllllo Netflix), the were well kept and overall comfy-- with AC that could get the room as cool as we wanted and water pressure/hot water that fit the bill. The staff was friendly. There as free wi-fi, too. But the coffee situation was less than ideal. (There weren't even enough kcups for two.) Additionally, I wouldn't really call the restaurant a restaurant-- but it does offer a bar that would hit the spot. Overall, I'd stay at this Courtyard by Marriot again!

This location was typical and consistent of a Marriott Courtyard, one of the reasons why I chose…read moreit. Room felt clean, a few spots could be better but I usually don't stay in the room, just use it to sleep and shower. Used the gym, was sufficient. The mobile app was useless in this location. I still had to go to the desk to finalize my check-in (she had to verify my ID) and I also couldn't check out via the app. I would give the mobile app 1 star for this location. I'll definitely stay here again when visiting my daughter at Iowa State.