We had a nice stay at Element West Des Moines. The lobby area is beautiful,and overall the experience is a step above other hotels in its price range (nightly reception, a staff member cooking pancakes with fun toppings, etc.). When we checked in, we were given a room on the 2nd floor. I had requested a room on the top floor, and it was clear that the request had not been seen or recorded. Jennifer, was very kind and found us a room on the 3rd floor (there are 4 floors total), away from the elevator as we had originally requested. I was grateful for her kindness and help. Our room specifically needed to have a few paint touch ups done, and there were a few small perfectly round holes in the bathroom wall (maybe where they tried to put in the towel bar) and a bit of dirt near the shower door, but overall it was clean. It may be time to replace the beds, as they had a padded mattress cover on it, but it was still not plush. I have not stayed at other places in the area, but I think you would be pleased with your stay.