Des Moines
- The 95-room Hyatt Place Des Moines/Downtown (515.282.5555; www.hyattplacedesmoines.com) opened earlier this year with 1,125 square feet of meeting space.
- The Iowa Events Center (515.564.8000; www.iowaeventscenter.com) is adding 223,000 square feet of combined meeting, exhibit and ballroom space. The $42 million project involves remodeling Veterans Auditorium from an arena to a convention center and adding a 28,000-square-foot ballroom, 24 new breakout meeting rooms and about 100,000 square feet of exhibit space. Completion is scheduled for January 2012.
- Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino (800.325.9015; www.prairiemeadows.com) in Altoona is building a 150-room hotel that is scheduled to open in 2012. The property will be attached to Prairie Meadows’ existing casino and 18,000-square-foot conference center.
- The Holiday Inn Express and Suites Urbandale (888.465.4329; www.hiexpress.com) opened with 93 guest rooms and meeting space for up to 100.
Mason City
- The Historic Park Inn (800.659.2220; www.stayhpi.com) reopened in August following an extensive $18.5 million renovation that has restored this Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building to Wright’s specifications wherever possible. The 27-room hotel features 8,000 square feet of unique meeting spaces, including a ballroom that seats 170 banquet style, the Wine Room, the Skylight Room and the Sample Room from the days when store salespeople displayed their wares to hotel guests in a dedicated space on the premises.
- The Clarion Inn (641.423.1640; www.clarionhotel.com) recently finished a $500,000 upgrade to much of its public spaces, including its 6,000 square feet of meeting rooms.
- In April, an 87-room Holiday Inn Express (888.465.4329; www.hiexpress.com) opened with Prairie School architectural and interior design touches, a small meeting room for up to 50 people and a limestone fireplace in the lobby.