<p>We will be flying out to attend the ISU open house this summer. We have never been to ISU, in fact we have never been to Iowa, and was wondering if anyone can recommend a good place to stay. The closer to campus the better. We will be there for 2 nights. Any other suggestions for a first time visitor appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>I have never stayed here, but might be worth a try. Looks really nice and right next to campus. I think we are going to try and stay there in the fall.</p>
<p>[Hotel</a> in Ames Iowa | Iowa House | 1-855-292-2474](<a href=“http://www.iowahouseames.com/]Hotel”>http://www.iowahouseames.com/)</p>
<p>The Memorial Union on campus has a hotel. Never stayed there but we are going to stay there in a couple of weeks. I don’t think that it is very nice and will probably be noisy and pretty crappy. </p>
<p>[Hotel</a> Memorial Union - Iowa State University Memorial Union](<a href=“http://www.mu.iastate.edu/en/hotel_memorial_union/]Hotel”>Hotel | Memorial Union)</p>
<p>Nothing else is right next to campus but Ames is so small that anything is not far away.</p>
<p>We usually stay at the Gateway Hotel and Conference Center just south of campus. Consistently decent. Recently changed the restaurant and it looks decent.</p>
<p>[Welcome</a> to Gateway Hotel and Conference Center | Ames Iowa Hotel Accommodations](<a href=“http://www.gatewayames.com/home.aspx]Welcome”>http://www.gatewayames.com/home.aspx)</p>
<p>Also make time for Reiman Gardens which are on campus near the football stadium. Stunning. Several gardens from water to natural and everything in between. There are often unique exhibits, a wonderful gift shop and a butterfly garden as well. I think it is pretty much open every day of the year (except maybe Christmas). The horticulture students work, intern and maintain the gardens. Don’t forget to eat at Hickory Park which is an Ames iconic barbecue house with out of this world ice cream desserts (and so many of them).</p>
<p>Also Country Inn and Suites are very comfortable places to stay in the Midwest. The complimentary breakfasts are very good with plenty of hot food. Ames is small enough that all of the hotels are convenient to the school.</p>
<p>@iadorking: Thank you for the tips. Hickory Park sounds like a must for my daughter. If I recall correctly, was your daughter looking at Furman a few years ago?</p>
<p>Hi There…Sorry this is a little late, but I hope it still helps. DD is a Senior this Fall and we love driving up to campus. From Chicago.
Generally we stay at either the Hampton Inn or at the Fairfield. The Hilton Garden Inn is nice also. All three are less than 5 minutes from campus and are easy in and out during big events like game day, etc.</p>
<p>Hickory Park is the BEST BBQ! And their ice cream is amazing also.</p>
<p>Don’t miss going down to Main Street and walking up and down. There are lots of great stores, boutiques and shops from clothing to toys to jewelry. Easy to spend an afternoon there.</p>
<p>Driving in and passing Jack Trice Stadium still gives me goosebumps! We love Iowa State. If anyone has any questions please feel free to PM me! I am happy to help.</p>
<p>I appreciate everyone’s input on Iowa State. I will be there for the Experience Iowa open house in a couple weeks and we are excited. I have two questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Besides Hickory Park, can someone name any other “can’t miss” places to eat? We are there for 2 nights.</p></li>
<li><p>Is there a main area to walk around on a Sunday? Would that be Main Street or is there another place where any shops and places of interest might be?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks everyone!</p>
<p>Eating places…</p>
<p>Just north of campus a bit…The Cafe, Black Market Pizza.</p>
<p>Oddfellows burger kitchen near the mall.</p>
<p>West Street deli just west of campus. Delicious pastrami.</p>
<p>Downtown…Grove Cafe, Great Plains Sauce and Dough.</p>
<p>Campus town…Cafe Beaudelaire, Angie’s Cafe, any of the many Asian places</p>
<p>Main Street may be pretty dead on a Sunday. You might want to walk through the parts if campus that you did not visit on the tour. Often, they don’t go through the east side of campus where the old dorms are. That is a really pretty part of campus.</p>
<p>Reiman Gardens for a walk.</p>
<p>If your daughter has not done so, I would recommend reading some entries at <a href=“http://www.cyclonelife.net…you%5B/url%5D”>www.cyclonelife.net…you</a> might search for summer.</p>
<p>I think many of the students that stick around for the summer often hit the nearby parks like the Ledges, Ada Hayden, etc. You could drive about 20 miles to Madrid, do a 2 mile walk on the High Trestle Trail to the bridge and walk back. It is a fantastic multiuse trail, mostly used by bikes. After the walk, have a lunch at the Flat Tire Bar. You might be able to rent bikes.</p>
<p>We biked the trail a few weeks ago and saw lots of Iowa State people. ISU and the Ames area are very bike friendly.</p>
<p>@Haystack-As always, your feedback is always so thorough and very much appreciated.</p>
<p>I am still trying to figure out the campus and town layout. Is there some streets that act as campus boundaries so that I will know which is the northern and southern sections? If I am at Reiman Gardens, am I south of campus? Just want to learn a little layout.</p>
<p>Also, where is “Campus town?” I have seen that mentioned before.</p>
<p>Railroad tracks are the north boundary for the ‘academic’ part of campus although the university also includes 3 different apartment complexes north of the tracks and a golf course. </p>
<p>Eastern boundary is roughly University Blvd and Squaw Creek. </p>
<p>Western boundary is Sheldon Ave.</p>
<p>Downtown Ames is about 2 miles from the west side of campus.</p>
<p>There is a mall a little over 3 miles away NE of campus. There is not much to the mall and not worth going to unless you want to try Oddfellows Burger Kitchen nearby.</p>
<p>Southern boundary for the main ‘academic’ part of campus is Lincoln Way. The athletic department facilities, performing arts complex, and the vet school are just south of Lincoln Way and form the SE part of campus. Reiman gardens is southwest of the football stadium and a really neat place. </p>
<p>There are 2 main groups of res halls, one on the west side near Sheldon Ave and one on the east side of campus, both areas are right off Lincoln Way.</p>
<p>Campustown is the business district along Lincoln Way (and associated side streets) as it runs along campus. Mostly filled with cheap restaurants, bars, and associated student stores. Campustown will likely have some redevelopment going on soon.</p>
<p>[ISU</a> looks to partner on Campustown revamp | Ames Tribune](<a href=“http://amestrib.com/sections/news/ames-and-story-county/isu-looks-partner-on-campustown-revamp.html#small]ISU”>http://amestrib.com/sections/news/ames-and-story-county/isu-looks-partner-on-campustown-revamp.html#small)</p>
<p>Hickory Park just named #1 place to get ice cream in Iowa…I almost fell over when I saw Ames, IA in the Food Network magazine!! Go STATE!</p>
<p>One warning about Hickory Park – if you don’t like places that use liquid smoke (yuck), stay away. IMO, a little hole in the wall in campus town called Battle’s is MUCH better BBQ. That said, if you want sheer quantity, then by all means go to HP.</p>
<p>I am heading out tomorrow to Ames. I want to thank everyone for their feedback on this thread and in PM’s. We are looking forward to spending Sunday on campus and in Ames exploring at our own pace prior to the Experience Iowa open house on Monday. I will be fascinated to hear D’s feedback. Thanks again!</p>
<p>Have a great visit and really don’t forget Reiman Gardens. They are spectacular.</p>
<p>Just got back last night from our Iowa visit. We spent all day Sunday walking around the ISU campus on our own and exploring Ames. We attended the Experience Iowa open house on Monday. A full day of literally walking all over campus for most of the day, campus tour, lunch, dorm visits, academic visits, etc. It was 93 degrees so it was an exhausting day but well worth the time spent.</p>
<p>My D loved the residential feel of the campus and all the kids, faculty and administrators she met. It is not the perfect fit since she is a non-science major, but there is no college that is. ISU came closest so she applied online while we were there and received a very quick acceptance video the next day. She may also be close to qualifying for some merit aid or scholarship that would offset the OSS tuition. As a parent, I would feel comfortable knowing that my D was spending 4 years at ISU. It is her top choice now, tied with a private college from Ohio. </p>
<p>The only downsides to ISU for us is the lack of direct flights/distance and fewer non-science majors than we would like. I was also a little surprised that ISU does not have any system of matching roommates via a student interest survey. They need to find their own on Facebook or be assigned. That was our first college visit that did not have some type of system in place to assist in roommate assignment. Not a big concern, more of an observation. We found Hickory Park and ended up eating there both nights. Very good. </p>
<p>The visit overall went better than expected and I appreciate everyone’s feedback and assistance!</p>
<p>This article was in the Daily Iowan a couple of years ago about the roommate selection software. ISU gives their reason for not using it in the article.</p>
<p>[UI</a> spent more than $100K on roommate matching software - The Daily Iowan](<a href=“http://www.dailyiowan.com/2011/09/07/Metro/24723.html]UI”>http://www.dailyiowan.com/2011/09/07/Metro/24723.html)</p>
<p>My son chose the random assignment for this fall. On paper, his assigned roommates look like great matches (Martin Hall).</p>
<p>Glad you had a nice visit. Ames is a great college town.</p>
<p>I just received a Tweet about this …ISU Visions Across America project that profiles alums in every state. Worth a read.</p>
<p>[On</a> the road | Travel adventures of the VISIONS Across America team](<a href=“http://visionsacrossamerica.com/]On”>http://visionsacrossamerica.com/)</p>
<p>Also, Chicago’s hottest art star is an Iowa State design school grad.</p>
<p>[Chicago?s</a> Hottest Art Star to Lead CTA?s Biggest Art Project](<a href=“http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/July-2013/Chicagos-Hottest-Art-Star-to-Lead-CTAs-Biggest-Art-Project/]Chicago?s”>http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/July-2013/Chicagos-Hottest-Art-Star-to-Lead-CTAs-Biggest-Art-Project/)</p>
<p>@Haystack: My D liked Eaton and Martin Hall the best of the ones we saw. Great location near the fitness center. I appreciate the link on the roommate selection process. We toured UIowa and they spoke about their selection process in detail, particularly their interest surveys for potential roommates. It was very interesting. I can not remember seeing two colleges with more of a contrast than ISU and UIowa. Both exceptional colleges with such huge differences. Really fascinating.</p>
<p>Bobby, what did you think of University of Iowa (or did you answer this in another thread)? Curious to hear how they compared in your experience.</p>
<p>I know several of my friend’s kids who went to ISU and were design majors and art majors. It is an excellent program if your daughter is interested in that area. My youngest’s band director is a recent ISU grad so there are several out there who are not science majors. My youngest is considering the medical/biological illustration program.
My 2 younger daughters are telling me now it is all the thing to sign up for the admitted students facebook site and choose your own roommate from there. I was surprised but there is another college my daughter is applying to that is a small liberal arts school that does it this way. Apparently you get to know them on the site and you decide if you can live with them or not.</p>