Hi, I'll be in Des Moines July 20,21,22

to see the Nashville Sound(Brewers AAA team) play the Iowa Cubs. I have some questions about where to stay in locale to the staduim but close to the nightlife, price really isn%26#39;t an issue but the nightlife pretty much is a must.any suggestions?

Hi, I'll be in Des Moines July 20,21,22

The Court St area has some nightlife. I%26#39;m not sure about hotels but there should be plenty downtown, albeit not within walking distance of the stadium. I lived in DSM a long time ago and have family there, and I%26#39;m just going by what I remember. I know the area around the stadium is being renovated and there are a ton of expensive warehouse lofts and condos there now. You might want to call hotels and see about shuttles to the game and see how far they are from the Court St area. I just wanted to help with a little info since I saw no one else had replied yet.

Hi, I'll be in Des Moines July 20,21,22

Thank you very much pearlbob, any and all help is really really appreciated!!!!!! I check often if anyone else has other suggestions.

You%26#39;re welcome. And it%26#39;s Court Ave, I was wrong before (I said St.). There is an area that is now like a hip arts district, with new restaurants and designer retail stores. It%26#39;s in the area around Noodle Zoo, a restaurant. That might give you a point of reference. Last time I was there, I don%26#39;t recall there being a lot nice bars in that area, but they may have added some. There were a lot of expensive condos being built. I can%26#39;t quite remember if that was near the stadium but I don%26#39;t think so. Ah...here we go...the area is called East Village. http://www.eastvillagedesmoines.com/ Keep in mind, this isn%26#39;t the Court Ave night life area, I believe Court Ave is closer to the baseball stadium. The point of reference there is the Court Ave Brewing Company and Spaghetti Works (2 restaurants that I can remember).

I%26#39;ve traveled all over, and while Des Moines is a very nice, clean, safe city, it isn%26#39;t very ';fun'; per se. It%26#39;s not a party town at all. I think there are some nice places all over, but there isn%26#39;t a really a huge night life area like you would see in other cities. However, they are doing a lot to renovate downtown Des Moines, including the riverwalk and the area around there.

If you like to walk, the stadium is within walking distance from court avenue, probably 5 or 6 blocks. THe Court Avenue area has many bars and restaurants within three block area just west of the Des Moines river running from W 1st st to W 5th St.

PearlBob referenced a new ';hip'; area. This is known as the East Village area. If you follow Court avenue East over the river, you are there. I believe the music venues are a couple blocks north of court.

The embassy Suites is just East of the River. The Hotel Savery is on W 4th about a block or two north of Court. The Civic Center has plays and concerts. It is between 2nd and 3rd a block north of Court. in the summer Court avenue has a large farmers%26#39; market on Saturdays from 6am to 1pm. The streets are closed during these hours and taken over by vendors so be forewarned if you plan to drive downtown on a Saturday morning.

Have a nice trip in.

Nicest Place to stay is the Suites of 800 Locust.

YES!!!! Thanks guys, keep it coming, i really appreciate the info.We like to have a good time.Any suggestions on the bars we should hit around Court?

Des Moines is actually a very fun place to be! The Court Ave. district has a lot of construction going on right now (new lofts and entertainment venues) but there are a ton of places to go for the nightlife. (For lots of information and links to other sites, go to www.knowdowntown.com )

A couple of bars just a few blocks away from the stadium:

El Bait Shop and The High Life Lounge - throwbacks to my parents%26#39; 1960%26#39;s/70%26#39;s basement decor and quite fun. Wide range of ages. El Bait Shop has a massive number of beers on tap all the time.

In the Court Ave area:

Buzzard Billy%26#39;s Flying Carp Cafe (cajun, etc.)

Judge Roy Bean%26#39;s (burgers)

Court Avenue Brew Pub

Johnny%26#39;s Hall of Fame (neighborhood bar ';feel';)

Spaghetti Works

The Lift (a smoke free martini bar)

The Royal Mile (English Pub)

The Trattoria (Italian fare)

Hessen Haus (German brews - be sure to ';pass the boot';)

Splash (seafood)

and more

And these are all within walking distance of the stadium! If you stay at the Hotel Savory (historic and nice) or the Embassy Suites (across the river but still close), you will be right in the middle of the action. The Suites on Locust has incredible rooms but its a few blocks further West downtown. There are some great eating and drinking establishments in that area including Centro and Raccoon River Brew Pub, to name a few.

The East Village is the up and coming spot to be, too. Neat boutiques, restaurants and bars. The Olympic Flame, which has been there for years, is on E. Grand - and the Greek food is famous. The Continental serves food tapas style and can get pricey if you are looking for a stick to your ribs dinner. I personally like the place - narrow bar/restaurant with brick walls. Nice, fun atmosphere. Lucca is a wonderful restaurant but I would recommend making a reservation for the evening. Noodle Zoo is good and the decor is very cool. The Locust Tap is a bar - and quite a dive. But it does have ';character';. It%26#39;s literally the bar on the corner. There are several gay bars, including the Blazing Saddle. And there%26#39;s live music at House of Bricks. You can try one of a huge selection of teas at Gong Fu or a cup of coffee at the Village Bean (they also sell wine by the bottle). There%26#39;s also a Thai restaurant (can%26#39;t remember the name). I have heard that a sushi bar is coming to the area soon and a few other places, so who knows what else will be there when you come! I%26#39;m sure I%26#39;ve missed a few places - but hopefully this helps. Have fun!

Downtown is a great place to hang out!! I used to work down there and my co-workers and I went out all the time. You can feel comfortable walking outside down there. Also, Saturday a.m. by 7 a.m. the Farmer%26#39;s Market will be in full swing on court ave. It%26#39;s awesome -- veggies, plants, homemade pies, crafts - you name it. All kinds of food vendors.

If you find downtown nightlife not working for you. Take a cab to 86th St in Clive/Urbandale (west on I235, exit 22nd St turns into 86th St). This is actually the popular area to hang out in --- bars all the way down the street. And you can ask people - dance clubs - Crush, Miss Kitty%26#39;s, Denny Arthurs (35+ crowd).

Or - take a cab to Jordan Creek Mall area (west on I235, exit Jordan Creek). It%26#39;s got lots of shops and restaurants - PF Chang, Joe%26#39;s Crab Shack, Flemings Steak House.

Another area not far from downtown - is Gray%26#39;s Lake. Lots of people walk there on the weekend - has a huge walking trail around it.

I have family that lives right off of 86th in Urbandale...where are all these bars and dance clubs?! I have never seen anything like that in all the years I have visited. I%26#39;ve been to Mickey%26#39;s, an Irish bar near the Krispy Kreme place, but that was just a regular sports bar. There is some building at the corner of 86th and Hickman that keeps closing as a dance club because it never gets enough business. Is there something else I am missing??

You are missing alot --- Miss Kitty%26#39;s is on the corner of Swanson and 86th - it%26#39;s a huge dance club. Mickey%26#39;s is a very popular bar, I wouldn%26#39;t call it a sports bar though, across from that is Duck Tails, 2 bldgs north is Grono%26#39;s. A block up is Crush (corner of Hickman/86th St) behind Crush is Cabaret, behind Cabaret is Drink, behind Drink is Down Under. Across the street is Garage in Cobblestone strip mall. On the NW corner is Perkins, behind that is Denny Arthurs. A block west is Bogie%26#39;s. North on 86th to Douglas - next to HyVee is Paddy%26#39;s. East on Hickman is Twisted Parrot and Shooters. East on Douglas is Victors Sports bar and on and on. During the summer in the park behind Grono%26#39;s is Clive After Five - from 5-7 pm almost every Friday. People stand around in the park and drink beer and listen to live music. 86th Street is a huge bar street!!! It%26#39;s where most of Des Moines goes to party.