Charles City’s Hartwood Inn Denied Hotel License

Citing almost two dozen violations, a state inspector denied a license for a Charles City hotel.

According to a report by the independent news agency, Iowa Capital Dispatch, an Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals inspector recently found evidence of a dead body, insect infestations and soiled bedding at the 36-room Hartwood Inn on Gilbert Street. In all, there were at least 23 regulatory violations during an inspection that took place on September 28th.

The inspector’s report says the hotel had been operating without a license since November 2021, with no functioning smoke alarms anywhere in the hotel, almost half of the rooms were in “gross” and unsanitary condition, and one room in which “someone was recently deceased and there were blood-like stains and human and animal feces on the floor.”

The Iowa Capital Dispatch cited police records indicating an individual was found dead in Room 47 three days before the inspection.

In August, the Charles City Council refused a request from Hartwood owner Gilbert Starble to rezone the hotel property from commercial use to multi-family housing. In denying the request, the council noted that the hotel had been operating without a license and the were number of police calls to the business in recent years.

Iowa Capital Dispatch also reports that Starble told their reporter he now intends to treat the Hartwood Inn exclusively as a hotel for short-term guests. A state inspector is scheduled to return Friday, at which point Starble said he will have 15 rooms ready for a reinspection.

**Click here to read the complete story from Iowa Capital Dispatch