Hotel Kansas City - REVIEW MASTER THREAD
 

Introduction Alrighty folks. This is a brand new hotel in downtown Kansas City. Just opened doors on 10/1 in a renovated, historic building. The stated goal was to keep the original feel and charm of the building when it was a social club in the 1920's."Nestled next to the Power and Light District, Hotel Kansas City is more than just a place to stay—this Gothic Revival-style institution near Union Station offers a chance to time-travel back in history to the Roaring Twenties, when the bustling social club first opened its doors in 1922. Today, the club enjoys life as Hotel Kansas City, with preserved touches like stained glass and hand-hewn walnut as reminders of a proud past—while modern restaurants, bars, and rooms ground guests fully in the present." https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/mi...sas-city/mcijd Room Excuse my luggage lol. I enjoyed the decor and setup of the room itself. Definitely felt the historic charm. This standard king room felt a little tight in the entry way, but the sleeping/sitting area was solid. Bathroom wa Dining https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/mi...ingThere's a bar and a small cafe in the main lobby area. The bar had a lounge feel to it. Music wasn't too loud and the tempo was slower. It wasn't crowded, which I expected of a brand new hotel opening in a pandemic, but I was getting wine served to me less than 60 seconds after the server put in my order. I didn't have any of the bar food (not sure they're serving it yet), so i There will be a restaurant opening on the main level in the next week or so. It's a bit past the main check-in and bar area, so it does have privacy from random folks walking in. The menu is supposed to reflect local and historic favorites. There will also be another dining/enterainment area opening in the basement -- I believe they said early 2021 on that. Location If you're a Hyatt person, I'd consider this to be the best property location in KC. Very conviently located for anything that requires you to be downtown or in the main Kansas City area. The only other options are toward Overland Park or the airport. This is less than a block away from the Power & Light district -- plenty of dining/entertainment options in walking distance. It's also just a short drive to other areas like the Plaza or River Market. Easy access to nearby highways. Overall Overall -- I would absolutely recommend this property for business travel, couples, or leisure. Can't say I'd bring my kids here...but I'd defintely bring my wife or co-workers. Very good looking property, and very friendly staff. Worth noting -- parking options are either $30 valet or the various garage parking options nearby (about $25-28 per night). I opted for valet since the price difference was minimal and the nearest garage was more than a block away. Oh and if you're into fitness -- the fitness area is spectacular. Several weight machines, some free weights, and even a couple of Peloton's amongst the other cardio maci

Thanks for this review, we may be visiting KC this summer.

A gem in the city of fountains
 

After an trip to OMA for a funeral, I decided to unwind for a few days in KC before flying back home. This place caught my eye on the Hyatt website, and decided to give it a shot. I had the good sense to book the Prive rate courtesy of the fellow FT at Live Lux Travel, which came with a $50 credit, free breakfast, and a very generous upgrade. I booked a standard king room, so I was absolutely delighted when I was informed a few hours after booking that I got an upgrade to a skyline suite king for my two night stay. Upon arrival into the gorgeous lobby, the courteous staff welcomed me to this recently renovated hotel in a 100 year old Gentleman's club. The hotel design manages to blend historic and modern beautifully in the common areas, the numberous event spaces, and the rooms.

As the name suggests, the skyline suite is a top floor unit with a loft-style second-floor bedroom and master bath, overlooking the living room, as well as the city of KC. The room also has a half-bath when you first enter on the main (14th) floor, as well as a kitchen sink (remnants of a past life as an apartment). I honestly didn't want to leave the room for my short stay, but I decided to explore the hotel facilities, which were all open for exploration, despite not being fully open for business. The event spaces in this hotel were absolutely gorgeous and quite diverse, including a large ballroom with stained glass windows and a balcony overlooking the main floor. Up on the 15th floor, there is a large indoor/outdoor event space with two large rooms and a wrap-around outdoor terrace, overlooking the city. In the basement, the 'lounge' was currently being renovated, but it promises to be a fantastic drinking spot when it does open up later this year. The restaurant was only opened limited hours (closed Mon & Tues), and the breakfast was limited to a few items from the coffee bar (pastries, energy bars, and a frozen breakfast burrito). The lobby bar is open every night for happy hour and a nightcap, as well as light snack offerings and a couple meal options.

The location is right in the heart of downtown, across the street from a nice grocery store and only a couple blocks from the Power and Light District, as well as the convention center. I actually didn't have a car, but there is a local bus that goes to/from MCI only a few blocks away, which saved me quite a bit (especially since the bus and tram are free in KC right now).

All in all, this stay was exactly what I needed to reset after a long year of not being able to travel as usual. Normally, I only go for aspirational hotels in Europe and Asia, so getting the loft suite upgrade definitely helped quench my yearning for some luxury travel, even in someplace as far from the exotic as Kansas City. This is absolutely my favorite hotel in the midwest, and definitely my favorite stay since Covid shut life down (including another Unbound hotel, a Thompson, and several Kimptons).

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Skyline loft
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Living room
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View from 14th floor
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Kitchen nook
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Half bath
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Loft bedroom
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Master bath
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Lobby
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Basement lounge (in progress)
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Restaurant
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Event space
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Event space
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Gym
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Main ballroom
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Main ballroom
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Vintage lobby
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Stairs
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Exterior
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Happy hour cheese plate
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Coffee bar
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Rooftop bar
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Roof terrace
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roof fire pit
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Roof terrace
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Roof terrace
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Top floor ballroom
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Top floor bar
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Basement 'lounge'
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Lobby art
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Lighting by Wonder Woman

Congrats to the hotel - one of the best new hotels (T+L)
 

Apparently, Travel + Leisure named this hotel as one of the best new hotels in the world, an honor I definitely agree with based on my recent stay.

Looks like a beautiful hotel. Now if there was ever any reason to visit Kansas City...

I take it you're a Nine Inch Nails fan?

Indeed!

I actually have to say that I quite enjoyed just aimlessly wandering around downtown KC. The area is shockingly clean and architecturalIy interesting, with a juxtaposition of 100-year-old high-rises, alongside some very modern buildings. I found myself taking quite a few pictures of various buildings. The city does have a rich history, if you go back to the railroad days, when it was basically at the center of that universe. The tram is a great addition, allowing easy access to the riverfront and Union Station from downtown. I used to go frequently as a kid, but downtown was always a no-go zone for us, as it had become quite derelict and crime-ridden. I had only made one recent trip back a few years ago for a wedding, but we were too busy running around to spend much time downtown. I was actually staying a block away from where the Hotel KC is, at the Hilton President, but I don't even remember walking outside much on that trip.

If you do go, I would definitely recommend a visit to the Steamship Arabia Museum, Union Station, and the neighboring WWI Museum (perched atop a hill overlooking downtown, which is also a great spot to go at night for the view of the city). That said, there were a few times I thought I missed the zombie apocalypse, as there was practically no one walking around the streets on Monday or Tuesday morning in early April. But I never once felt unsafe, and I did not recall even seeing any homeless people walking around (a refreshing change of pace from my own town). There is a nearby entertainment district that comes alive at nights and on weekends, but very little in the way of shopping in the immediate vicinity, beyond the grocery store.

The Kansas City Fed is located in an interesting historical building, It has a display area (museum) which IIRC is free and allows you to see part of the interior.

There's also a shopping complex on the edge of town (probably several miles or under fifteen minutes to drive) which is claimed to be an early example of an American shopping center. There used to be a RC next to it, but I think that hotel has been reflagged.

A new Federal Reserve building was built several years ago, it’s next to the National World War I Memorial and Museum, they do have a nice free exhibit/museum, but it’s not currently open at all, when it is open it keeps bankers hours, weekdays only. The old Federal Reserve is being turned into an Embassy Suites and maybe a data center in the basement.
The Plaza is allegedly the oldest planned shopping center in the Country, it's main drag is 47th Street starting at Main/Broadway, a cheap Uber ride from downtown. What’s interesting is the design of it from about a century ago is much like many lifestyle centers that have now replaced the indoor mall in some cases. In a few years there will be a streetcar connecting downtown to the Plaza, it currently stops at what would be about 24th Street (Pershing Road); which is Union Station/World War I Memorial/Crown Center.

It was open for us, though we had to get tickets in advance and they were sold out. Awesome if you want to see more money in one place then you will likely EVER see.

Looks like we need the admins to add this hotel to the index? We spent two nights here and I wrote up a review here:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/expe...l#post33361942

Staying here in a couple of weeks really looking to enjoy it. Thanks for the review and let me know if any of you have questions I can answer.

Thanks, I assumed it was still closed because there are always so few cars there. It is a nice museum and worth the visit, but you don’t need to plan on more than an hour for it.

Staying here now... Was upgraded to a two queen loft suite after significant prodding. I know I shouldn't push but occupancy is low... Why not take care of your globalists? They wanted to put me in a king suite when I was traveling with my 18 year old daughter. Then they wanted to up charge me $100 night for a loft 2 queen suite when it was going to sit empty anyway.

I am overall thankful but just hate the rigamarole. Another thing that is an annoyance is the breakfast credit, it's only $30. Doesn't matter if you have 4 people or 1, it's $30. We'll see how breakfast goes.

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That's one thing I haven't really done there yet...so I'm interested to hear your thoughts on breakfast. I've had food off the bar menu (not bad), but that's different than what they have in the actual restaurant (not open on Monday and Tuesday, I believe). Anyone had that??

Well breakfast here is a disaster, I guess it's fine if you're one person or even a couple. The hotel only gives $30 which covers basically two meals is all. I messaged the Twitter team and unfortunately they couldn't help either. Thumbs up for the beautiful loft suite, thumbs down for the breakfast.
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What made it a "disaster"? I think $30/person each day is pretty generous, imo. Planning to stay here next month and upon speaking to the hotel, it sounds like you can definitely get a filling breakfast for the $30 credit.