Kansas City Hotels
 

I am planning a weekend trip and am researching hotels. The Westin Crown Center looks nice, but at night is the area pretty dead? Would we be better off near the Country Club Plaza? Or Westport? We like to eat out, hear live music. Any thoughts on BBQ joints or jazz clubs? Has anyone stayed at the Embassy Suites Plaza? I like the idea of a suite. Thanks for any advice!

They only time I went downtown in Kansas City at night, it was like a ghost town. By all means stay out at Country Club Plaza. We loved the charming old Raphael, which is all suites, but there are many "fancier" and newer places in the area.

Sorry, I just realized the alternate was at Crown Center, not downtown, but again, I'd still opt for Country Club Plaza.

Stay near the Plaza...

Gates has good BBQ. Westport is for the 20 somethings. Rough part of town that is the happening place at night for that age group.

Perhaps someone who currently lives there could help. I'm not a native. We lived there for 3 years and moved last year.

The Embassy Suites Plaza is not on the Plaza (that's an advertising stretch), and is not very nice.
The Westin CC is pretty old and worn, and at night there's nothing going on around that area.
There are jazz clubs downtown, and a couple on the Plaza.
Stay near the Plaza. If you want extra room and are on a moderate budget, check the Residence Inn a block north of the Plaza. It's only a year or two old. There's also a Sheraton Suites on the Plaza (think small suites).

Thanks! I will look at the Residence Inn and Sheraton. I think the Sheraton and maybe Marriott? are on Priceline! I stayed at the Westin in St. Louis recently and loved the design of rooms. But, the Westin CC may not be the same. The Raphael does look charming.

The Westin is a nice hotel and there is a nice variety of restaurants in and around Crown Center.

Crown Center doesn't have a lot of night life, though it does have live and movie theaters. If you are making the trip this winter, Crown Center also has the advantages of enclosed walkways and the outdoor skating rink.

As a none smoker, my favorite venue for jazz is the Blue Room at 18th and Vine. Because it is attached to the Jazz museum, no smoking is permitted inside. They pipe the music out front so folks can still listen during their smoke brakes.

The club has reasonable drink prices, a nice people mix and is open 4 days a week. More info at http://www.americanjazzmuseum.com/?p...action=display

For BBQ, my recomendations would change depending on where you end up staying and what you are looking for (fancy, dive, lamb, sweet potato fries, beef ribs, etc). But if I was recomending just one place to visitors, it would be the orginal Arthur Bryants at 18th and Brooklyn, only a few blocks from the Blue Room http://www.arthurbryantsbbq.com/

Keith

beachkomer - you can't go wrong with the country club plaza. i'm not sure of your budget, but i would consider the fairmont and raphael on the higher end or the hampton inn suites and residence inn on the mid to lower end. another nice option in westport is the quarterage, much nicer than the embassy suites in my opinion.

as for bbq, i prefer the original arthur bryants. good jazz can be found at venues such as the blue room, the phoenix,the majestic, plaza III (basement), etc.

enjoy your trip!

Absolutely the Raphael!! It has just received 2 prestigious hotel awards (forgot what they are) and you can't beat the Plaza area. If Raphael is too expensive, the Hampton Inn and Suites is still a great Plaza location and very nice hotel. Visit Westport day and night but stay on the Plaza.

If you stay on the Plaza...check out O'Dowd's for live Irish music on most weekends. Be advised that it gets crowded there, though. Also, The Phoenix downtown (just a 10-15 minute cab from the Plaza) has great jazz and atmosphere. All of the clubs in the "jazz district" at 18th & Vine are worth seeing. Be wary of the bars in Westport. They are very crowded on weekends and end up being sort of seedy sometimes. I have heard some good music on the patio of Harpo's, though. For restaurants, the ones on the plaza are nice...but my favorite in the area is Osteria Il Centro, which is a few blocks from the Plaza, which makes it less crowded and less expensive. It's delicious Italian food and I LOVE the atmosphere there. Enjoy Kansas City--don't forget to visit the Nelson Atkins Art Museum a few blocks from the Plaza!

and O'Dowd's is in the idine program so you can pickup some FF miles:-)

Keith

I get the idea that Westport is the "party zone" and many of you have mentioned the "seedy" factor. Since I am looking at staying on the CC Plaza, are there some nice bars for evening entertainment, or does the CC Plaza "roll up the sidewalks" at 10PM? It would be nice to not have to worry about driving/parking somewhere else.
Thanks in advance!

Yeah...there are some fun bars in the Plaza area. O'Dowd's (Irish pub mentioned) is there, also Kona Grill, which is actually a GREAT sushi restaurant has a bar area up front that is usually really lively. Gran Falloon is a popular bar--pretty big with some pool tables in back and laid back atmosphere. Then within short driving distance (or cab distance) there are The Levy, which has live music on the weekends and is really fun, and the Peanut, which is a hole-in-the-wall tiny bar that gets really fun on weekends. The first three are all ON the plaza and you could walk there from any of the hotels down there. Have fun!!!!