21c Museum Hotel Kansas City in Kansas City, MO

The front desk staff were incredibly attentive and accommodating. They get five stars. Parking at this hotel is limited, so you’re either paying to park in nearby public parking or $39 PER DAY for valet. I’ve paid $10-20 for valet at other places, but nearly $40 per 24 hours seemed excessive. My room smelled of decay/decomposition, particularly in the bathroom. Previous reviews also mention a foul odor on the 6th floor, which is where I stayed. The sink was chipped and stained, and bath had minimal water pressure and did not convert into shower.

Having grown up in the hospitality industry with a father who was GM and owner of very elite and well known hotels in the south, I was extremely disappointed with my visit. Allow me to explain the three stars, 1. Upon pulling up and having valet take care of our vehicle, the gentleman joked a few times about where was the tip we would be giving him. Completely unfunny and not appropriate. We were planning on tipping him through the text notification and we did but the conversation about the tip he brought up wasn't ok and not professional. Whether the hotel management contracts the valet from an outside company or the employee is directly hired by the management company, proper training and expectations of how to interact with guests would be wise. 2. Our room was on the 6th floor which upon entering smelled of sewage, showed multiple stains in the carpet, the light in the bedroom closet wouldn't turn off, bathroom sink full of chips, one hand towel, one washcloth, one roll of toilet paper, and only one robe for a two queen bedroom. The room did not have any warmth or comfort but very sterile in its feel. 3. Upon checking out the following morning, the female front desk clerk made no bother to ask us about our experience. She asked if I wanted a paper or email copy of my folio and said safe travels. I don't believe she would have cared whether or not I explained to her my disappointment with the stay. Will not return nor ever recommend.

Staff were extremely friendly and helpful, nice food with very relaxing vibe to. The hotel had been recently renovated whilst paying respect to it heritage and close to the CBD and Tram (cable car). The staff provided maps and tourist advice making it easy to see the highlights and get around.

How do you turn a fun-filled family reunion into a miserable experience? Stay at the 21c Museum Hotel in Kansas City. Let's begin with the most egregious and work backward, shall we? My parents car was stolen out of the valet garage - yes, the valet - during their stay. After a Keystone Cops-ish type 45-minute search for the car that involved Quentin (the 'manager' of the PMC Parking company that handles the hotel valet) and a 19-year old who just had the bad luck of working that morning, the car was deemed "gone" and likely stolen. Which it was. The only thing worse than this happening to my 88 and 77 years old mom and dad was that the hotel and valet had little clue on how to handle such a situation. (My sister's car was also broken into in the same garage the hotel uses, the Poindexter Garage on 9th Street). Absent any information from Quentin and the hotel (the GM is only temporary there, more on that later), I was able to find out the owner of the garage, the leaser and handler of the garage operations (MC Realty and Mid-Con) and the security company that, in theory, patrols this and other garages for MC Realty (GardAWorld). So, right off the bat - do NOT valet at this hotel. (Honestly, don't ever book a room or event here, either, but in particular, do not trust your car to PMC Parking or 21c). GardAWorld is simply stretched too thin to do any real "security" work and the car thieves in KC have figured out when they are on property and when they're gone. Mid-Con did look at video for us (again, something I located, not the hotel or valet company) but you can't make out anyone in the car and the car simply crashed through the gate arm to escape that evening. Now, more than a month after we checked in, we are still dealing with bills and credit cards that were not charged properly. And with a seemingly haphazard system at 21c for "hold" charges. As most hotels tell you right off that the "hold" charge for damages will be a set amount ($100, $250, whatever), 21c just randomly selects a number. Sometimes based on what you spend but often, really, it's just random. My brother's hold charge was $300. Another was $90. My sister checked out Sunday morning and opted not to stay that evening after her car was broken into, and the hotel agreed to that (as they should). She was still charged for that evening. My best advice for those considering staying at 21c is this: check in and give it about 4 hours. If things go south, they will not get better and you should run, don't walk, to Hotel Kansas City, Indigo or any number of other properties that take far better care of their customers, have far more experience and are able to handle everything from a large gathering to minute details. 21c's complete failing is in just that: almost zero attention to detail. And part of that comes from the top down. Jason Adimoolah is the "temporary" GM, we were told. And he confirmed during our phone conversation that the hotel is on the hunt for anew GM and that he is "filling that spot" right now. He seems to spend more time in Las Vegas than actually looking after the well-being of this property. Even still, when he's around, the hotel seemingly doesn't operate any more efficiently than when he's gone. Our first night of the family reunion, my daughter and I stayed in a double bed room (we were moving to the 21c suite the following two nights) and were greeted with a room with no working phone, no working fridge and no working air. We were told the room would cool down. But around 10 and then into midnight, we called for a fan or someone to look at the A/C. One of the oddities of this hotel is that the A/C, according to the employees, will bump back up and adjust itself (warmer) as there is less activity in the room. From an efficiency aspect, that makes sense. But when it's 94 out and you're on the sixth floor, that heat bottles itself in with nowhere to go. After being told there were no fans in the hotel, an employee finally found one and brought it to the room at 1:30 a.m. (I was calling the front desk from my cell phone and going through the switchboard since this hotel has a long history of non-working phones). At this point, the room was 78 degrees. We were not offered another room, but someone on the overnight shift somehow reported we did move rooms. Which led to an awful experience the next morning. The pounding on the door began at 8 a.m. and I informed them we were not ready to leave the room. The knocking stopped and they left. As I was in the shower soon after, more pounding on the door, louder and harder this time. My 13-year-old daughter asked them what they needed and they demanded to know "who's name was on the room." I could hear all this, as loud as it was, in the shower, with the bathroom door closed. A third time, after I was out of the shower, more pounding. Asking why I am in the room and telling me they had me in room 412 or 421 or something. I informed them this was our room and that we were moving to the 21c Suite when it opened up. And, honestly, from a customer service standpoint, since we were renting multiple rooms over multiple nights, I am not sure why I wasn't given the 21c Suite. We had food with no place to keep it cool and a room that was an absolute disaster. (It's minor, but dust has formed all over these rooms and it is clear housekeeping only does surface cleans). The 21c Suite was opened early for us, thanks to Katie (almost the only employee at your Kansas City property who took responsibility for the continued issues and tried to make it right). Katie set up the room with dishes and other things we requested. What I didn't know we would need to request were amenities in the shower and Kleenex. The Suite had none. It was just out. And while I am not sure when the Suite was last occupied, it should have been corrected at that point. I found the necessary items on the cart in the hallway and replaced them myself. Your Suite has no freezer, and ice isn't available unless you call the front desk. I get all of that. But when they deliver the ice in a plastic bag, half melted, and I have nowhere to put it, it kind of defeats the purpose. Again, Katie was fantastic and did her best to quarterback all of these issues. What's unfortunate is that staff inside the hotel were unable, so often, to do that themselves. The hotel seemed leaderless that weekend. Likely because ... well, it was. And when the top floors reek of marijuana, phones don't work, details are consistently overlooked and communication is lacking almost at every turn, it's almost unsurprising when the cars get damaged or stolen while under your care. Sunday morning was tough to watch and be a part of. My 88-year-old father is in a chair at the front desk, talking to someone who said she worked in housekeeping and she didn't know where the front desk or other staff were at that time. The police won't come out in person to do stolen vehicle reports. Quentin is dodging all of our questions and at one point threw his hand up and said, "I'm done talking to you." Donald, thankfully, helped my parents get back to Independence - after Quentin refused and then disappeared. The lack of professionalism, again, should have shocked all of us. But by this point in our stay, nothing surprised us. To me, personally, the most shocking part of the weekend was how far 21c in Kansas City had fallen since my girlfriend and I stayed there a few years ago. A historic property in a fantastic section of this historic city has lost its luster, its allure and its right to be called even a 3-star hotel.

Firstly, I dont recommend for more than two night stay. unfortunately, my experience fell far below expectations. During my stay, my room was not refreshed at all. Despite asking at the front desk for my room to be made up and requesting additional coffee and water, none of these requests were fulfilled. For a hotel at this level, it’s disappointing that basic amenities and room upkeep were overlooked. It’s one thing to miss it once, but after following up with the staff, I would have expected better service. I hope the hotel takes this feedback seriously to ensure other guests don’t face the same issue. Additionally, I found the hotel’s “The Future is Female” art exhibit unsettling. The sexual nature of the artwork and the imagery, such as girls heads on boys bodies, did not sit well with me as a woman. What was seemingly intended to empower felt uncomfortable and did not convey the message I hoped for. I hope the hotel considers these concerns and improves both their service and the messaging behind their exhibits.