Courtyard by Marriott Kansas City Downtown/Convention Center — Hotel in Kansas City

The best part of this hotel is the location. It is right in the center of downtown Kansas City, with lots to do within walking distance. The rooms were nice and relatively clean. But my positive comments end there.

When I arrived, it was late, and I was tired. The check in itself was alright and the front desk worker, albeit also clearly tired himself, was kind enough. Being my first time staying in this hotel, I didn’t understand the valet parking situation. When I asked if there was a self-parking option because I couldn’t afford the valet rate each night, I was told by the valet attendant that it was the only option and I had to use them. So, not only did they not mention in the hotel description anything about valet parking, but also I wasn’t allowed to park my own car, and was FORCED to use the valet service.

The next day, I went to pick up my fiancé from the airport, and when he arrived, he told me some extra charges were put on his card. We both assumed it was the valet service, as the surcharge for incidentals had already been placed when I checked in. When we arrived back at the hotel, we saw there was a self-pay parking lot right next to the hotel at a fraction of the cost. So, we decided to ask to cancel the valet service. I wish it ended there. We approached the valet attendant on the way in, asking about the charges for the valet service, and she directed us to the front desk. When we went to the front desk, we were met by the worst customer service I have ever experienced.

JJ Chae was her name. She was beyond rude when we asked about the charges to my fiancé’s card, which to us seemed a reasonable concern, but she couldn’t be bothered to help us. We understood that our final bill wouldn’t come until we checked out, but her tone and attitude were so rude it was on the verge of disrespectful. When we started to ask about the valet being charged to our card, she interrupted us and shook her hand at us, telling us curtly to go talk to the valet attendant (the one who told us to go to the front desk) because they were “not affiliated with the valet”. So we went to the valet attendant and asked about the valet service, letting her know that we did not want to use it and would rather park in the lot next door. She then vehemently urged us not to park there, warning us that “you have to pay every time you leave the lot” and if anything happens to the car, the hotel can’t do anything (not that they would, according to other reviews here). But that was all a lie. My fiancé and I paid 20$ for all 4 days we were there, and we came and went as we pleased at no extra charge. When we insisted, she told us to go to the front desk - THE ONE WHO TOLD US TO GO TO THE VALET!! She walked us over to the front desk, and only then, did JJ Chae actually do her job and remove the valet service from our bill, which she said she was unable to do.

Aside from that, if you are in the Courtyard hotel (it is a dual hotel, Courtyard and Residence Inn), you do not have any access to the restaurant, even if you are willing to pay extra for it. You have to go to a bar with limited options, making us feel like lower class guests and treating us as such.

I cannot tell you which hotel to stay at, but I can tell you that there are better options with everything you need and more, right there in KC. Do not stay here....

Honest mistake I only give this one star because I never made it there, but the service was the worst I have ever dealt with. So 6 months ago I made a reservation for 12/2 at this hotel. Today I realized I had made reservations at the wrong Marriott. So I called the hotel to explain the situation. Hoping that they would be understanding about an easy mistake. When the lady answered at the other end she says Hi my name is Kathleen how can I help you. As I'm trying to explain to her she sarcastically tells me I didn't realize this was going to take this long. Let me call you back. I waited for her call. After about 15 minutes she callbacks and tells me the best I can do is not charge you for the other days on your reservation. I will charge you one day for cancelling the day you were suppose to check in. I asked her very nicely if there was anything she could do. She said no that the manager told her that it was the policy of the group reservation. So I called customer service number and Andrea tried calling the hotel. She actually spoke to the manager and said they would not budge on the policy. They were not very helpful individuals. I figured I would try one last time in hopes of trying to plead my case to the manager. I called the hotel directly asked for the manager. He says hello this is Mike. I gave him my reservation number and he knew who I was. Mike said I just got off the phone with customer service and I told them the same thing. We will charge you the one night for cancelling it's the group policy. I told him the group policy states that it is up to the hotel whether they charge you for cancelling. So he tells me I guess the group is making us the bad guys. So we will be the bad guys and charge you the one night. I asked him very politely that this would be a financial burden for us. He just said he apologizes and he still had to charge us one night. I suggest to anyone who stays here don't make any mistakes while booking your reservation. There isn't anyone there that has a kind bone in their body. I can only speak of Kathleen and Mike who I spoke to on the...

The overall experience was excellent. However, there were some major miscommunication and problems that lead to lower the rating. First problem is with miscommunication of billing. When I booked the lodging through Egencia, which is the default way to book through my company Red Hat, I booked Courtyard by Marriot. However, when I arrived there on Sunday, my room had an issue with Wifi, which I had to call the help desk to resolve the issue, and, second, my room key did not work next day. It was found out that, by calling the technical staff, the battery of the door was dead. So, I asked the hotel desk agent, who was courteous, that I will come back to Kansas every week, and I did not expect this to happen. The hotel desk representative then asked whether I want to try out Residence Inn, and she said that she can upgrade to Residence Inn with the same charge. And the experience was very good as I was surprised with all the living room, kitchen, and everything else, though I never got to use this because I am here on business. Now, when I am checking out, I was actually surprised the rate for Residence Inn is much higher per day, though I previously understood that the rate is the same. And there were some technical glitches that the reservation system show to the hotel desk agent, who is different this time, that I booked till Friday, not Thursday as I originally scheduled. That thing eventually worked out, but it made the whole entire process very frustrating and worried. I mean I can reimburse the bill to my company, but this way of making the whole billing process misrepresented seems wrong and not justificable. While I liked the experience at Courtyard/Residence Inn by Marriot, the additional burden, extra hidden charges, and the whole ruining day make me to think second about staying with Marriot...