Comfort Inn & Suites Shawnee - Kansas City — Hotel in Shawnee

The manager is dishonest, does not hold true to his word and disrespects his team thoroughly. Every time we witnessed an employee call this manager it was met with what appeared to be as fear and discomfort due to the lack of contributions the manager would offer and leave employees hanging with upset customers or problems they could not resolve. Kash told us to contact Expedia, which we did and then Expedia told us Kash denied our refund even though Kash, over the phone, ensured and promised he would get the refund to our room effectively and promptly. ||He is a liar and did not hold true. We had the WORST experience ever at a hotel in our lives and we have never experienced such unprofessional and DIScomfort at a "comfort inn" - the owners and management need to be adjusted and rehired. Still waiting to hear back from anybody to rectify this and make this right.|||The exterior of the building was unsafe due to the construction crew balancing ladders on top of other ladders and then sliding ladders down the building side to collapse it while standing on the ladder itself.|||The rooms were dirty, unkept and very minimal cleaning was done. It felt gross staying here and nobody working the desk seemed to ever know where anything was and not even the manager appeared to know where much was. A lot of scrambling around and unhappy customers every day we stayed.||This hotel is extremely unprofessional and dirty. BE WARNED.||We traveled to this hotel to stay with some friends for the week and we were met with a room that had not been cleaned yet and was still dirty from previous use. ||The bed was not made, it was in fact dirty and littered with garbage and used washrags amidst the food particles and debris from previous sleepers. The sheets were gross and dirty with hair pieces and a weird colored substance along with being wrinkled up and tossed around from previous use. There was a washrag with lipstick on it as if a woman used it to get the excess lipstick off her mouth. The pillows were also filthy. That was just the bed.||The bathroom was used with hair in the toilet and sink had garbage from wrappers and things used previously from others. There was a coffee cup and lid thrown about in random spots. The towels were dirty and some on the floor, one in the garbage and no clean towels were to be found usable.||The kitchen/refrigerator area was dirty and used with no supplies stocked or counters wiped down.||The TV area had, and we counted, 12 used hotel door keys stacked randomly on the entertainment center. ||Upon discovering all of this, we proceeded back to the front desk where we were met with the ONLY person who wanted to help us at all - his name is Vemsi. This, again, is the only individual who was helpful and mortified at what we had discovered upon entry to the room.||I explained what we had, we took photos and showed him and he agreed it was unacceptable but due to the busy week, due to NASCAR, it was totally booked and the maid services were not present so he told us we could make our own bed and at least have a place to sleep for the night and he would discuss a refund for my wife and I as this was unacceptable, to which we agreed.||He decided to call his Manager KASH and this is where the problems started unfortunately. Kash only answered the phone one time to which he did not provide any solutions and made Vemsi figure out what to do on his own. During the phone call he was hung up on, deliberately, and he was ignored upon trying to call back 2 times. ||Vemsi decided he was going to help us and came up to the room himself to see it first hand and was completely embarrassed and shamed of the condition of the room we were dealt with. While he was making the bed it was discovered that the manager KASH was STAYING IN THE VERY HOTEL we were staying in and decided to NOT make himself present and do the managerial thing to come meet us and try to find a solution or offer a refund. Not one thing was done by this man the entire awful transaction of an experience we had. Vemsi appeared scared that he mentioned by mistake that his manager was staying in the hotel in a room just down the hall. ||The construction crew that was working on the building was staying in the hotel and had rooms assigned to them. It was later discovered that they also had access to the storage rooms and breakfast supply room as they made their own coffee and utilized the utensils for the coffee dispenser on their own behalf. ||We stayed the first night and Vemsi said that the manager agreed to meet at 7am the next morning. We agreed and showed up the next day at 7am and Kash did NOT show. The people working the desk said, "yeah, he comes in later sometimes, he has to wake up and he comes in when he wakes up" which to my wife and I we found extremely unprofessional and concerning. We went to have breakfast and noticed not one thing really was stocked and other room renters were upset and disgruntled with the service they were receiving and one customer was even taking photos of the condition of things and the exterior of the building. The construction workers had balanced a ladder about two stories up on two other ladders making an upside U shape essentially and it was just balanced, extremely unsafe for anyone below if the wind should get it just right. ||Kash said he was going to give us a refund, he did not and instead lied. Still trying to contact him...

This hotel is extremely unprofessional and dirty. BE WARNED.

We traveled to this hotel to stay with some friends for the week and we were met with a room that had not been cleaned yet and was still dirty from previous use.

The bed was not made, it was in fact dirty and littered with garbage and used washrags amidst the food particles and debris from previous sleepers. The sheets were gross and dirty with hair pieces and a weird colored substance along with being wrinkled up and tossed around from previous use. There was a washrag with lipstick on it as if a woman used it to get the excess lipstick off her mouth. The pillows were also filthy. That was just the bed.

The bathroom was used with hair in the toilet and sink had garbage from wrappers and things used previously from others. There was a coffee cup and lid thrown about in random spots. The towels were dirty and some on the floor, one in the garbage and no clean towels were to be found usable.

The kitchen/refrigerator area was dirty and used with no supplies stocked or counters wiped down.

The TV area had, and we counted, 12 used hotel door keys stacked randomly on the entertainment center.

Upon discovering all of this, we proceeded back to the front desk where we were met with the ONLY person who wanted to help us at all - his name is Vemsi. This, again, is the only individual who was helpful and mortified at what we had discovered upon entry to the room.

I explained what we had, we took photos and showed him and he agreed it was unacceptable but due to the busy week, due to NASCAR, it was totally booked and the maid services were not present so he told us we could make our own bed and at least have a place to sleep for the night and he would discuss a refund for my wife and I as this was unacceptable, to which we agreed.

He decided to call his Manager KASH and this is where the problems started unfortunately. Kash only answered the phone one time to which he did not provide any solutions and made Vemsi figure out what to do on his own. During the phone call he was hung up on, deliberately, and he was ignored upon trying to call back 2 times.

Vemsi decided he was going to help us and came up to the room himself to see it first hand and was completely embarrassed and shamed of the condition of the room we were dealt with. While he was making the bed it was discovered that the manager KASH was STAYING IN THE VERY HOTEL we were staying in and decided to NOT make himself present and do the managerial thing to come meet us and try to find a solution or offer a refund. Not one thing was done by this man the entire awful transaction of an experience we had. Vemsi appeared scared that he mentioned by mistake that his manager was staying in the hotel in a room just down the hall.

The construction crew that was working on the building was staying in the hotel and had rooms assigned to them. It was later discovered that they also had access to the storage rooms and breakfast supply room as they made their own coffee and utilized the utensils for the coffee dispenser on their own behalf.

We stayed the first night and Vemsi said that the manager agreed to meet at 7am the next morning. We agreed and showed up the next day at 7am and Kash did NOT show. The people working the desk said, "yeah, he comes in later sometimes, he has to wake up and he comes in when he wakes up" which to my wife and I we found extremely unprofessional and concerning. We went to have breakfast and noticed not one thing really was stocked and other room renters were upset and disgruntled with the service they were receiving and one customer was even taking photos of the condition of things and the exterior of the building. The construction workers had balanced a ladder about two stories up on two other ladders making an upside U shape essentially and it was just balanced, extremely unsafe for anyone below if the wind should get it just right.

Kash said he was going to give us a refund, he did not and instead lied. Still trying to contact him...

Extremely Disappointed – Unresolved Issues and Poor Customer Service I booked a two-night stay at this hotel through the Choice Hotels website for the Comfort Inn in Shawnee, KS on March 31, 2025, paying approximately $330. Unfortunately, my experience from June 27–29, 2025, was deeply disappointing and frustrating.

June 27, 2025 – Arrival and First Impressions Upon arrival, we checked into a room on the third floor. The elevator was noisy and clearly in need of maintenance. Disturbingly, just outside the elevator, Room 317 had a door that appeared to have been kicked in, marked with a “Caution Keep Out” sign, and emitting a foul odor. The hallway was filled with an overpowering chemical smell. While our room itself was clean and comfortable, the bathroom door wouldn’t not open all the way and we discovered that the shower had no hot water. Attempts to contact the front desk went unanswered, and due to time constraints for a prenuptial dinner, we were unable to address the issue immediately.

June 28, 2025 – No Hot Water, No Response The next morning, the hot water issue persisted. I repeatedly called the front desk from our room phone with no response. With a family wedding to attend, we had no choice but to take cold showers. I reported the issue in person before leaving, and the front desk staff assured me maintenance would look into it. However, upon returning late that night, the problem remained unresolved. I again received no answer from the front desk phone, so I went down in person. The night staff, casually dressed and unprofessional in appearance, apologized. A man named Max suggested moving us to another room, but we declined as my husband was already asleep. Max admitted maintenance does not work on weekends and said he would check the breaker. He also promised compensation for the inconvenience. Unfortunately, the hot water issue remained unresolved.

June 29, 2025 – Still No Hot Water, No Follow-Up The next morning, we again had no hot water. At checkout, I spoke with the same staff member from the night before. She apologized and said she would leave a note for the manager, who would be in later that day. I provided my contact information and was told I would receive a call. That call never came. I attempted to call the hotel three more times that day, no answer and no voicemail option.

Escalation to Corporate and Final Attempt at Resolution I contacted Choice Hotels Customer Service and spoke with JC, a representative, who documented my case and submitted a request for the hotel manager to contact me. He also advised me to continue trying to reach the hotel directly. On June 30, I finally reached someone named Bobby. After explaining the situation, she dismissively asked, “What do you want? A discount or something?” I explained that we paid for a room with basic amenities, including hot water, which we never received. She offered a mere $30 credit—less than 10% of our total cost—which I found unacceptable. She refused to escalate the issue further, stating the manager, Sunny, would not be available until the following Monday and he would call me then.

Final Thoughts After this experience, I looked up reviews for this property and was disheartened to find numerous similar complaints dating back months—no hot water, foul odors, broken doors, unresponsive staff, and poor customer service. It’s clear these issues are ongoing and unaddressed. This hotel continues to rent rooms without resolving serious maintenance and service problems.

I would strongly advise against staying at this property. Based on this experience, I am also reconsidering staying at any Choice Hotels in the future and will be canceling my rewards account...