Top 10 Bluestem Hotels

Stayed here recently for a conference; requested and received Suite Night Upgrade to the Presidental Suite! WOW! Now, the hotel and surrounding area had been without power for the previous 22 hr and just regained it a few hours before I arrived. Suite was def warm- and I thought it was because of the power outage. Tried to turn up the fan which didn't change a thing. (in fact, I turned all 3 thermostats I found in there down to 60 and high fan and it never changed over 4 days! So- this suite is on the 38th floor and spans the width of the building so different views of the city from LR/DR and BR. Large 4 poster bed-- but there is a 4 inch ”ledge” around the mattress which is waist high to me (at 5-6”) making it extremely difficult to get into! Then discovered the bedside table and lamp was too far away to reach from bed...3 of the 4 pillows were incredibly lumpy- glad I only needed one pillow! Flat sheet on the bottom which wasn't long enough to be tucked in on top or side so it looked like a war had occurred in the morning (oh- and 2 comforters on the bed but don't know if it ever got cooler than 75 or so!). HUGE bathroom- big double size tub (but the row of lights over it had 3/4 of bulbs out), big steam shower with fabulous water pressure (but mildew on ceiling and amongst the marble tile), large bottles of fancy products in the shower (that could not be opened for those of you worried about that-I'm not, but see lots of angst about this). Several spots in teh BR had mildew, and lightening wasn't great for makeup. LR has 2 love seat sized couches (found some sort of canisters in between the seat cushions- ew!) large desk, table for 8 on the DR side plus a full kitchen (but a dirty black plastic serving spoon was on the stovetop!). Lots of nice artwork throughout. Carpet was stained in many areas. Never saw a TV remote though TVs were in the bedroom, bathroom and LR (didn't look real hard in LR, wasn't watching TV anyway, but thought it was odd). Housekeeping did come in after 2nd night, remade the bed with the same (wrinkled) sheets. Conference rooms were pretty darn cold. Oh, and did tell front desk that the AC wasn't working, but nothing changed. (Heard someone else on 38th floor complaining too). Lounge hours are limited- never made it there. Did have a bite to eat in the restaurant bar one evening- def not worth the calories or $. Unfortunately not much around open after 5 or 6, esp on a Sunday evening. Lobby is gorgeous, lots of seating in many areas incl tables with outlets for working.

Westin is yet another business masking a massive decrease in service behind “pandemic safety.” The hotel itself is nice. Beds are new and comfortable, rooms are spacious, and the fitness room is well appointed. It’s the only hotel I’ve stayed in recently that had a comfortable HVAC system. The fan can be set to stay on, so the air remains fresh when heating/cooling aren’t running which helped me sleep. Rooms have a mini-fridge and a lovely big TV. However, I stayed six nights and my room was only visited by housekeeping once. They didn’t even bother to restock the in-room coffee, provide more shampoo, or refresh towels. I had to stop at the front desk. This was ostensibly for pandemic safety but I wasn’t in my room so any risk from simply replenishing supplies was purely imaginary. The hotel restaurant is only open for breakfast and the rest of the day service is only in the bar. The bar was somewhat understaffed and waits for drinks got lengthy in the evening. Coffee was only available in the morning. All of this is fine at AirBnB rates, but Westin is still charging as if they are a four-star hotel. What am I paying for if there is so little service? I also can’t recommend anyone book a conference here. I was attending a hobby conference where we were paying out of pocket. Westin didn’t provide any signage and allowed a ravenous horde of people from a professional conference to descend on our limited snacks. They messed up an expensive Friday dessert event by running out of food. Rooms were shifted around on short notice and some of our classes were crammed into a tiny, stuffy, room for six hours. To add insult to injury on Saturday night the hotel hosted a frat party and drunk kids roamed the halls singing loudly, laughing, and banging on doors until 3 AM. Westin didn’t have enough staff to keep these unruly guests under control. I am unlikely to stay here again without asking a LOT of questions in advance and frankly Marriott should be ashamed.

I've been coming to KC about every other year or so, for approximately 20 years, for work. I almost always stay at The Raphael Hotel. PROS - The hotel has that unique, kind-of-eccentric feel to it that I've found in some Autograph hotels. It has a personality, and feels somewhat European - Great location. There are shops, restaurants, museums, and beautiful houses within walking distance - Friendly staff. Tracee, a front desk agent, was helpful. David has been helping me with my bags for 17 years, and I understand that Bob has also been there that long. - I collected Bonvoy points - I received a complimentary upgrade to a suite. I'd requested a quiet room via the chat function, and they assigned me a room at the end of the hallway - They recycle, and have moved away from small plastic bottles to large refillable bottles - Pretty views from the top floors - I always have a drink and its charmingly-named neighborhood restaurant/bar, Chaz. It's quirky, like the rest of the property. Last time, a guy sat at the bar with his dog. This time, they had a musical duo (two older gentleman). Live music in a small setting can sometimes be annoying, but these guys were enjoyable, and the room was into it - The basic five requirements were met: The room was clean. It was dark at night. I could control the temperature. It was quiet. The bed had a top sheet. CONS - While Chaz has a certain je ne sais quoi at night, it's a little dreary at breakfast time

I have traveled many places and dealt with many of industry employees. Albert, by far, has been the most accommodating. He has made my stay extremely comfortable and made sure if I had any needs they were fulfilled. That type of hospitality is very rare. Marriot has one of a kind employee that emulates charisma and care. I sincerely hope marriot sees this, because he is extremely caring and courteous. I would come back with my family on vacation here, primarily because of how I was treated by Albert.

The friends we went to from the airport were very convenient. It would be great if we took a taxi directly. Then the front desk service was very friendly. We stayed in so many hotels and felt that the price performance of the hotel was very high. Recommended

This hotel is on the National Registrar of Historic Places and in a historic area of KC. This creates a nostalgic vibe. The hotel gym is adequate and lots of shops and restaurants are nearby within walking distance. Overall I had a great stay.