Downtown Kansas City Hotel Review - Sheraton

There’s no shortage of hotel options in Kansas City – I’ve tried many of them. Our last couple of overnight stays have been at the Sheraton Kansas City at Crown Center. We’ve stayed there for a Radiohead concert at the Sprint Center; and this time around, we stayed there because it was centrally located near several of the family-friendly attractions we planned on seeing.

Updated: Sept. 27, 2018

Disclosure: Our stay in Kansas City was hosted by the Kansas City Convention and Visitors Bureau. All thoughts, opinions and typos are my own.

The Sheraton at Crown Center is totally decked out for the holidays. It's quite a sight to walk into. — Our most recent stay at the Sheraton Kansas City at Crown Center was in December – how’s that for holiday decorations?

And by centrally-located, I mean we could walk to them! How’s that for convenience? Park once and see it all.

What’s At The Sheraton Hotel

The Sheraton is quite tall – 40+ floors. The elevator ride impressed the kids.

The view from the top floor of the Sheraton...on a rainy day. — The view from the top floor of the Sheraton…on a rainy day.

The top floor of the tower is the lounge for Starwood Preferred Guests. If you are one, you can enjoy complimentary continental breakfast with a view.

…which my kids ignored because, TV!

Seriously, kids, avert your eyes from the TV for one second.

There are a couple other dining options there, including a bar & grill kind of restaurant and a cafe.

The hotel is designed for large gatherings and meetings, so several floors are taken up by those spaces. It’s kinda awkward taking the elevator down from the tower with all the rooms, scrambling across the mezzanine to find the other elevator that will take you to the pool area. Pack a good swimsuit cover, is all I have to say about that.

Speaking of the pool. You guys. It’s a heated roof-top pool.

Sheraton Kansas City at Crown Center's rooftop pool. — Sheraton Kansas City at Crown Center’s rooftop pool. It was an unusually warm December weekend for us – no snow!

So you could be swimming in the middle of a snow storm, if things timed out right. Or a rain shower, as was the case for us.

In case you’re wondering, it’s not that heated (by my wimpy standards). While my crazy family swam in the December rain, I was in the hot tub, thank you very much.

The short tunnel amused the kids too.

OK, I'll admit, the tunnel was fun for me to swim through too. — OK, I’ll admit, the tunnel was fun for me to swim through too.

You can order food to be delivered to the pool area, which sounds like a good idea if it’s summer and you’re in the mood to lounge around all afternoon.

The rooms are pretty comfy – we had two double beds. We lucked out with a partial view of Crown Center and the Ice Terrace skating rink. It’s a charming scene at nighttime.

Attractions Near The Sheraton

Sheraton is connected to being connected to Crown Center and Union Station attractions by the climate-controlled Link system.

Sheraton Crown Center is an easy walk from Crown Center attractions thanks to the Link system over the streets.

Use it! Parking can get pricey, so if you just pay for your hotel parking ($17-$24/day), you can go to attractions like SEA LIFE Kansas City Aquarium, LEGO Discovery Land and Science City.

Here’s a roundup of what’s walkable from the Sheraton – walking with two kids under 7, with a pit stop for lunch at Crown Center.

– SEA LIFE Kansas City Aquarium (Crown Center district)

– LEGOLAND® Discovery Center (Crown Center district)

– The FREE Hallmark Visitors Center and Kaleidoscope (Crown Center district)

– Ice Terrace (seasonal outdoor ice skating rink at Crown Center)

– Coterie Theatre (Crown Center district)

– Musical Theater Heritage (Crown Center district)

– Union Station – Be sure to check what traveling exhibition is there!

– Science City (located inside Union Station)

– Arvin Gottlieb Planetarium (located inside Union Station)

– Model Railroad Experience (located inside Union Station)

– Regnier Extreme Screen Theatre (located inside Union Station)

– H&R Block Stage (located inside Union Station)

– The National World War I Museum and Memorial

– The Money Museum at the Federal Reserve Bank (you receive a complimentary bag of shredded currency there as a souvenir – worth $165).

– City Market is 2 miles away

– Country Club Plaza is about 3.5 miles away

– Crossroads Arts District is less than a mile away

Restaurants

One of the best breakfasts I had in KC was at the Blue Bird Bistro, a little more than a mile from the hotel. Another good and quirky choice for breakfast is You Say Tomato, also a little more than a mile from the Sheraton.

You’ll find a handful of restaurants at Crown Center, which is a mix of chains like Panera and unique kid-friendly spots like Fritz’s Railroad Restaurant and, on the other end of the spectrum, the upscale The American. I know people who swear by Fritz’s – it’s where the model train delivers your food to the table. Personally, the food was not worth the wait to me, but yes, the kids loved it.

Union Station has a couple restaurant choices, including Harvey’s at Union Station (I hear brunch is good there). Jack Stack BBQ has a location that’s near Union Station and I’d recommend it.

If you head to Crossroads Arts District, you’ll find some unique places to eat including Lidia’s KC (if you’re a big PBS fan, you know who she is). The Sundry and Cafe Gratitude were recommended to me, but I don’t know if any of those are kid-friendly. When it was just me and Mr. Wonderful in Kansas City, Crossroads was a fun place to visit, and if we get another couples-only vacation to KC, we’ll go back there.