Stayed at this hotel the weekend of the Bruce Springsteen concert. We really enjoyed our stay. This is a great historic hotel with updated rooms (but old windows). Complimentary wine and cheese on Friday evening. I have just two concerns: 1) only one night stand on one side of the bed, and 2) the restaurant was not prepared for the post-concert customers.

Love Art Deco and was glad to see this beautiful gem saved and restored. The staff was helpful and the location was very nice. Ate in the hotel grill/bar, it was excellent food and drinks. My only complaint would be the bar management. They need to be better prepared for large events or crowds. I was there to attend Bruce Springsteen Concert and afterwards the bar was overworked and understaffed. One bartender, 2 wait staff and an entire section on the side not being used and people were standing and waiting to sit down. Very poor planning!

We stayed at Hotel Phillips for a weekend in early November while in KC for business. We were impressed as soon as we stepped into the stylish lobby. Someone did a thoughtful, tasteful job creating a warm, elegant but not fussy space.

The hotel's live jazz performance in the evening was a great way to unwind. We were bummed to have missed the earlier complimentary happy hour in the lobby. The business services center was last minute life saver too.

Our double room was very spacious and the layout granted is both some privacy. We also liked the big bathroom.

The one area for improvement I saw was slacker valets. They often couldn't be found or if around, couldn't be bothered to stop chatting to take a claim ticket or fetch cars.

We used this hotel as part of a family Wedding. The location is ideal for all of the Downtown activities. Much of the hotel is fairly nicely renovated but most of it is purely cosmetic. It is still a very old and rundown building.

Our biggest issues were with customer service and training. It started with no one in our party being able to check-in until 3. Now we know that check-in is not guaranteed until 3pm, but every hotel has that policy. As someone who travels for work and averages 90-100 nights a year in hotels, I don't think I have ever actually had to wait that long to check-in. They clearly did not have enough housekeepers. This was also evident when we finally got our room. We walked in and immediately were struck by the strong smell of tobacco (This is a non-smoking hotel). Weren't we waiting forever on rooms because they were being cleaned ? There was NO way an attentive housekeeper should have signed off on that smell in the room. Is there not a supervisor checking work? We turned on the air to see if it helped, but it only made it worse. Within 5 minutes our throats became scratchy and we could feel that this wasn't going to work. When we called down to the front desk we were told that they would find us another room but it would probably be about 45 min to an hour (4pm). We left the room and went to the lobby, because the smell was too strong. We went to the front desk and told them we had come down. We were then given another room. It was great to get a new room right away, but what changed in the 5 minutes since we called? Rooms weren't available and now they are?

Our next request to the front desk and housekeeping staff was for Foam/Hypo-allergenic pillows, because we are both allergic to feather/down. This is not an unusual request and is easily accommodated across the country by many hotels. Many even provide them in every room. The Hotel Phillips advertises on their website the availability as part of their accommodations. We were initially told "no problem" and they would send them up. An hour later we had no pillows. We called again and were told that they didn't have any available. Two issues: Why are they not available? Were you going to call us and tell us or just not show up? They apologized again (pattern emerging: they're good at the apology but terrible on follow-through) and promised to locate some before the evening. We went down to leave for the nights activities and followed-up one on one with them at the desk. They assured us we would have them in our room when we returned. We arrived to the room about 11pm, tired and ready for bed, to find no pillows. We called and again got an apology. They said they would send them. We waited 30 minutes (too long even if they got it right) and a staff member brought them. When we began to put the new pillows on the bed, we realized they were all DOWN! They sent us new DOWN pillows. I called back down and got another apology and were told they didn't have any more down alternative. Again, WHY?! And were you going to tell us?! So we gave up and told them to forget it. We went to bed. 45 minutes later (now past midnight) we were asleep. We were actually WOKEN up by a staff member at the door (privacy please was on the door). They apparently located ONE pillow. He also had a card for a credit of $30 at the hotel bar. For $30 they could have sent someone to Target hours ago to BUY a pillow.

The entire customer service operation is amateur hour. Everyone seems to be trying very hard and they get points for that. However, it is extremely clear that the management is not training them properly. This can never be more than a 2-3 star hotel without people who know what they are doing. About the only part of the hotel that ran well was the Valet. They were very polite and very quick with the car.

After our experience on day 1 we avoided dealing with all employees for the next two days. It was just too frustrating. If we weren't there with a large wedding group we would have checked out on day one and gone somewhere else. Location is the ONLY reason to stay at this hotel.