We really enjoyed our stay here. We wanted to be on the plaza for shopping and New Year's. Our balcony had a small plaza view and the room was comfortable.

We stayed here for 3 nights. We booked directly through the hotel website as to guarantee a room with a view of the Plaza lights. We were offered a gorgeous room and we were delighted by the view! The service was outstanding from start to finish. We were upgraded upon check-in - such a nice touch! We experienced a lack of hot water one morning. When we alerted the front desk of the problem they had a solution within 60 seconds. The hot water was restored and a call from management followed within 5 minutes. We could not have asked for a better or more appropriate response!

I do not know why this hotel receives so many mixed reviews. For a discerning traveler it is simply the place to stay in Kansas City. We were traveling with our kids and they, too, were treated with the utmost respect. And if the kids are happy, everyone is happy...

The InterContinental has certainly earned our approval and we look forward to staying there again!

Stayed here for a few days right after Christmas (when it was actually quite warm in KC).

In terms of location, in KC this hotel is hard to beat. Right on the hill overlooking Country Club Plaza, in walking distance to all the shops and restaurants. I enjoyed just going down the hill and shopping or going to the bookstore or Starbucks to get a coffee and read. There are a lot of nice restaurants on the Plaza - Plaza III steakhouse was great, and I really liked the organic restaurant called "Ingredient" located just down from Plaza III. I thought there was a pretty good nightlife scene later on as well with plenty of bars to choose from.

Back to the hotel, which had a nice staff and helpful doormen. I also liked the fireplace and main lounge dining room with a nice view over the Plaza. Very cozy with the fire going, and a nice place to read the paper and have a coffee in the morning.

In terms of my room, it was spacious, had very comfortable beds, nice furnishings and was large - even with a balcony with a table and chairs. Bigger than your normal nice 3-4 star hotel room for sure. The bathroom was also large, although the finishings were not all that new but certainly adequate. One issue I had with my room was the TV and lack of good HD service or a good picture. I guess it could have been my particular TV set, but it just had poor reception.

The gym downstairs is fine, nice equipment, although only medium-sized. I also stayed at the Crown Plaza which has a much bigger gym area and year-round pool - the Intercontinental's pool is closed during winter unfortunately.

Overall, I'd say the hotel is nice - in my opinion more like a 3.5 star hotel than a 4 star, but frankly having stayed in most of the higher-end hotels in KC I'd say that there's simply not that many that are really truly 4-star compared to the other cities I've stayed in (NYC, London, DC, Chicago etc.). But for Kansas City this is certainly one of the nicest, if not the nicest hotels in town. And the location is hard to beat if you like that area and want to be near some of the better shops and restaurants in town. I would give it 3.5 stars out of 5 in total.

Staying here transports you back to the time of masquerade balls and grand receptions, like you would see from the 1920's (oak paneled walls were a nice touch) . I loved it. The staff, everyone of them, went out of their way to assist in any way. The rooms were great, especially the magnificent overview of the Plaza from our balcony. Great amenities, great surroundings and great location when visiting KC. The Oak Room restaurant was great for breakfast, and the lobby featured live entertainment in the evenings (its hard to beat listening to live piano, watching tap dancing and downing a smooth cocktail next to the fire place after a day of conference). I don't want to know what the boss paid for the rooms, but I would definitely like to stay here again if the opportunity arose.