Staying at the Hilton President Hotel on Baltimore St./downtown in a few weeks...?

Question

Has this area been revived yet?

I lived in K.C. previously, and was excited to see that this grand old hotel was restored...looks from the internet that the Power and Light District is being built...and that downtown will be having a rebirth....but, currently is there much going on there?

Answer 1

stayed there about 2 weeks ago they did a great job but the rooms are a little plain not to much going on downtown yet but the sprint center will be open in about 6 weeks elton john will be in concert to break it in still not the best place to be at night but hopefully this will all change within in the next year enjoy your return

Answer 2

No real nightlife downtown yet, but good restaurants are there, including: The Mango Room (a mix of Caribbean and soul food, great music), The Majestic (music in basement), The Phoenix, Philips Chop House (no music), etc. Of course, there is still the Quaff and Tanners, good ole sports bars. Downtown is not far from the Freight District (20th/Main) with art galleries and more restaurants (Jack Fiorella's, Lydia's). River Market area also offers alot more restaurant choices including the best Italian restaurant - Garozzo's (near 5th/Main).

Other than alot of construction and one way detours, new condos/townhouses are being built (no grocery), a new Fed Reserve, the new City Hall, and the Sprint Center is being built as a 'replacement' for Kemper; however, it will only hold 13,500 attendance (vs. Kemper's 17,500). It will open in October with the Elton John concert and has a number of bookings, but no signed major sports tenant to date.

Construction on the KCP&L District is behind and will not open until March, coinciding with March Madness and the Big 12 Tourney. They also renovated Music Hall over the last year, improving the seats and sound; however, season ticket cost has significantly increased now they can have shows with larger casts.

We are still missing hotel rooms and light rail to bring folks downtown! Not sure we'll see that in this lifetime....

Answer 3

This Sprint Center is due to open in September with a concert by Elton John.

It's not completely done yet so of course the traffic is still a nightmare but it's getting there.

Was downtown/river market this past Sunday and Dos Hombres is making a comeback and there is now a Bolings in the rivermarket just to name a couple of new enterprises.

Answer 4

I know the guy who handled the restoration. He did an amazing, painstaking job on it. I have never stayed there, but I've been wanting to visit the drum room for some time now. Unfortunately, with all the construction downtown it's not the most inviting place to go. They're trying, but it's not quite ready yet.

Personally, the Hotel Phillips is my favorite hotel in town.