Staybridge Suites Kansas City - Independence by IHG

The kitchenette had all the amenities, and the rooms felt spacious and cozy. Staff were super friendly, and breakfast was delicious. The one drawback was that the pool was closed for the season, even though the weather was more than suitable. The hotel was amazing when we arrived.

The bed was comfortable, but that was about the only good thing about the room. The bathroom tile was broken and lifting, and whatever repair they tried seemed to make it look worse. The sink drained slowly, so I saw my shaving remnants there each day. Bi-fold door hardware was coming off, the utility closet wasn’t secured and had exposed wires, the kitchen outlet was missing its cover, and there was no silverware. The staff I dealt with were great, from check-in to the woman running breakfast. As a business traveler, I appreciated how carefully she put it together. She added sausage to the gravy instead of serving plain canned gravy with the biscuits, and cheese in the eggs the next day was a nice touch. If maintenance cared as much as the front-of-house staff, this could be a great place.

There were so many problems in less than 24 hours, with bedbugs the biggest one. We kept trying to deal with the issues until that happened, then were treated worse than dog poop. The GM, Tom, took no responsibility and kicked us out when we asked to be walked to another hotel. He said he had no interest in helping and asked, “How do we know the room had bedbugs?” We had videos and pictures, and a housekeeping manager confirmed the hotel was having bedbug issues. Tom told us to say “Hi” to Jimmy Taylor, the IHG VP, when we filed a complaint. They charged us $1600 for three nights because they didn’t know how to operate the system, changed our reservation from three nights to one without asking, and checked us into one room in the system but put us in another. Our key didn’t work, so staff had to escort us each time. Staff shouted room numbers in the lobby, and housekeeping let people into rooms without checking who was staying there. Towels and sheets already had hair and stains before we used them. At breakfast, when we asked for more tea bags because the container was empty, a staff member said, “Y’all are doing too much.”

Compared with other Staybridge Suite locations, this one falls short, and I wouldn’t stay here again. My room showed plenty of wear. The kitchen faucet leaked badly, the bathroom sink took over an hour to drain, and the TV remote didn’t work and was missing the volume button. The door lock didn’t work, which made me feel unsafe. Both business station computers were out of service. Happy hour was pizza rolls and pigs in a blanket. There was no pet waste station outside, and traffic noise from the nearby road was loud.