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Kansas City · Hotel shortlist

The best 3 star hotels in Kansas City

Peter Halvorsen

Peter Halvorsen The Nordics

Updated 1 September 2026 · 92 Kansas City hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Kansas City, out of the 92 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.6 down to 4.5.

Holiday Inn Kansas City - Downtown, an IHG Hotel is the one I would book myself.

Holiday Inn Kansas City - Downtown, an IHG Hotel

Highest rated of the five

Holiday Inn Kansas City - Downtown, an IHG Hotel

★★★★★4.6 from 1,335 reviews

Holiday Inn Kansas City - Downtown, an IHG Hotel comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.6 from 1,335 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is a 3 star property, found under city centre and around $159 a night on the dates we checked.

92 hotels in Kansas City qualified for this list and five made it. Hotel Indigo Kansas City Downtown by IHG is the one I would book if the first is full.

Why it works for this trip

  • Spatreatment rooms on site, no booking a taxi for it
  • Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip
  • Restaurantdinner downstairs on the night you land
  • Bara drink without going back out
  • Gymopen to guests, not a partner pass down the road

Check rates Read more

All five, ranked

  1. Holiday Inn Kansas City - Downtown, an IHG Hotel1

    Holiday Inn Kansas City - Downtown, an IHG Hotel

    ★★★★★4.6 from 1,335 reviews

    • Spa
    • Gym
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Parking
    • Air conditioning

    Check rates Read more

  2. Hotel Indigo Kansas City Downtown by IHG2

    Hotel Indigo Kansas City Downtown by IHG

    ★★★★★4.5 from 1,118 reviews

    • Spa
    • Gym
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Parking
    • Pet friendly

    Check rates Read more

  3. Hotel Kansas City - The Unbound Collection by Hyatt3

    Hotel Kansas City - The Unbound Collection by Hyatt

    ★★★★★4.5 from 793 reviews

    • Pool
    • Gym
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Parking
    • Pet friendly

    Check rates Read more

  4. Four Points by Sheraton Kansas City Olathe4

    Four Points by Sheraton Kansas City Olathe

    ★★★★★4.6 from 271 reviews

    • Spa
    • Gym
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Parking
    • Air conditioning

    Check rates Read more

  5. Courtyard by Marriott Kansas City Olathe5

    Courtyard by Marriott Kansas City Olathe

    ★★★★★4.6 from 259 reviews

    • Pool
    • Spa
    • Gym
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Parking

    Check rates Read more

How this list was put together

92 Kansas City hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.

Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

Peter Halvorsen

Peter Halvorsen The Nordics

Twenty-six years of teaching means 26 long summers. Trains and driving through most of Europe, now further afield, usually alone with a tent. Keeps every train ticket since 1994.

Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.