Crossroads Hotel

Rooms and decor

Picture spending the night in a red-brick building that a hundred years ago was a Pabst Brewing warehouse — that is the first thing you fall for at Crossroads Hotel. The building dates to the 1900s and has been carefully restored to keep the old warehouse charm fully intact. Walk into the lobby and you meet exposed brick walls, thick steel posts and beams, soaring ceilings, and local artists' work all over the place, until it feels like stepping into a gallery you can sleep in. The loft-style rooms are what reviewers praise most — airy, high-ceilinged, with the character of the old building balanced against contemporary comfort. Big windows pull in the light, the original brick in some rooms gives off a cool industrial vibe, the furniture is sharp, the beds are soft, and the little details make a room feel more like an artist's downtown studio than a standard hotel room. Many higher-floor rooms open onto a downtown skyline view that gets prettier and quieter the higher you go. If you love a stay with personality and a story rather than an identical square box, you will probably fall for this place from the first step.

Food and amenities

If anything makes Crossroads Hotel stand out, it is the eating, drinking and atmosphere, because inside the building there are 3 restaurants and 3 bars spread across the hotel, from a warm spot for proper meals to chic lounge bars made for an evening cocktail. But the highlight everyone talks about is the rooftop bar on the top floor, with its wide-open view of the downtown Kansas City skyline — at sunset it is one of the most romantic and stylish corners in the city. You sit with a drink in the cool air, watch the city lights come up, and it is good enough that many people spend their whole evening here without stepping out. What lifts it above the usual boutique hotel is being the first hotel in Missouri to earn a Michelin One Key, the mark Michelin gives to hotels that deliver an exceptional stay — a sign the design, service and details have all passed the inspectors. Plenty of reviews also praise the staff as warm and attentive in true Midwest style. All in, this is a hotel that sells both a stylish stay and an eat-drink-with-a-view experience at once.

Location and getting there

Crossroads Hotel sits in the heart of the Crossroads Arts District, the coolest arts and lifestyle neighborhood in Kansas City — step out the door and you find art galleries, coffee roasters, indie restaurants and chic shops to explore all day, ideal if you want to soak up the city's creative side. On the First Fridays of every month the neighborhood throws an event where galleries open for free and the streets fill with art and music. A favorite detail is being close to the KC Streetcar, the free tram that runs through downtown, connecting north to the Power & Light District, busy with bars and restaurants, and on to River Market, so you can tour the city with barely any need for your own car. If you drive in, there is valet service on hand. In short, if you want to stay in a lively, arts-leaning neighborhood, walk to galleries and cafes, and ride a free tram around the rest of town, this location nails it.

Things to know before booking

To be straight with you so you can decide, the first thing to know is noise and buzz, because the hotel sits in the heart of Crossroads, where the nights get busy with bars and restaurants, and there are bars in the building itself. Some rooms — especially on weekend nights — may pick up sound from the neighborhood or the bars below. If you are a light sleeper, ask up front for a higher floor or a side that does not face the bar strip; it will be quieter and have better city views. The second point is extra charges worth checking, especially valet parking, since this is a downtown location where parking is limited, plus some fees that may be added on top of the room rate, and an overall price in the luxury tier. The last point is that this is a hotel in a former old warehouse that leans on charm and design — there is no pool, and the warehouse layout means rooms vary in shape and size, some lofts with high ceilings, some compact. Look closely at the room types when you book, and come for the design, location and atmosphere above all.

Our take

After our team sat and read through plenty of real reviews, Crossroads Hotel is a hotel that sells industrial design with a story in a 1900s brewery warehouse, loft-style rooms with character, a rooftop bar with city views, and a location in the heart of the arts district — a combination so distinctive it is hard to match in Kansas City. Being the first hotel in Missouri to earn a Michelin One Key only underlines that the quality is no ordinary thing. If the trip in your head is sleeping in a cool art building in the middle of a creative neighborhood, waking up to wander galleries and sip hip cafe coffee, then closing the night with a cocktail and a skyline view on the rooftop, this is about as good a fit as it gets. But if you are after quiet, a pool, or a brand-new hotel where every room is identical, the old-warehouse charm in a lively district may not be your match. Overall we give it 9.1/10, best for couples, design lovers, and anyone who wants a stylish stay with a creative atmosphere in the heart of the Crossroads Arts District.