Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel Airport Kansas City (Missouri)

The Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel is near the KCI airport and offers free shuttle to and from the airport. They are also part of the “drive and fly” program, which allows customers to park their car free of charge for up to 30 days. I always try to take advantage of this, especially on longer trips.

The hotel room was roughly 80USD for the night, including all taxes. I was gone for approximately 16 days, and if I had parked in economy parking at the airport for the 6USD per day they charge, it would have cost me almost 100USD just to park. So I actually saved 20USD to get a hotel room for the night, plus it was advantageous in my situation since I had a 6:30am flight and the drive to the airport from my home is about 2 hours. Better to be there on location the night before!

So back to the hotel…The Plaza Hotel isn’t exactly modern, and it’s definitely not the Sheraton or Hilton. But for a hotel at this price, I would recommend it. The hotel staff was very pleasant. I sat down in the lounge to have a drink that evening and was convinced to join in on their trivial pursuit contest. Everyone was hospitable and eager to hear my tales of traveling.

The rooms were a bit outdated, the furniture was starting to show its age, but it was clean and quiet during my stay. They offer free internet in the room and a free breakfast (although it doesn’t start until 6am and I already left by then). There is only an outdoor pool here, but they do have an extensive exercise room. They also provide a business center. The concierge service was superb and the shuttle service equally superb. When I returned to Kansas City their shuttle promptly came to pick me up.

I’ve stayed at some of the chains in the “drive and fly” program with newer buildings (Comfort Inn, Quality Inn, etc.), but it seems they build those hotels so cheap…I can always hear the guy in the next room snoring; I didn’t have that problem at HoJo. Plus, I received Wyndham Rewards for the stay!