Kansas City
Kansas City

If you read my previous post on this trip—Preview: Quality Time at the Comfort Suites Speedway Kansas City—you know that I was planning to go to Kansas City for a few days.

Comfort Suites Speedway Kansas City
Comfort Suites Speedway Kansas City

My boyfriend and I got to spend some real facetime together thanks to Choice Hotels‘ #RightChoice experience. Our Kansas City days—in Kansas and Missouri—were filled with fun, quality time together, not to mention great baseball, BBQ and beer. Not bad for a relaxing couple of days!

Hanging out in the lobby
Hanging out in the lobby

#RightChoice experience
The Choice Hotels #RightChoice campaign connects people through real face time, rather than video face time. I like the campaign for championing face-to-face interactions instead of just using technology to keep connected.

Don’t get me wrong, I like video technology. It’s just a whole lot better to try for the real thing every time you can.

Spacious Suites
Spacious Suites

Spacious, comfy suites at Comfort Suites
Since Comfort Suites Speedway Kansas City is an all-suite hotel, we appreciated staying in a hotel with the extra space in our room. All rooms come with a sofa sleeper, 32-inch flat-screen TV, MP3 jack, desk, refrigerator, microwave, and coffee maker. The hotel also has a fitness center, indoor heated pool and business center, which has public computers and copy and fax services.

I especially liked the way the USB and AC outlets were configured. Both outlet types were situated right by the bed in the middle of the nightstand, making it really easy to plug and recharge. So many hotels just don’t have plugs in a convenient spot, and it really annoys me. I’m usually searching up and down the nightstand to find a plug and when I do find the plug, the lamp is plugged into it, leaving me the option to plug one device in. It’s a small thing but it makes a huge difference to the younger generation and any business traveler that needs to be connected.

Pool
Pool

Starting the mornings off right
We started each morning with our free hot breakfast in the lobby of the hotel. Have you ever been to a hotel with free breakfast and noticed the staff looking pretty miserable? They’re slow to bring out more food and they don’t usually talk to the guests?

My boyfriend at our morning breakfast
My boyfriend at our morning breakfast

Well, the staff at the Comfort Suites was just the opposite. The staff came by our table several times to ask if the food was good and if we needed anything else. They kept bringing out food—tons of it—and quickly, too. I noticed that they even brought out some food for a family that came down a little late after breakfast hours.

We had eggs, sausage, yogurt, apples, oranges, and cereal. There was also a waffle maker with the choice of original batter and a cinnamon batter. It was a nice way to start the day with the friendly staff and hot breakfast.

Breakfast
Breakfast

Kansas City baseball and BBQ
Even though the hotel wasn’t in the heart of downtown, it was still a close drive to everything we planned to do using our rental car. We visited the Liberty Memorial with a beautiful overlook of the whole city. After relaxing a while in the grass and people watching, we went to the world-famous Kansas City BBQ at Joe’s Kansas City (formerly named Oklahoma Joe’s). The place is attached to a mini convenience store and gas station, just like it was back in the day.

The best BBQ ribs!
The best BBQ ribs!

We had THREE different dishes because my boyfriend is the Kansas City BBQ expert; he insisted they all needed to be sampled (turns out were didn’t leave a whole lot behind so he was right).

We had the burnt end sandwich, z-man sandwich, and the ribs. I’m not joking when I say my entire life has now changed from this BBQ. It’s going to be sad if any of you have to eat BBQ with me somewhere other than Kansas City. It will just never be the same! Anthony Bourdain agrees since it’s been on his list of 13 places to eat before you die. This little gas station place makes the same list as The French Laundry! Well-deserved indeed.

Royals stadium
Royals stadium

Later that evening, we drove about 25 minutes from the hotel to Kauffman Stadium for the Kansas City Royals game. The Royals were playing the Orioles so we did a little tailgating with friends and went to the baseball game. Of course, the Royals won!

Brio
Brio

Our last day in Kansas City involved checking out a cool coffee place called the Roasterie, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Country Club Plaza—or “the plaza,” as the locals call it. The high-end shopping and restaurant area looked like we stepped into Tuscany with the beautiful architecture and fountains everywhere. Try eating on the terrace overlooking the whole area at Brio and order the caprese salad and pasta brio with spicy sauce, mushrooms and chicken. You will not be disappointed!

Boulevard Brewing Company
Boulevard Brewing Company

We also sampled beer at one of my boyfriend’s favorite local Kansas City breweries, Boulevard Brewing Company, the largest specialty brewer in the Midwest. You can buy it most places (we always get it in LA). My favorite beer of theirs at the moment is the Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat Beer—probably because I found myself drinking it everywhere in Kansas! It’s one of the most popular beers there as well. My boyfriend likes the Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale (too dark for me, shocker!).

Lobby
Lobby

My boyfriend and I had an awesome time in Kansas City at the Comfort Suites Speedway Kansas City.

Friendly staff
Friendly staff

From the hotel location, the spacious suites, friendly hotel staff, and having some of the best BBQ to watching a great baseball game with good people around us (and not to mention good beer!), I’d say this trip to Kansas City was the #RightChoice. Thanks again to the folks at Choice Hotels for giving us some much needed real face time!

Choice Hotels paid for my hotel accommodations. The opinions expressed here are my own. All photos credited to Caitlin Martin.

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