• 1. Where to Stay
• 2. Where to Eat
• 3. What to Do
• 4. Insider’s Tip
• 5. An Oddball Day

Stay near the shops at the Westin Crown Center.   (Photo: Courtesy of the Westin Crown Center)

Watch Bedtime for Bonzo in the Hilton Presidential Hotel's Reagan Suite (from $149), which has two large flat-screen TVs and a piece of the Berlin Wall. The hotel hosted the 1926 Republican Convention, and is now the centerpiece of the redeveloped Power & Light District, with eight blocks of dining and nightlife options.

Be superlative on a budget at the Raphael Hotel (from $99). The décor (Spanish Renaissance) and service (valets) are what made it one of Travel + Leisure's "World's Best Hotels" in 2009.

Sip a cocktail and admire the Art Deco lobby from your perch in the Martini Loft of the Aladdin Holiday Inn Hotel (from $129), a 1926 classic on the National Register of Historic Places. Retire to your room for modern comforts like whirlpool tubs and ergonomic chairs.

Stay in the heart of Kansas City’s shopping district at the Westin Crown Center (from $99), the Starwood hotel near 60 shops. The rooftop restaurant has spectacular views of downtown.

Published on Dec 10, 2009 as a web exclusive.