W XYZ Bar

On a Sunday night at 9:28 ... the bar was closed. We went for a nice dinner and wanted to have a glass of wine ... NOPE! Bar was closed. Asked the front desk person "what?". She said that the bartender just decided to close early. Unless this bartender was named Bill Marriott - why should this be his decision? If you have published bar hours - why don't you stick to them? We were extremely disappointed and will rethink our next hotel when we come back. Aloft Managers - do better. Or remove the bar.

The ALoft concept is all about simplified modernity. Upon entering ALoft hotel, you are greeting with a wall of art to one side, RA Sushi restaurant on the other side and a large seating area in the middle. Take the elevator up one floor and you are now in the hotel lobby/xyz bar area. It is still a W brand hotel, so it is all about open concept. To the right there is a free pool table. Straight ahead is a really great open air deck that overlooks the (fake) Park Place ice rink. To the left is a small step down fiber optic lit bar. The three flat screens above the bar remind you that you can really never have a break from sports in the Midwest. The entire space is surrounded by large glass windows, which are great for enjoying the holiday lights outside.Brandon was bar-tending on this Thursday night and was clearly happy to see some action in the bar. As with most hotel bars, there was an odd mix of people, which is great. Locals, business men, groups of girls and some loners. I went for a vodka tonic after Brandon explained the infused vodka- Bubble Gum, Mango & Maple flavored....ech...no thanks. My drink was perfect and the crossword napkins kept us sober for a while. This is not a bar where you will see dancing on tables or drunken wipe outs. But, it is a great place to escape for a mid day cocktail during a busy shopping day. It is a great place to go on a date for conversation or just to escape the ear piercing noise of RA downstairs. It feels grownup and young at the same time. Not your typical icky KC hotel bar. You actually will choose to be here.Check it out.*There is a DJ on the weekends and this same space serves breakfast in the morning.

OK, I know this sounds maybe a little strange...I didn't believe it at first either, but I'm telling you: If you like music shows, you need to stop right now and check to see if there is an Aloft Hotel in your area because I have seen a couple of great, free shows there in the last few months. Currently, Aloft is having the 2012 Fall Live at Aloft Hotels tour. Basically, the hotel "chain" hires on some bands to tour exclusively to their hotels and put on a mini, acoustic show. The local Aloft in Leawood, KS has their shows in their open bar area called W XYZ lounge. It's a hip, contemporary place with giant couches that no one truly can sit on all that comfortably and a beautiful patio overlooking the sights and smells of Town Center Plaza. If you wonder what I mean by sights AND SMELLS, just go there...you will understand. The hotel is surrounded by some great restaurants, from which pour the aroma of wonderful cuisine.These music shows are very casual. There's no stage. The bands just mingle around with you before, during, and after. When was the last time you sat 5 feet from a band while they played and it was free?Now, don't get me wrong...the bands are not Hall of Famers (yet), but don't dismiss the bands they choose. The bands I've seen so far are up & comers that are getting some airplay, getting their songs into primetime TV, etc.The first show I went to earlier this summer was Green River Ordinance. They are a band I had downloaded from somewhere and actually was liking their music although I hadn't really done it consciously. When I heard they were having a show and checked my iTunes, I realized, I had been listening to their songs frequently and apparently enjoying them by the star ratings I was giving the music. None of my friends wanted to go to the show with me because it feels a little far south for most of my pack, so I went alone. THEY MISSED OUT. It was awesome. The small audience was well-behaved, but obviously contained many fans of the band. Recently, Aloft Hotel in Leawood (I follow the local Aloft on Facebook to catch when shows are coming) announced another show: Martin Harley, Meiko, and The Dunwells.I hadn't heard of Martin Harley, but on paper he sounded like someone I'd like. I have a couple of Meiko's songs from somewhere along my journey that I enjoy. I'd heard of The Dunwells, but to my knowledge hadn't heard their music. I decided to go. Again, none of my friends wanted to tag along.I got there during their soundcheck due to a discrepancy on Facebook regarding the start time. There wasn't an audience forming like their had been for Green River Ordinance, but the soundcheck sounded like my type of music. I lingered around for an hour waiting for more audience -- even one of the local radio stations was there -- but it turned out only to be a very small audience. At one time, there were only about 4 or 5 of us hanging out on the long couches in front and I looked over and Meiko was lounging right next to me before her set.Anyway, check it out.

Cool hotel with cool vibe and style. Something very cool was that each room had a media box that let you display your computer, tablet, etc...on the tv in your room. There was a sign saying to ask for cables at the front desk. My friend went down to ask for a HDMI cable and come to find out they only had 1 and it was in use. How in the world do you have just 1 HDMI cable to share with a 6 story hotel?!?! How can a corporate chain hotel not afford HDMI cable. Maybe people keep stealing them I don't know.

Great Service, friendly staff. If you spend 30 bucks you get 500 SPG points!!

Unfortunately the bartender was absolutely insulting to many guests during and after the point of sale. Great atmosphere, open floor plan, and open acoutistics. Too bad he couldn't handle any of it. All beer is cold, all wine taste sweet, and whiskey is whiskey....that leaves the experience facilitated by the bar tender.

There are much better hotels in the OP area. Front staff was rude. They seemed put out during the check in/out process, when asked questions, or when a request was made for additional pillows. Had to request three times. Most of the TV stations were analog so fuzzy at best. Was required to put a $100 deposit on room (after already prepaying) and was told in a rude manner "we will not release the deposit for one week" In all my years of traveling I've never had a hotel indicate they will not release a deposit for one week. Will definitely not stay here again.

Maybe if you're staying at the hotel this is a good bar otherwise it's very small and not a destination bar to head to if you're in the area. There are much better places to grab a drink and have a good time at.