KCRag Forum

brewcrew1000 wrote:Not sure when it happens but The Ambassador will be apart of the Marriott Autograph Collection which is what the Raphael is under. Marriott has a huge dominance in the Urban Core

Announced a couple weeks ago I think...looks like they start taking reservations under the Marriott flag at the end of November.

The Ambassador hotel is looking to build a 6-7 story addition adjacent to the existing building where a surface parking lot currently exists. The addition would add ~70 rooms to their existing ~45 rooms.

That parking lot is bigger than the building. Will be a decent addition.

Excellent! Glad to hear it--hope it comes to pass.

One surface parking lot down...99 more to go.

I think the hotel uses that lot for guests. Will the new structure include parking?

No structured parking. Surface lots on McGee (directly behind hotel) are sufficient according to owners.

Great news. I've been impressed with the Ambassador renovation since it opened. Glad to hear they're doing well enough to expand on that scale.

Would love it if they could get a marquee restaurant tenant in there to take advantage of that beautiful lobby/bar space but unlikely under Marriott.

Behind is a different owner, so they must have a sharing agreement.

rxlexi wrote:Great news. I've been impressed with the Ambassador renovation since it opened. Glad to hear they're doing well enough to expand on that scale.

Would love it if they could get a marquee restaurant tenant in there to take advantage of that beautiful lobby/bar space but unlikely under Marriott.

Is the Reserve not open any more?

Regarding parking- something interesting the owner said yesterday that signals a very good shift in KC(they were applying for a CID at yesterdays Biz session I was watching) was that they believe they only need about 60 parking spaces or less for the 120 rooms. They say that most people who visit their hotel no longer rent cars, but take some form of transportation to the hotel (Lyft, Uber, arranged transpo) and then do the same once DT. This is a fantastic shift for KC. It used to be that anyone coming in town HAD to rent a car to do anything here. Its debatable as to whether Uber or Streetcar is the biggest determinant, but you've got to think it is some combination of the two.

If I still lived in the Professional Building I'd be kind of bummed about that since I used to park in that lot. Alas, such is the price of progress and I'm super happy to see the Ambassador doing well. My wife and I stayed there once and it's a bit of a hidden gem in the downtown area.

Looking a bit more at the satellite image it sounds like they're only expanding southward but not eastward? That would infill a little less than half of the total lot that wraps around the two buildings.

grovester wrote:

rxlexi wrote:Great news. I've been impressed with the Ambassador renovation since it opened. Glad to hear they're doing well enough to expand on that scale.

Would love it if they could get a marquee restaurant tenant in there to take advantage of that beautiful lobby/bar space but unlikely under Marriott.

Is the Reserve not open any more?

Reserve is definitely open and continuing to provide a great lunch and happy hour/dinner.

Reserve is definitely open and continuing to provide a great lunch and happy hour/dinner.

Yep didn't mean to imply they had closed, and to be fair I haven't been in some time. Just have felt like that space could justify a restaurant/venue that becomes a household name among locals as a solid dinner or cocktail spot. Hidden gem downtown is correct.

Not sure if Reserve is that, or any hotel restaurant in KC for that matter, though I loved the bar/roof at Rosso in Sorella and still dig the Oak Room at Intercontinental.

This might be my new favorite development. The city needs a high end, luxury hotel. I hope this fills that need. The Phillips remodel also is a positive. I do wonder how they will maintain the windows in the existing building with the new tower built next door.

Hope we can see a rendering soon, or at least a site plan. Hope they do something custom/design driven and not just some box. Hire Hufft??

First look at the Ambassador addition:

It looks like an embassy.

.

looks like it's too wide to fit into the actual space but okay i guess... why are there no windows on the side?