I took Route 435 South about 35 minutes from the airport- somehow I missed the entire bulk of Kansas City's downtown area. It's flat out here - and with little visual interest. This was evidently not the scenic route that I had chosen to get to the Holiday Inn Sports Complex.
Somewhere to the Southeast of Kansas City's downtown lies the Sports Complex area - the home of Arrowhead Stadium (where the Kansas City Chiefs play) as well as the home of the KC Royals (major league baseball team). It's about 15 minutes outside of the city, but my first time travelling there it felt like much longer than that due to the absence of area attractions to entertain me during my journey. I didn't realize that I had opted to bypass the downtown area completely my first time travelling from the airport - instead I thought Kansas City was just that lacking.
Though the Holiday Inn Sports Complex is a ways outside of the downtown area of Kansas City, it is very convenient for those sports fans who are in the area to see a football or baseball game. The stadiums are literally right across the street from this hotel, and if one were motivated enough to avoid traffic they could probably walk there to take in the game instead of driving. I have a feeling that when home games are in Kansas City that this hotel is probably completely booked - however I stayed there during a time when no games were in town and the hotel was fairly empty.
The rooms at the Holiday Inn are typical for a moderate-budget hotel. A bed, bathroom, HBO and free high speed wireless Internet were among the amenities. They also had an adequate fitness center and indoor pool to entertain those that might have come to stay here for reasons other than football or baseball.
Being outside of the city, the Holiday Inn Sports Complex does not have much in the way of dining options or proximity to area attractions aside from the stadiums. The on site restaurant can be classified at best as pub-grub, but they did not even have a vegetarian meal option so I didn't try it. Down the street there is a Wendy's and a Subway, but these are the only convenient meal choices.
The staff at the Holiday Inn were very friendly and accommodating. In customary Midwest style, they were never too worried or stressed about guest requests (to my occasional annoyance), but I guess this is to be expected given the area. The room prices were reasonable and overall this hotel was okay. I would recommend if you're going to a game in the future - however if you have Downtown obligations this is probably not the most convenient choice as far as accommodation go.