TL;DR

Design focus: Stylish Downtown Cincinnati boutique hotel.
Heritage: Set in a 1910 building with modern interiors.
Brand: Part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection.
Atmosphere: Hip, showy, and visually striking.
Check prices here

This Downtown Cincinnati hotel is a sleek contemporary space perfect for anyone with an eye for design.

Like a pair of well-connected siblings who live in different cities, the Kinley brand seems pretty determined to make its mark on the US boutique hotel scene.

It’s backed by Marriott and (shocker!) part of its Autograph Collection, so if you want a mom-and-pop authentic Cincy experience, you’ll want to keep looking.

It’s a total Skarsgård brother of a hotel, however. The Kinley Cincinnati might not be pulling itself up by its bootstraps, but it’s still putting on a show.

They’ve gotten their hands on a 1910 building and completely transformed the interiors into something very modern and notably hip.

In the price/value balance, you might be paying a tad more for style rather than substance, but we’ll forgive them. It’s all just so pretty.

What are the rooms like?

Total rooms: 94 available.
Look: Black-and-white scheme with bold patterns and accents.
Bathrooms: Tiled with rainfall showers.
Choices: Queen, King, Double, Bunk Rooms, and Corner King suites.
Extras: LCD TVs, mini fridges, desks, and Beekman 1802 toiletries.
See each room in detail here

Rooms have an effortless kind of cool, all black and white with lively patterns and baby blue accents.

The wall art is the perfect foil, colorful abstractions that seem custom-made for to add color and shape to the space.

Bathrooms are that black and white tiling you see in many of the hip hotels, paired with rainfall showers that make for a lovely stay.

The rooms start at Queen Singles, 220 square foot rooms with large windows and plenty of natural light.

These are followed by King Singles, Full Doubles and Bunk Rooms with four twin beds.

Furnishings in the standard rooms are a bit dorm-y, with a lot of right angles and cute little desks.

Corner Kings are the suite-style rooms, with super charming couches and all of the windows you could ever dream of.

Whatever you choose, you’ll have LCD TVs, mini fridges, working areas and Beekman 1802 toiletries in the super-hip bathrooms.

What are prices like?

Check prices here

And what’s the food like? Any facilities we should know about?

Restaurant: Unexpected Burgers & Bourbon for breakfast and dinner.
Bar: The Exchange Lobby Bar with striking décor.
Diet note: Limited options for vegetarians.
Fitness: Peloton-equipped gym available.
Business: Meeting spaces and lobby newspapers provided.

The onsite restaurant had a slow start, but we trust that most of the kinks have been worked out after the hotel’s COVID-era opening.

And, despite the unfortunate name, Unexpected Burgers & Bourbon has been happily received as a nice neighborhood spot for, you guessed it, burgers.

And, presumably, bourbon.

It’s open for breakfast and dinner, which will please all the AM bourbon drinkers.

We wouldn’t call it vegetarian-friendly, so any of our plant-based friends will want to research other options.

The Exchange Lobby Bar is definitely more our speed, all gorgeous tile and furniture that looks like it came from Zaphod Beeblebrox’s sitting room.

There’s also a lovely Peloton-equipped fitness center, newspapers in the lobby, and meeting spaces for anyone in town on business.

How is the neighborhood? Anything interesting nearby?

Location: Walkable Downtown Cincinnati base.
Sights: Close to cafés, restaurants, and historic architecture.
Arts: Near Aronoff Center and Taft Art Museum.
Riverfront: Walk to Smale Park, ballpark, and Freedom Center.
Culture: Easy access to Mt. Adams, Eden Park, and Over-the-Rhine nightlife.

Downtown Cincinnati is fantastic. The hotel specifically is not in the beating heart, but you’ll be a reasonable walk from whatever you want to explore.

In the daytime, make sure to take a stroll around the notable local architecture, visit whatever cafes, bars or restaurants hit your eye.

The hotel includes a convenient map to help guide you towards your preferences.

Art lovers will be more than happy, with plenty of nearby art spaces. The Aronoff Center for the Arts is a 5-minute walk if you like performances.

Or, head to the Taft Art Museum, a 20-minute walk towards the river and near the Banks.

Here you’ll find some cute bars for the evening and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center for the daytime.

Keep heading towards the river, passing by the Great American Ball Park and you’ll hit Smale Riverfront Park.

It’s lovely place to enjoy the fresh air and link up with riverside walking trails.

Take them far enough and you’ll end up Mt. Adams, where you’ll find plenty more cultural spots.

It’s right next to Eden Park, a lovely park where you’ll find the Cincinnati Art Museum, and the botanical gardens of the Krohn Conservatory.

Inland then, you’ll find the neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine, where the city hides some great music venues and bars.

And what about the reviews? What did other guests think?

Some things guests liked:

”The best pet-friendly and family-friendly room I’ve ever stayed in. We were offered an upgrade to a bunk-style room which was a very cool, amazing concept room. The staff was fantastic!..”

”I had a great weekend and was more enjoyable being that my accommodation was great too. All of the staff I came into contact with were polite and friendly and wanted to ensure my stay was going well….”

Some things guests didn’t like:

”I had a lot of work equipment I needed to bring in and had to use a cart. Could have used some help getting it through small hallway. Everything else was great….”

”No bathtub….”

Read all the reviews right here