KC Fun House: 4-Bedroom Rental in Columbus Park Kansas City | Sleeps 8
The KC Fun House: Why Columbus Park Is the Smartest Place to Stay in Kansas City This Summer
Kansas City is about to have the biggest summer in its history.
Six FIFA World Cup matches at Arrowhead Stadium between June 16 and July 11. Argentina vs. Algeria on opening night. A quarterfinal that puts KC on a global stage alongside Los Angeles, Miami, and Boston. A free FIFA Fan Festival at the National WWI Museum downtown. Concerts are stacked all summer at the new Morton Amphitheatre, Starlight Theatre, and T-Mobile Center. Royals baseball at Kauffman. The Savannah Bananas rolling through. The KC Current at CPKC Stadium.
Everyone who visits KC this summer is going to ask the same question: Where should I stay?
Most people default to a downtown hotel. They pay $250 to $400 a night for a room the size of a walk-in closet, eat every meal at a restaurant because there's no kitchen, and spend half their trip navigating parking garages. It works. But there's a better answer.
The KC Fun House is a fully renovated 4-bedroom home in Columbus Park, one of Kansas City's most walkable and underrated neighborhoods. It sleeps 8 guests, has a chef's kitchen stocked and ready to go, three outdoor deck spaces, a firepit in the backyard, and a giant iPad table loaded with vintage arcade games. It's two doors from Garrozzo's (one of the best Italian restaurants in the city) and walking distance to the River Market.
I've built over 100 homes and flipped over 150 homes personally, so I know a thing or two about the process. This house was renovated to feel like a place you'd actually want to live in, not a rental you tolerate for a weekend.
Check Availability and Book the KC Fun House →
Why Columbus Park?
Most visitors to Kansas City have never heard of Columbus Park. They know the River Market. They know the Power & Light District. They know the Plaza. Columbus Park is the neighborhood hiding in plain sight right next to all of that, and it's the one that locals actually love.
Columbus Park sits just east of the River Market, directly north of downtown. It's one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, built by Italian immigrants in the early 1900s and later shaped by a Vietnamese community that arrived in the late 1990s. That history produced something rare: a small, quiet, walkable neighborhood where you're two doors from one of KC's most famous Italian restaurants and a few blocks from some of the best pho in the Midwest.
A recent KCUR neighborhood guide described Columbus Park as the "offbeat, cool flip side" to the River Market's trendier energy. It's a place where 1940s and 1950s music pipes from the speakers outside Garrozzo's, art galleries host monthly walks on the third Friday, and the streets are residential enough that you can actually hear yourself think after a day spent in the city.
For visitors, the location math works perfectly. The River Market is a walk. Downtown KC is a short drive or a rideshare. The Crossroads Arts District, Union Station, the WWI Museum (where the FIFA Fan Festival is being held), and the 18th and Vine Jazz District are all 5 to 10 minutes away. Arrowhead Stadium and Kauffman Stadium are a straight shot east on I-70.
You get the neighborhood feel of a residential Kansas City street with the access of being adjacent to downtown. That combination doesn't exist in a hotel.
The House: 4 Bedrooms, 2.5 Baths, Zero Compromises
The KC Fun House is a full gut renovation. New everything. Hardwood floors throughout, updated kitchen, modern fixtures, and a layout designed for groups who want to actually use the house, not just sleep in it.
The Kitchen
This is a real kitchen, not a vacation rental kitchen where you open the drawer and find one dull knife and a can opener. Fully stocked with pots, pans, baking sheets, BBQ utensils, a coffee maker with coffee, dishwasher, microwave, oven, stove, toaster, and wine glasses. There's a full-size refrigerator, a mini fridge, and a freezer.
If your group wants to cook breakfast before heading to the FIFA Fan Festival, grill steaks on the back deck after a Royals game, or prep meals for a week-long work trip, this kitchen handles it.
The Fun
The giant iPad table loaded with vintage arcade games is the first thing guests notice. It's a conversation starter, a competition machine, and the reason people end up staying in on nights they planned to go out. A chess set sits in the living room for the more strategic members of your group. Board games are stocked. There's a game console and a TV for when the energy shifts from social to chill.
Three outdoor deck spaces give you options: morning coffee on one, afternoon reading on another, evening firepit on the third. The backyard has outdoor seating and enough room to breathe without feeling cramped.
The Bedrooms
Four bedrooms and 2.5 baths across the house give 8 guests room to spread out. This isn't an open-concept loft where everyone sleeps 10 feet from each other. Private bedrooms with doors that close, enough bathrooms that nobody is waiting in line in the morning, and bed linens and extra pillows and blankets already stocked.
Clothing storage, hangers, a washer and dryer in the building, a hair dryer, and all the essentials (towels, bed sheets, soap, toilet paper, pillows) are provided. For long-term guests, this matters. You're not repacking a suitcase every three days.
The Workspace
A dedicated workspace with wifi means this house works for remote professionals. If you're in town for a month-long project, a medical rotation, a relocation transition, or you just want to work from KC during World Cup season and catch matches on the weekends, you have a real desk and a reliable connection.
Two Doors from Garrozzo's. Walking Distance to Everything Else.
The location of the KC Fun House is its quiet superpower. You're not on a highway. You're not in a parking garage. You're on a residential street in a neighborhood where you can walk to dinner, walk to coffee, and walk to the River Market on a Saturday morning.
Two doors away: Garrozzo's Ristorante. The chicken spiedini alone is worth the trip to Columbus Park. Michael Garozzo grew up on The Hill in St. Louis, dreamed of opening his own place, and created a dish that most Kansas Citians consider one of the signature meals of the city. You'll hear the 1950s music from the exterior speakers before you see the building.
Walking distance: The River Market. The City Market is one of the oldest and largest public farmers' markets in the Midwest, operating since the 1850s. On Saturdays, it fills with produce vendors, food stalls, and local makers. The Arabia Steamboat Museum is here. Restaurants, coffee shops, and bars line the district.
In the neighborhood: Vietnam Cafe (authentic pho that locals swear by), Happy Gillis (breakfast and lunch staple), Cafe Ca Phe (Vietnamese coffee), Wolfepack BBQ (oak and hickory slow-smoked meats), Caddy Shack (dive bar, late-night pizza until 2 AM), and The North End (Italian classics in a spot that used to be a mafia-era deli).
Short drive: Downtown KC, Power & Light District, the Crossroads Arts District, Union Station, the National WWI Museum (FIFA Fan Festival site), the 18th and Vine Jazz District, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Arrowhead Stadium, Kauffman Stadium, and CPKC Stadium.
The World Cup Play: Why This House Makes Sense for June and July
Kansas City hosts six FIFA World Cup matches at Arrowhead Stadium this summer:
June 16: Argentina vs. Algeria (9 PM CT). June 20: Group stage match. June 25: Group stage match. June 27: Group stage match. July 3: Round of 32 knockout match. July 11: Quarterfinal.
The FIFA Fan Festival is a free, 18-day celebration on the south lawn of the National WWI Museum downtown. Live match broadcasts, performances, cultural installations, and local food vendors. The WWI Museum sits beside Union Station, which is accessible via the free KC Streetcar.
Here's why the KC Fun House works for World Cup visitors specifically:
Extended stay capability. The house allows stays of 28 days or more. If you want to base yourself in Kansas City for the full World Cup window (June 16 through July 11), you're in a real home with a kitchen, laundry, workspace, and a neighborhood to live in, not a hotel room where you're counting the days until checkout.
Group economics. A downtown hotel room runs $250 to $400 per night during major events. The KC Fun House sleeps 8 across 4 bedrooms. Split the cost and you're paying a fraction of hotel rates per person while getting exponentially more space, privacy, a kitchen, parking, and a backyard.
Location to the Fan Festival. The FIFA Fan Festival at the WWI Museum is a short drive or rideshare from Columbus Park. On non-match days, your group can walk to the River Market, explore Columbus Park's restaurants, and actually experience Kansas City like a local instead of eating hotel breakfast and watching the lobby TV.
Parking. Free on-premises and street parking. No $40-per-night hotel garage. No hunting for meters.
Not Just World Cup: Who This House Is Built For
The World Cup is the headline event, but the KC Fun House books year-round for every type of visit:
Weekend city trips. Two nights in Columbus Park with dinner at Garrozzo's, Saturday morning at the City Market, an afternoon at the Nelson-Atkins, and a night out in the Crossroads. That's a Kansas City weekend that most visitors never experience because they stay in a hotel on the Plaza and never venture north.
Game day stays. Chiefs, Royals, KC Current, concerts at T-Mobile Center or Starlight. The house is a short drive from every major KC venue, and you come back to a firepit and arcade games instead of a hotel hallway.
Family visits. Families visiting from out of town get 4 real bedrooms, a full kitchen, a backyard, and a neighborhood that feels like Kansas City actually lives here, not like a tourist corridor. Board games, the chess set, and the arcade table keep kids and adults occupied.
Extended work travel. Traveling nurses, consultants, relocation transitions, corporate assignments. A dedicated workspace, wifi, washer/dryer, and a fully stocked kitchen turn this house into a livable home for 28+ day stays. Columbus Park's walkability means you're not trapped in a corporate apartment complex off the highway.
Wedding guest overflow. If a wedding party booked one of our Lake Ozark houses and KC-based guests need a place to stay before or after, the KC Fun House is the overflow answer. 4 bedrooms, central location, and a firepit for the post-wedding debrief.
The Details
Property: KC Fun House Location: Columbus Park, Kansas City, MO (two doors from Garrozzo's, walking distance to River Market) Sleeps: 8 guests Bedrooms: 4 | Bathrooms: 2.5 Long-term stays: Available (28+ days) Parking: Free on-premises and street parking
What's Included
Air conditioning, central heating, ceiling fan, wifi, dedicated workspace, TV, game console, board games, washer and dryer, hair dryer, cleaning products, full kitchen (oven, stove, microwave, dishwasher, refrigerator, mini fridge, freezer, coffee maker with coffee, toaster, baking sheet, BBQ utensils, wine glasses, cooking basics, dishes and silverware), bed linens, hangers, clothing storage, bathtub, hot water, fire extinguisher, first aid kit, carbon monoxide detector, smoke detector, fire pit, garden/backyard, outdoor seating, patio/balcony, private entrance, free parking
What Guests Are Saying
Carol, October 2023: The house felt like home but also super organized and clutter-free. A great place to gather and be together since we live far apart.
That review captures the design intent perfectly. This is a house that functions like a home without the clutter and maintenance of one. It's organized for guests but finished for living.
About Your Hosts: Jason & Jana DeLong
We're not a management company and we're not absentee owners. I've built over 100 homes and flipped over 150 homes personally, so I know a thing or two about the process. Every finish selection, every layout decision, and every detail in the KC Fun House was chosen by our team.
Jana handles guest communication from inquiry to checkout. If you've read the reviews on any of our six properties across the Shore to Mountain Stays portfolio, you already know she's the reason guests come back. Quick responses, thoughtful touches, and the kind of host communication that makes you feel like you're staying at a friend's place, not a rental.
Kansas City's Biggest Summer Starts Now. Book the KC Fun House.
Six World Cup matches. The FIFA Fan Festival downtown. Concerts stacked from May through September. Royals baseball. The Savannah Bananas. A city that's about to welcome the world.
The KC Fun House sits in the middle of all of it: a fully renovated 4-bedroom home in Columbus Park with a chef's kitchen, vintage arcade games, a firepit, three decks, and a neighborhood that locals have been quietly loving for decades.
8 guests. 4 bedrooms. Walking distance to the River Market. Two doors from Garrozzo's. Free parking. Extended stays welcome.
