The Elms Resort and Spa Review

The spa was incredible. I'm going to be back for sure

Beautiful! Beautiful! This is a hidden gem! So glad we found it. Can t wait to go back!!

Awesome place. Groupon sometimes has some great deals. Worth visiting at least once!

Great historic hotel. Clean, up to date rooms. Expected amenities. Would've given 5 stars, but the parking situation is a nightmare unless you valet.

Great place for a romantic getaway. Loved the spa service and the pool.

Able to check in early...awesome service at the front desk!!!

The Elms it the perfect place to go to escape for the weekend. A step back in time and a real appreciation of earlier days and hard work.

Grew up in Excelsior and always loved the history of the Elms. Was disappointed that the outside hot tub was not working but overall easy 5 stars.

Very clean and friendly staff. Rooms are very peaceful if you need a getaway I would definitely recommend this place.

Breakfest was old stail the servers will forget you hostes dont care. Management is awsome

Just over all nice. Food was good, pool and Grotto nice. Drinks were well poured! Yes, there was two weddings that evening but it wasn't a problem and they were well staffed. We will be back.

Awesome people. Beautiful scenery and lots of walking trails

Beautiful renovated hotel and spa.

Amazing getaway for a girls weekend. Would definitely go again!

Only came here for the buffet...
to celebrate our Anniversary. Had a sample of each item. They prepared everything to your taste buds delight. The service, the ambiance, and food, was all perfect!

Excellent. Friendly amd accommodating staff and wonderful atmosphere

Spent the day in the spa and really enjoyed it! Very relaxing quiet room and grotto. The grotto has a sauna, dry sauna, a steam room with showers used as a free sugar scrub room, a very large hot tub and a polar plunge (very cold shower room) to cool down (55F). Highly recommend this spa for a relax day. Grotto access is free with any service or you can buy a pass for $55.

It was a wonderful hotel and the spa was amazing. This is an old hetel 100 years old so with that being said know what to expect. The rooms are small and the 1 elevator is small and old but its to be expected. The restaurant is horrible tried it 3 times once for breakfast again for lunch and 3rd time when we ordered from the spa. The food is mediocre at best the service was ok the price they charge is what made it so bad for what you got. The pools and bars are very sweet and the drinks they offer are pretty good. If you stay on the 5th floor you get access to cocktails and appetizers from 5-7pm thur fri and sat which was one of our favorite things and we didnt even know about it when we booked. Im not talking crap drinks or food either great food drinks and the lady up there was one of the best people we encountered on our whole trip very very nice and good at catering to everyone. By far the spa at the elms is one of the best me and my wife have been to. 5 star service and the best grotto ive ever seen. I am giving a 5 star rating on this hotel and spa for all the different ways they make you feel comfortable and the spa. A must see and stay.

ps we stayed in a king sweet and also, just ask for a mini fridge...they will give you one.

Front desk attendant was abrupt and not very helpful. Feel there should've been a discount because not all amenities were available. Massage was great!

Great hotel! Sadly the "haunted" pool was closed when I went, but sounds like a fun place to wonder around in. Noticed a few "haunted" things while in my room!

This is a very cool hotel in a fun small town. The hotel is walkable to downtown, just a couple blocks. My wife and I enjoyed a nice cocktail at the restaurant/bar. The hot tub and pools are amazing, not to mention how much history there is at the hotel and all the spa/massage options

Rustic hotel teeming with local character, staying here was a memorable experience.

The Elms should get 100 stars. By far my favoirte hotel.

Fun place to visit and stay. Located near lots of things to do in town. Scenic and fun.

Stayed for work conference. Room was awesome, historical property with charming character

Great staff, fantastic atmosphere. Wonderful place to stay with all the amenities and peaceful atmosphere. Hope to go back.

The pool is nice, my room was like a Hampton inn with fancy drapes. AC unit is noisy. Check in was a diaster, they did not have the room I reserved, so I got downgraded but that was after waiting about 25 minutes because the room was not clean. (Yes they lied to me and let me cool my heels.) Restraunt is OK, as long as you want beef cooked well done, medium rare was too challenging.

The spa was wonderful! I had a massage and facial and spent some time in the grotto. They could have had a few more chairs in there but it was still enjoyable. The hydrafacial was fantastic!!!

What a great spot for our girls getaway. Thank you for your spa services, warm fire, and cozy spots to catch up!

The staff leaves something to be desired, the hotel is grand and the amenities abundant, but you literally feel as if you are not part of the"in" circle among the staff. Bars were not stocked with standard liquor of medium range: ie tito's; forced to upgrade to top shelf. Basic beers unavailable: ie; stella or michelob ultra. 2nd floor bar staff was miserable, food at 88 was not up to par for prices or expectations. Spa did not respond within the 24 hours stated after massage appointments requested, took 4 days off calling to find out appointments were not made. Massages mediocre, not waiting with a glass of water after massage, the grotto is amazing but again mandatory gratuity on the massage = bad service. It's middle missouri service for Vegas prices! Do yourself a favor and until the place is up to snuff go top one of the many b&b's in the area!!!!

Wonderful place to unwind, relax and have some drinks. The Grotto was awesome, I fell asleep so relaxed in there after my couples massage with my wife. Plus, there are fun restaurants, diners and breweries in this quaint little town. Definitely will be back!!!

This place is absolutely the best place in the world, to go relax!!!!

Historic hotel in beautiful downtown Excelsior Springs, MO. Elegant rooms, all amenities. Super helpful and friendly staff. It's always a great stay here.

My Mom, Sister and I stayed this last weekend at The Elms. We spent a great day in the Spa and went on the Ghost tour with Jay (who is a wonderful and passionate tour guide). We ate at the restaurant in the evenings with lovely Leanne and Calvin. The food was delicious and the service personal and friendly. They along with their coworkers Amanda and Ash gave us a great experience, some wonderful laughs, and treated us like we were good friends. We loved loved LOVED how they made our experience complete and restful. Every team member we interacted with or saw was friendly and happy.

Our room was quiet and comfortable, the mattress on the bed was wonderful to sleep in on and soft. The shower had great water pressure and stayed hot, along with the beautiful tile work in the bathroom and historical touches it was great to hang out in.

At the Spa we had the body scrubs, facials, and massages. All were fabulous, and I highly recommend them, they had comfy robes and a great selection of teas to drink while relaxing. The Grotto was beautiful and calm with wonderful steam rooms, a suana, and lovely hot tub. Everyone there was very sweet and would read labels on product to ensure I didnt come in contact with allergens. They did all they could to ensure we had a great time.

We will be returning, and hopefully soon! Lots of love we have for this place

Very nice rooms. Very old building with ghost stories.....

Loved it ! great room and service.. Very quite at night ;comfortable bed and nap worthy couch! And the best shower!and to me the greatest view

The grounds are incredible, just a beautiful estate. The spa is wonderful, we got all the treatments. My neck and back haven't felt this good in a couple years. The ambiance, attention to detail and all the little things make this place the hidden gem it is!

I want to start by saying everyone is very nice and respectful, this is the 'service' part that I gave a Very Good for. The rest of the stay I could have had better in a Holiday Inn Express.

This place caters to weddings. If they have a wedding going on, which Im sure they book them every weekend being two happened the same day at this place, you can forget about them giving two terds about you and your stay.

Food, don't bother if you are hungry. Tiny little portions and they serve it up like they are a 5 star establishment.... guess what, it wasn't that good. I had tiny tacos and my wife had a HUGE plate... with this little spot in the center of the plate that had some food in it. We both left hungry so we went to the Cafe they have. We got a muffin and a cinnamon roll. I expected bakery type freshness... it was not, the roll may have been a day old.

Let me just list the rest of the crap.
No place to park. Literally, I had to park out in the street as the Valet said, "Sorry, I would just park over on the side street."
The "Hot Tub", not hot at all. The one outside was, but the one beside the lap pool inside felt like used warm bath water, and no jets... hardly a hot tub.

Worst part, I forgot my overnight toiletries bag in the bathroom. I never forget things, but was in a rush to leave this sad example of a hotel. I called the next day and they have no record of a turn in. REALLY, a bag full of items including my glasses and no one turned anything in? So the room cleaners just threw it away.... nice... let me go back and rate the service again.... How's Poor grab ya?

If you aren't getting married here and dropping a HUGE dime, avoid this place like the plague!

Edit: I wanted to add a couple things that I consider normal for the amount of money we spent.
No fridge in our room, would have liked to have kept some cold beer in our room.
No vent/fan in the bathroom - god forbid I use the bathroom
Nothing in the room for local attractions or eating places... no phone book, no pen and paper... just nothing but a coffee maker.

Everything about this hotel is an amazing experience. My family enjoyed all the amenities, scenery, history and comfort

I work here
Exceptional

So much fun, was a really nice stay with plenty to do and the bartenders were just lovely. Would definitely go back and reccomend to friends

Awesome hotel and hot tub. Staff were super helpful and friendly - they even drove me to the airport when Uber, Lyft, and 12 other taxis services were all unavailable. Be sure to schedule a shuttle to the airport in advance (small sleepy town).

Needs some serious updates. Carpet in our room was filthy. Pool was excellent. Food at 88 ok but not worth the price. Property area is beautiful.

Attended wedding at Elms. Over all the staff was amazing and the view / location was very beautiful. The only thing missing seemed to be good management as just little things were off. Example no ice used under fresh meat / cheese platter out side causing food to have to be thrown out. Huge fly issue in event air forcing food to be constantly covered. I know the fly thing is mainly a location issue; ie right next to river; but I am sure there was something that could have been done to better protect the food than just covering it with towels.

This is one of our favorite local staycations ! This was a quick trip on a holiday weekend and the place was packed. Completely booked all 3 nights. Even with a 100% capacity and what looked like 3, maybe 4 wedding parties it was still a great time. With the pool, hot tub and grounds there s always plenty of room to get away or socially distance. The staff was great, room was clean and the property well taken care of! The only reason it doesn t get 5 stars on this trip is the view from this second floor window was horrible! I don t know how many times I went to the window to see the pool / outside only to be seeing the very unpleasant room top. We ve always stayed on the top floor (with the concierge service - HIGHLY RECOMMEND this when it s offered again) so I guess we took the view for granted. I will definitely make sure to inquire about the view next time before booking. Other than that it s so worth the trip!!

quite, clean, elegant hotel.. staff couldve been nicer, service couldve been more prompt.. but i would still stay there again..

Such a unique hotel! It was so beautiful and the staff very friendly.

Rooms were dirty and worn. The food was terrible. Towels not readily available at either pool. The grounds were very nice.

Service was excellent. Rooms could use some updating

Beautiful rooms and bathrooms. Very comfortable memory foam mattress. There was no mini fridge in our room so next time we might bring a small cooler with us. Wabash BBQ is right down the street, easily within walking distance of the hotel. All hotel staff were genuinely warm and welcoming and seemed very eager to help us. The whole hotel is stunning, starting with the lobby which has original tile/mosaic floors, a fire place, grand piano, cafe, and more. Next time we will book a spa treatment but this time we were perfectly happy taking advantage of their gorgeous underground, stonescaped indoor lap pool and their huge outdoor stone and mosaic hot tub. Calling it a hot tub seems like a huge understatement. I was able to easily swim around in this "hot tub." I think I read that it was a 22-person hot tub. It is conveniently located about 20-30 feet from the nearest door with towels for you to grab in outdoor bins. We will definitely be staying at The Elms again. From Lawrence, KS, the drive was just over an hour and easy to navigate. Excelsior Springs has cute boutiques, excellent local restaurants, and stunning historical sites.

The ghost tour was really fun, and the amenities are top notch.

Wonderful grounds, Pool Bar for lunch was awesome. Dinner at 88 fabulous! Lap Pool great workout then the hot tub to limber up. Cafe for breakfast Bacon egg and cheese croissant, berry tart and blueberry muffin with a fresh made cappuccino. They have their own herb garden. A completely relaxing experience. The Staff is absolutely all about their guests!!!!

Great place for a quaint get away. Phenomenal spa services with an attentive staff. Their grotto is absolutely amazing.

Everybody's got their own idea about what makes a hotel excellent, mediocre, or $#!+. I travel a lot for business and stay mostly in chain hotels with predictable service, passable food, an exercise room and pool, and...the ambiance of a tin cup.
That's not at all what this historic hotel is all about.
With a history of healing waters, illegal gambling, and Al Capone (and other society notables) pitching people out of windows (thus the hotel is reputedly haunted), this hotel has both 1912 style, grace, charm, and funk.
OK, so there are eccentricities. On my first stay (I m booking another for ten days from now), there were daily, very minor screw-ups that seemed designed to prove how eager they were to make it right. I had to McGyver the shower pan with a folded washcloth to prevent flooding the tile floor outside the stall. I somehow didn t know there was even a nice workout room, let alone a super-cool lap pool in the basement grotto, until my third night. The hotel seems a bit understaffed. The food is excellent, but you do have to be patient.
So I can sort of see how some would give bad reviews. I probably wouldn t like those people, and I bet I hate the way they vote on Election Day.
I love this place. It s a new favorite.

Overall a huge disappointment. The Grotto at the spa was closed. We were offered a coupon to use, good anytime. If you book a spa service, you get access to the grotto. Why would I drive over an hour to get here just to use the coupon. The pool has more tiles off or hanging than on and was filthy. The bartender outside was great and my spa service was amazing. But i came here for the experience. I va. Get a massage at my usual place that is amazing as well and jot drive an hour to get there. The food was average. I can cook better at home, but the bartender in the restaurant was great and gave great service while i was eating. Overall the room was very average, with mold or something on the vent grate. I'm trying to post a picture but it won't upload. They are relying on the spa to set this place as 5 starts, but overall a huge disappointment. Glad I used the Groupon and only paid 119 for the night. The spa service was great, but 280 for an 110 minute massage is pricey when you cannot use the Grotto.

Beautifully redone. Luxurious, but comfortable. Food is great and employees are professional and pleasant. BE AWARE that this hotel is a wedding destination and makes it harder to be just a "regular" guest. 3 weddings happening at the same time this weekend. No place to sit outside or in the Lobby and the bar was closed for a private party most of the evening . You have a good chance of your room being in wedding guest territory as well, and therefore be prepared for loud drunks in the hallway late at night. This has happened every time we've stayed here.

Wish there was a way to accommodate those just looking for a quiet stay at an amazing hotel/spa.

We had a great experience on our overnight stay. The restaurant food was delicious. Chocolate cake dessert is to die for. The drinks were excellent and almost overpriced....Front desk very helpful, and ready to answer all our questions. One big hot tub outdoors was delightful, along with a gas fireplace to keep you warm if you wanted. Indoor pool was a little cool for me. And the hot tub inside was only warm.....certainly not hot. various massages and spa treatments available at reasonable pricing. Room service is available, and in the morning coffee and pastries are also available.

The resort is beautiful and I can't wait for our next visit

Beautiful hotel! The grotto wasn't very busy when we went, but if it was, I could see it feeling crowded since it's not very big. Overall we had a great experience. My biggest complaint is the extremely loud noise the steam releaser made in the steam sauna and the steam shower about every 2 minutes or so. It was amost painfully loud, which made it difficult to relax in either of those rooms. Like I said though, overall we had a really nice time.

Loved the Room. Comfortable bed. Clean room. Service was friendly and helpful. The restaurant in the hotel was fantastic

The food was excellent and not o ly that but it was served by the nicest of workers who worked so hard to prepare and maintain the cuality of there food

Although I didn't stay here (I thought I was meeting someone here) the brave young lady at the desk inquired about my bruised face, in other words was concerned for my welfare. I had tripped in my yard and landed on a rock wall. But I really really appreciated this young lady reaching out in case I was assaulted. Kudos in an awkward situation.

Beautifully maintained hotel. Very luxurious and cool. From famous gangsters to Presidents everyone wants to stay at the Elms. Front desk folks are not very friendly or helpful though. The restaurant was scrumptious. Waiters, waitresses and bartender were really great. I loved wandering around the hotel. You can just feel the history. My room was clean though a little worn. But the atmosphere was superb..

Rooms are nice place has a ton of character food is great. Coffee shop is nice. Pools are awesome too

The place looks better online. The room is the size of a shoe box...And dirty. The carpet has stains on it, obvious dust on the blinds in the bathroom and window sills. And grime on the door that appears to be able to be just cleaned off with a rag. Also I've already found 2 bugs and 1 spider in the bathroom. I guess it's all part of the old world charm, but it's not for me.

We loved this hotel! Came here as part of a romantic get away. The hotel is historic but newly renovated. The renovations are beautiful. We had reservations at the restaurant on property (88 at the Elms) and the food was amazing! We also ordered room service and again the food was amazing and the service fast! We loved the spa. Some of the most professional staff I ve ever met (I work in the same industry). It was so easy to relax and enjoy our services because of the gorgeous spa and ambiance.

The only complaints I have are about the front desk staff and the housekeeping. The first room we were put in was bad. Stains on the carpet, dirt and debris on the carpet (clearly not vacuumed), a ripe the size of a dollar bill in the sheets, a lamp held together with scotch tape, dust everywhere, dirty shower floor and sink. It was unacceptable especially for the price of the room. They did move us. The next room was better but not great. We didn t see housekeeping the entire stay until the day we left. Instead of a typical housekeeping cart for linens, trash, and cleaning supplies, this house keeper had a small, rolling, suitcase like bag/container. There was no way trash or linens would fit in that thing. I now understood why the rooms were in the condition they were in. I would expect way more for a beautiful hotel that jut underwent a $20,000,000 renovation.

The next complaint is about front desk staff. They seemed understaffed and unprofessional at times. I stood at the front waiting to check out while they answered 3 phone calls in front of me (instead of helping me or putting a call on hold). She didn t give me a printed receipt and seemed confused as to where my charges and receipt were. I feel like they needed another person to help up front.

All and all it was still a nice stay!

This is a beautiful Hotel and Spa and has nice place to eat it's gorgeous and the food is good

More like a 2.5. The room was clean but smelled musty and it was a very long walk to our room from the elevator. The bed was very uncomfortable and there was a HUGE bug on one of the curtains. My husband booked us for a spa package and we enjoyed the couples facials, couples massages but the scented bath was just that...we were taken to separate rooms and it was just a glorified bathtub with jets and some scent added to the water. We were in different rooms. That was a total waste of time and money when you have use of the Grotto. The Grotto is the only reason there were any stars at all really. The Grotto was very relaxing and since we were there in the middle of the week it was not very crowded at all. Next time we visit the area we will just do the Grotto and skip the overpriced, musty rooms with really uncomfortable beds.

Beautiful Hotel & Spa. Awesome experience. Great food!

The venue is perfect for a wedding. The guest rooms are sufficient but the carpet needs to be cleaned and they could use some updating.

Relaxing and peaceful getaway.

The only downside, the room thermometer didn't work. It wasn't bad, justbwould have liked to adjust.

Love the spa, the hotel says one thing and then you get there and find out that the spa and hotel do not communicate very well with each other. The rooms could use a thorough cleaning, cobweb's and nasty looking glasses and stained couch kinda creepy me out

We did not stay here but explored. This is an historic hotel and it's beautifully kept. An inviting entrance, a cafe, an outdoor conversation pit. The lobby is large and appears to be all marble. There's a decent outdoor pool with seating, and tables and chairs at intervals all the way around the circular ballroom/dining room. If you like atmosphere, give it a try. Then let me know what you think.