I was super excited about this place after reading all of the great reviews, but it didn't live up to the hype. Upon arrival to the spa there were no robes or towels which meant we had to go ask for some. By the time we finally got them, we were running behind for our treatment. Instead of recognizing that we were running behind because we didn't have what we needed, they cut our massage short. During the massage the stereo kept coming on with a message saying low battery. Instead of doing something about it, the staff just left it and let us listen to it the entire time. There were no towels in the grotto area either. Upon returning to the locker room, there were also no hand towels or toilet paper (which I had told them upon arrival over an hour earlier). Overall, I left more frustrated than I'd like to leave a spa.
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We enjoyed our overall stay here and the spa was nice. However when we arrived we didn t have our whole party together and they made us stay in the lobby while our room sat empty and ready for over 2 hours! Very unhappy about how the front desk handled this situation and will not be coming back again.
We like a lot eating out. Last night we visited this delicious restaurant which friends recommended to us. We had a beautiful experience there with great dishes and a well-trained crew and an impressive chief cook. We added this restaurant in our phone list and we will no doubt go again soon. We highly recommend.
History, Flare, Cosmopolitan, Ambiance , Decor, Personable...I feel there is something for everyone at the Elms. We signed on for the "Haunted Tour", given the season, well worth it! The Guide was fabulous, he is a part of the Elms history. You come to Do the Elms, not just stay there.
Wow.. this place is a beautiful, hidden, historic treasure! I would definitely recommend The Elms. It also doesn't hurt that they have an Al Capone suite, and ghost tours! The spa is wonderful, the staff very friendly, and helpful. I would definitely return!
This place is a must visit.. very nice pool on the ground and the spa is great.. hot tub, Sona dry and steam.. oh wow great place to relax. It's an older building but very well kept..
The elevator didn't work so we had to walk up and down to 4th floor. The breakfast was overpriced for what we were served. My order came out wrong but by that time I was so over the experience that I just didn't eat it. My shower that morning was not as nice as I was hoping as I ran out of hot water didn't know this was possible at a hotel but here apparently it is.The hand held shower head is placed so high I couldn't reach it. When we opened the curtains there was trash behind them on the floor so it made me wonder what else was not cleaned. Wish I could say had a great time and enjoyed the experience but unfortunately it was very disappointing.
The food was great! However, the air conditioning was so cold my hands turned white and were numb. I had to pick up my water glass with my napkin so they wouldn't freeze even more. I warmed my hands by putting my hands on my car which was quite warm from the sun.
This is a really cool property. It's so capable of being the region's top luxury retreat. The spa is amazing and is 5 star. The rest of the hotel, service, dining is very average. Mind you, I'm comparing it to properties like the South Lodge Hotel in Sussex, England, a converted manor home. The Elms could be that... but it's falling short.
A point of emphasis... if there is a wedding it will negatively affect your experience BIG TIME if you aren't a wedding guest. Smoking by the doors in the pool area outside the reception, halls loud as hell till well after midnight with drunk guests, etc.
Staff told me it's under new ownership that want to get it to 5 star status. We'll see. The building and possibilities are endless with the right chef, changes to atmosphere and proper training of staff to cater to every need. If they do, it will be a major regional draw to spend a few days in pampered luxury.
Last note... is the restaurant a bar? A Cocktail lounge? Fine dining? They are trying for it to be all three and it isn't working...i mean the dinner menu has a $40 steak and a Reuben sandwich. REUBEN SANDWICH? WHAT?!? On a dinner menu at a resort hotel? Plus the music they played in the room came complete with spoken advertising, like a radio station... that was jarring whilst enjoying my after dinner cocktail.
Very old dirty inside rooms the air conditioning is a few degrees cooler than outside. The carpets are dirty in rooms asked for new towels 3x in one day finally got them at 10pm an hr after the 3rd time of asking. They charged our debit card $70 for amenities before we ever even got to our room. Would not recommend. It has history that's about it
We had a good stay. Our Room was nice and clean. The memory foam mattress was very comfortable. We ate dinner at the 88 and enjoyed it. We sat in the Tavern and had a beverage. The indoor pool and Jacuzzi is amazing. We did a paranormal tour with Jay which was probably the best part Jay did a good job.
I loved being here for the weekend. The staff was amazing. Very clean and accommodating. Very upbeat place to relax. The lap pool and hot tub inside were very relaxing, and the hot tub outside was amazing!
Expensive, but the rooms are modern and comfortable. You can definitely hear everyone else on your hall though. As an overnight guest, the expense is only worth it if you can take advantage of the pool and spa, otherwise a cheaper hotel might suit you just fine.
Nice renovations in an old establishment. Food was good. PLEASE, PLEASE GET MORE POOL CHAIRS!!!! People come for the pool in July. Crazy to not be able to sit poolside due to lack of seating especially when there's room. Make the investment and your reviews will go up. Otherwise great visit.
The website makes this place look a lot nicer than it actually is. The rooms are pretty old. The two stars are for the pools and hot tubes which are nice. Also beware of a resort fee, they didn't tell us about that when we checked in. Also, More
Friendly staff, great grounds. The carpet in the rooms were stained quite a bit. Requested towels and room service book to room but they were never brought.
This year my husband and I did not have the excellent service and experience of years past for a number of reasons.... Only one bell man, buffet dinner and new year's brunch was not nearly as vast and was not replenished, no valet, excuses from the front desk and everywhere else that they were shorthanded and new in their position. All of this without going into detail but there was definitely a need for a bouncer at the dance on New Year's Eve which got totally out of control. The cost? Over $500 for one night! Apparently the place is under new management these past 2 years and the last time we were here was 3 years ago. Note to new management.... you have some big issues!
The hotel as a whole is beautiful and the grounds were amazing. Perfect for a weekend getaway. That being said, the carpet in our room was stained and the room smelled a little mildewed. The bed was amazing though. The pool was great and the poolside bartender was friendly, she seemed overwhelmed with the amount of people that were out. Probably wouldn t hurt to have two bartenders on Saturdays. The restaurant seemed wildly overpriced for what they were offering. We had reservations but decided to eat in town. The walls are extremely thin, knowing that it s an old hotel I understand that, that can be an issue. So if you re going for a quiet evening don t expect it. We could hear every room around us and the people walking down the hall. The grotto was amazing and we were the only people down there both days. The only downside was that there were absolutely no guest towels the entire time we were there. They kept saying they would put some out and we never saw any. The morning we left they had put three towels in the clean towel bin. Glad we paid the groupon price, anymore than that and It wouldn t have been worth it. No one wants to pay 300 dollars for a room that smells like mold and has funky stained carpet. Staff was friendly and overall it was a good weekend, definitely relaxing.
We reserved the Capone suite and drove 9.5 hours only to find out the Capone suite is closed. This is the second time we ve been burned here and it will be the last.
The rooms were great. The management and front desk help didn't seem to be on the same page. Had difficulty doing the planned agenda because they didn't communicate with each other enough
A true underrated gem in the KC area, especially for a quick getaway or staycation.
The rooms are a bit dated, but that s kind of the vibe. The food in the restaurant is good, but Hyatt has recently taken over, and I had the chance to meet the new F&B Director - I think this place is really going to get a makeover and step it s game up!
Historic hotel with a fun, laid-back environment. The rooms were clean and the staff was friendly. The pools were amazing. We loved our time at The Elms and are already planning our return trip.
You have to appreciate it for what it is. The architecture is beautiful, the place is overall very elegant. We had a lot of trouble with the cleanliness of our room. After we switched rooms, the next room was not any better, and we are not that picky. The front desk girl was very sweet, asked me to email her pictures that I took of the nasty for her to send to corporate. I did, but never heard a word. I am still giving it four stars, just because of the wow factor of the estate.
I was so excited when I made my reservation at The Elms. I was meeting my best friend for a spa weekend. When I booked I chose the 2 queen bed parlor suite. The photos looked lovely and spacious. Upon checking in we found we were in a room that was nothing like the photos. Small and cramped with so surfaces to put your toiletries and other items. Dirty windows covered in spider webs met you when looking outside. Couple that with a broken elevator and this visit was less than stellar. Spa treatments were nice but very pricy.
We went for a relaxing weekend before the holidays, and we were not disappointed! It was so nice to get away and just focus on destressing. The hotel itself is very old, but that doesn't mean it's not nice. You can tell the people that work here really love this place. It's not the fanciest place I've ever stayed by any stretch, but I think they're going for a more restful aura here, and they definitely achieved that goal. We ordered breakfast room service without a hitch our first day, and it was perfectly fine. Then we went downstairs to the spa to start our course of treatments. We had a great time there! Everyone was super nice and positive. The therapists were very skilled, and you could tell they wanted their guests to be as happy with the experience as possible. Had dinner at the restaurant in house, and while the service was slow, the food was perfectly fine. Going to head home now, completely refreshed! Will definitely do this again.
Nice older hotel with basement full spa. Giving this 4 because the hotel rooms are a little small with no bathtub, and you have a good chance of having a view of rooftop machinery. But the beds are very comfy and room has a keurig coffee maker. Very good for the price. The stars here are the indoor lap pool (by the pictures i thought this was the "grotto"). All i can say is go look it up online as i will not be able to describe it. Then the tue star, which i give 5 stars and higher to is the spa. Great ambience and professional staff, and the grotto room with hot tub steam showers sauna with relaxing ambience and music made this a wonderful pampering experience i will retun to again.
Spa service was nice. Hotel customer service was poor, also no information was given at check-in or in room. If you do the Groupon days, Sun/monday everything in the area is closed. Wouldnt recomend paying full price for this Hotel.
My husband and I had a good experience here, but honestly I was expecting more considering they "just completed a $20-million renovation" (per their website). It seems a bit run down for a $20 million investment. We got an 'upgrade' to the Al Capone room and although larger than the average room, it seemed a bit dated. And the carpet could definitely use a cleaning or replacement. It did have a great view of grounds though. However, we LOVED the spa & grotto! Even though the grotto is an extra charge, we would go back just for that experience. Although we didn't use it, they had a very nice gym as well. We ate dinner at 88 in the hotel and the food was fantastic! Given the local history it was still a great experience overall, but I wish they would spruce up the rooms a little!
Definitely a place to visit in historic Excelsior Springs, many different ways to get a rest relaxation in on the fly. This is a Historic Hotel, it's very well known for its Truman Suite, and recently the Ghost Tours that were part of a paranormal TV show. The staff is very friendly and helpful, you might run into a people breaking the rules mildly. Overall it's a fantastic play to stay and the only real draw to Excelsior Springs Missouri. Definitely worth a peek if you need a place to stay in the greater Kansas City area.
Bed was nice, room was adequate. Check in was hassle free. I used a Groupon and was excited to try the spa but there were no openings. Wish I had called and scheduled in advance . The grotto was nice, not sure it's worth $60 a person.. Outdoor pool was crowded on a Tuesday afternoon wish we had known about the indoor pool and hot tub. We saw them the next day and they were really nice and empty. We tried to have dinner at the restaurant. There were open tables but only 2 servers. We were told to come back in 45 minutes and maybe we could be seated. Overall waitress was rude. Breakfast was OK. Only one server. So service was a little slow.
My husband and I had a fantastic short stay at the Elms. The lovely woman at the desk upgraded our room to the Al Capone Suite which made our time there even better. We cannot wait to come back.
Long story short - mostly nice, but not worth the price.
I had heard good things about The Elms, so we booked a stay for our anniversary. We spent time at the Grotto, we ate dinner at the restaurant, we used the gym, we used the lap pool. I think we really had the full Elms experience. There was some good, and some bad. But even the good wasn't really good enough for the price.
Gym/Pool - these were a cut above what you'd get at a motel. Rooms - look quite nice, but were very tiny and unbelievable uncomfortable. The bed was so painful that we were both in agony just trying to sleep. I got up at 2am to go sit in my car for a while and take some pain medication. Restaurant - food was definitely decent, but kind of pricey, and the venue is also kind of weird - a nice restaurant with two huge "sports bar" TVs. The Grotto - yep, it was really great. But I guess I just really hate being stuck with a gigantic "service fee" that wasn't part of the advertised price. I feel that this is fundamentally dishonest, and I cannot in good conscience ever recommend this place to anyone. You should not stick your guests with a 35% extra charge right as they're checking in for their anniversary getaway. This is really terrible, and shame on you for doing this to us.
Very old and run down for the cost I paid per room...without the Groupon everyone else apparently had. Spa was good. The town was amazing. Downtown was so much fun with all the shops, diner, and oldest bars. Recommend exploring that if you stay here and not just stay in the dilapidated hotel space and restaurant.
The room is not very clean and the bathroom floor is dirty. We paid for a suite on the 5th floor to receive what they call The Royal treatment, there's nothing Royal about it! Very overpriced for what you get. The air conditioner is so loud you can't hear the TV. The room amenities are outdated. The only thing I like is the layout of the room. This hotel could be very lovely if they paid more attention to the details and stepped it up several notches. There are much better resorts to choose from so we won't be returning to this one!
Nice history behind the hotel and it's really a shame that it has not been kept clean and preserved. The carpet really needs to go, it smells and its stained throughout the hotel. The whole place has a bad smell probably because of the carpet that looks like it's been through alot. Alot more negatives that I could point out but it all leads to the same thing and that folks is that the hotel needs to be deep cleaned especially in the rooms. For example our room had alot of stains in the carpet and crown molding was definitely dirty and just gave you this feel that your at a cheap motel. To top things off we found a cockroach in the bathroom shower. The only good thing this place has going is the spa downstairs. The spa area is a good mix of modern without taking away the original architecture of the place. Massage was ok nothing special but really the highlight of the spa was the private area with the sauna, cold plunge shower, steam shower, and hot tub. Just a tip dont expect much from their rooms. If we were to do it again we would probably just do the spa and call it a day.
The Elms was wonderful! Great service, staff was so nice and accommodating. The spa package was perfect. We felt spoiled! 88 was delicious, room service was great. Not a single complaint. Thank you so much!
We had to travel to attend a wedding. We made our reservation about a month in advance. When we got to the hotel it was about 3:30 pm and she checked to see if our room was clean and ready. It wasn t so she told us to come back at 4:00 and we would be able to go into our room and get ready for the wedding that was taking place in one hour. 4:10 rolls around and we head back in, room is still dirty and instead of offering us any kind of thing she just wants to check and see if we would be able to get ready in the spa locker room. We clearly just needed any sort of room at this point since the one we paid for wasn t going to be an option. After about 20 more minutes she gets us in a different room, however we still had to pay the price for the room we reserved in the first place. Which was not worth that price and I wish we would have had a different option. It was just inconvenient and after a long drive it wasn t what we wanted or needed.
Went there for our 25th anniversary. Had previously been on our honeymoon and was excited to go back, now I don't know why. When I called I asked if the only difference between the King parlor and King classic was the extra sitting room, she said yes. I proceeded to ask if it had a tub to which she assured me it did. When we arrived I was very disappointed as it was a small room with a very small shower. As we are heading ti the front desk I noticed a plate of UNCOVERED strawberries sitting on the floor. Ask about the room, they are at capacity but gave us a breakfast coupon that I thought he said would cover a wonderful breakfast buffet. He also explained that someone was on their way up to our room with our anniversary package. Ok, head to the room~strawberries still sitting there. Pout in my room for about 45 min and decide to hit the pool. Head down to the pool ~ stawberries haven't moved. Take half lap in indoor pool it was cool so we went to the outdoor pool which wasn't much warmer. Got in the hot tub as we were trying to enjoy we had this horrible stench come over as they were taking out the trash. The people in the pool were frustrated that there wasn't an outdoor bar tender. My nose starts bleeding and I have my husband grab a pool towel as I didn't want to drip in the pool. Go to the front desk, give them my towel letting them know I'd used it on my bloody nose. While there I asked if we were supposed to get strawberries with our package as they hadn't brought any up with them. He said he thought there was a mix up but would talk to the manager and get it taken care of. On the way back to the room since the strawberries are still there and there was a piece of paper with them I decided to see what the paper said and it was a note thanking them for booking the anniversary package. Sit in the room awhile, still disappointed, finally I decided to rinse the chlorine off and get dressed up for dinner. As we pass by the strawberries are still sitting there and we never heard back about our strawberries I stopped by the desk to see what he found out. He apologized said he'd been busy but would personally take them to our room and he'd talked to the manager and they were going to give us a discount. At this time I let him know about the strawberries, he thought I mentioned something because they were "taunting" us. I said no I'm telling you because that's disgusting and if they were mine I'd be pissed. He said maybe the people didn't want them, I told him about the note and he said they were training a new person and he must not have understood where they were supposed to go. I told him that we were going out and to put them on our desk, we came back to find them covered on the desk. The champagne and strawberries were very good, about the only thing. Breakfast the next day I order milk and once I'm done I see something on the side of my glass, stuck on food and the wonderful breakfast was mediocre at best. When I looked at our bill they hadn't given us an adjustment so I asked about it and was given just a 10% on over a $375 bill. I asked who the manager was and she informed me that she was in charge of the front desk. I asked for the hotel, she gave me John Mormino's card and I emailed him. The next day I received a request for a survey and Duncan Clements name was listed and so I emailed him. I called and left John a voicemail, called 2 more times and emailed him once more. I emailed Duncan a 2nd time with no response from anyone. We stayed the weekend of the 26th and I would have expected something before now considering I left them the same complaint.
Love this place!!! Perfect getaway from Kansas City for one night or a weekend. The outdoor pool and hot tub are amazing! There's poolside service for drinks and a limited food menu. (Bonus!) The indoor lap pool and indoor jetted hot and cold tubs are definitely impressive. There's also a gas lit fire pit near the pool and hot tub for chillier days. The vibe of this entire place is just....wow! Historic. Haunted. And gorgeous! The rooms are comfortable and clean. They carry on the classically elegant feel the hotel portrays. The grounds are well kept. There is a large stone chimney grill near the herb garden, fire pit, and creek towards the back of the grounds. There is a bar b que restaurant a quick 5 minute walk from the hotel that easily compares with KC notables. The town of Excelsior Springs is interesting in it's history and natural beauty that reminds me of Eureka Springs, Arkansas-just without the drive. The restaurant in the hotel is worth a visit. At least to grab a cocktail or two during your stay. There is an in-house spa and a speak easy bar, but I have not visited them yet. I do take advantage of their room service on my stays...nothing is better than waking to a Bloody Mary, fresh fruit, and a hot breakfast delivered to my room to say good morning and I love spoiling myself! :) I really can't say enough good things about this place. Service has always been friendly and helpful. Check-in and check outs smooth. I can't wait to visit again, and if you're thinking about it...just go! You won't regret it.
My wife and I stayed here for our anniversary and everything was set up for us as I had asked. It was a total surprise and the staff worked hard to make sure it went perfect. The spa was perfect and the services did the trick in relaxing us both. the only mishap was an honest mistake and they were quick to offer a resolution. I would definitely stay here again.
Stay was perfect! Austin was superb and very welcoming. Pesu was warm and friendly in resteraunt. Great bartender at pool. And highly recommend the ghost tour with Jay. Thank you Elms!
We have stayed at the Elms many times and we especially like staying the night for New Years Eve parties , using the Spa, and staying on the 5th floor. We were very disappointed when we received no call back after leaving 3 messages for the event staff. My soon to be daughter in law desperately wanted to get married and have a sit down reception afterwards. I hope managers or owners see that his review because I would not think they are aware of the poor customer service that returning customers received.
We visited the Elms as a holiday getaway during Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful experience starting with a massage at the spa, followed by the Thanksgiving brunch, and then we lounged at the Grotto for a couple of hours. I would highly recommend a stay here for a romantic getaway or relaxing weekend at the spa
We have stayed at The Elms several times. Last night our stay was incredibly disappointing. I would like to rate it 1 star, however I will give the hotel credit for the futile efforts made to correct the repeated mistakes. It was our goal to have a relaxing evening as we have a toddler at home and are current expecting our second child. We attempted to check in at 4:30, 30 minutes after check in time. We were then told our room was still not ready. At this time we were sent to the bar and given two free drink tickets, a nice thought but useless as I m pregnant. Our room was not ready until 5:30. We were then upgraded to the 5th floor which has nice benefits so I will give credit to that. We left for dinner and came back, attempting to use the valet available now that we were staying on the 5th floor. We were then told there was no valet (on a busy Saturday evening) so my husband went back out to park only to discover there was no parking available. After parking on the street we headed down to the spa to check in for our services. We were then told that he had only reserved the spot and that he didn t actually book the service so they had given our spot away and there was no availability. He was never told on the phone that he needed to give a credit card number otherwise he would have. The spa gave us free access to the grotto, again useless for me being pregnant as I can t utilize any heat-related treatments. We decided to give up and head up to the room. In our room we discovered that our heater was within a foot of our TV and was so loud that even when the TV was on the highest volume level it was difficult to hear. Our toilet also continued to run every time it was used, which meant we had to open the lid and pull the chain to get it to stop. Trying to stay positive we attempted to order room service. Our room did not have the hotel information book that includes the menu so my husband went searching for one. The front desk directed him to the restaurant who sent him back upstairs with a restaurant menu, not a room service menu. We called the front desk asking to have a room service menu brought up. 5 minutes later we received a call telling us to look in the book... that we didn t have. We were told to check all of the places we had looked before we originally went searching. They reluctantly agreed to bring us one. By the time someone brought us a photocopied menu we had 10 minutes to choose something and order so we again gave up and just went to bed. This stay was a complete waste of time and money, as it was anything but relaxing or accommodating. This stay will truly make me reconsider visiting The Elms again as there are several high-quality spas much closer to our home.
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