Southmoreland on the Plaza — Hotel in Kansas City

It is difficult to choose a favorite aspect of Southmoreland On The Plaza. Is it the magical sleep? The genuine staff? The prime location (within walking distance to museums and restaurants galore)? The subtle decor? The delicious breakfasts? The green spaces on the property? The cleanliness and comfort of each room? The relaxing common spaces? Each of the aforementioned is tops, and one cannot be singled out as best above the others, which is what makes this place so solid. This was our third time staying at Southmoreland On The Plaza and it continues to be one of our absolute favorite places to stay in the whole of the United States. Southmoreland is run by Nancy and Mark, who have curated a luxuriously comfortable, classic, modern home away from home for you to enjoy. Their hospitality is warm and genuine, not too fussy, but exactly as helpful as you need them to be. When you step into the house you get the sense of the people running it by way of the consistent, minimal but personal touches throughout the place. We stayed in the Thomas Hart Benton room on the second floor. Our room was decorated simply and expertly with antique wooden pieces. Not your typical stuffy, victorian antiques though; everything had clean lines and a nearly modern feel. Nothing in the house feels as thought it came from a one-stop decor shop. Each piece feels hand selected with it’s particular function and room in mind. Every room we have ever enjoyed at Southmoreland On The Plaza has been outfitted with the most comfortable bed and linens we have ever encountered. This visit was no different. We slept soundly and deeply for two nights in the luxuriously soft sheets, under substantial covers and on magical pillows. Our room came equipped with a small flat screen television, a closet stocked with a luggage rack, luxurious bathrobes, extra pillows and a space heater. Every room we have stayed in at Southmoreland has had its own little balcony porch with comfortable outdoor seating (and some of them with a porch swing). In fact, every room has been outfitted with certain consistent touches of hospitality (such as a cut glass ice bucket, decanter of sherry and petite sherry glasses, a bowl of apples, fresh flowers at the bedside, the aforementioned luxurious robes, books on local history, a sparkling clean, private, modern bathroom and famously comfortable sheets); each with its own unique theme and decor style while maintaining a coherence with the rest of the house. In the evening wine and snacks are laid out for guests to enjoy and a staff member will take your requests for breakfast time and whether you want a full or half portion of breakfast. At breakfast time we enjoyed a leisurely sit at a table by the window watching birds and squirrels feeding just outside. The first morning we were served shirred eggs, rum raisin apples, and lemon yogurt pound cake. The second morning we enjoyed chocolate zucchini bread, banana apricot smoothie, and savory sandwiches made from french toast. Everything was delicious and made to perfection. When it came time to go we were sad to leave our favorite home...

Overall, we enjoyed our 1 night stay in the August Meyer room for our 14th year anniversary. I will provide some feedback from our experience.

Pros: -The room has an old world charm to it -Clean room and linens -A few pieces of art that provide a splash of color -Overall quiet experience more on that later -Large king bed -Mattress reminded me of a Tempur-pedic you definitely sink in a little and was a little warm -Mounted TV with Netflix account attached to it -Ceiling fan over bed that creates good airflow -Jacuzzi tub just big enough for two average size adults to get into but will be cramped for most -Good security getting in the house and into your room -Excellent Plaza access

Cons: -They no longer run a bed and breakfast model since the business was sold in 2019. The prior couple who ran Southmoreland had an excellent locally sourced breakfast that really set this place apart from the rest. If I would have realized that they had changed their model to an Airbnb I probably would not have booked this place.

-The room was overall quiet but the couple upstairs on top of our room decided to get up and move around at 6 AM. They were not overly obnoxious with their movements but you can tell that the walls are thin above you.

-There is no thermostat in the room so you are really reliant on the overall temperature of the house. The room definitely got a little hot for my taste and I wish I could’ve had a thermostat to really lower the temperature. They do provide a very small Dyson hot/cool air fan in the closet but I found that this product only moved ambient air and did nothing to cool it. It was a good thing that they had a large ceiling fan in the room to help circulate the air.

-They have wood blinds over the windows but lack any black out curtains so if you are staying in the summer the room let’s in light early.

The checkout time is at 10 AM and for some this is going to be really early. I’m not for sure it’s that early.

-Parking is adequate and not great and luckily I decided to bring my small little Corolla to be able to make it into their one-way drive and park. I did see a few minivans that made it but if you have a larger SUV this might be a problem.

-We ended up paying around $260 total for the room. However, this did include a 10% discount for our anniversary.

They also are charging an additional $40...

My first stay at Southmoreland on the Plaza was back in May 2021. I was surprised and blessed with the funds to actually have a honeymoon and I decided that I really wanted to try a bed and breakfast, because I had never been to one. Southmoreland at the Plaza came with good recommendations on Google and I really liked their website. All their rooms (and they have several to choose from) are unique and has character, something you just don't find in hotels today. And the price was very reasonable. Much cheaper than any other similar accommodations available on the Plaza. For my first stay, I stayed in the lower level of the carriage house, the Charlie Parker suite. It was excellent. Both my husband and I enjoyed our stay greatly. So much so, in fact, that over the summer, in July 2021, when my sister and I wanted to do a staycation, we chose to go back to Southmoreland. We stayed in the main house, on the second floor, in the Ella and Jacob Loose room. The balcony swing was just lovely.

I was a little apprehensive when I went to book a room for another staycation for my sister and I this March, 2022, because Southmoreland has transitioned from a bed and breakfast to a self-service hotel. I wasn't sure if I would still enjoy my experience there, but I decided to give it a shot. We stayed in the main house, on the third floor, in the Clara and Russell Stover room. Definitely worth the climb up the stairs! It was my favorite room yet and my experience with the new hotel format was fabulous! It is different than the bed and breakfast, but not in a bad way. I do miss the happy hour that they used to have, but I will glad trade that for a mini-fridge in my room which is something they have added to all the rooms, which I greatly missed having on my first two stays. Now I am booked for the upstairs portion of the carriage house, in the George Kessler suite, for my one year anniversary! I think Southmoreland is a wonderful little gem of a hotel. You cannot get better bang for your buck on the Plaza. It's a little hard to find, as it is tucked away, but that is honestly part of its charm. It's so quiet in that little neighborhood cove that you can hardly believe you are in walking difference of the Plaza, but you are! I simply cannot...