JULY: Crossroads Hotel
This boutique hotel in the heart of downtown offers a unique piece of local history. Originally a Pabst Brewing depot, crime boss Tom Pendergast purchased the building amid the Prohibition era, making it a hub for bootlegging and business dealings. In 2018, the Crossroads Hotel opened its doors.
Although there’s no longer a basement speakeasy in this four-story brick building, the Crossroads Hotel is home to top-notch drinks and dining with two bars and a full-service restaurant. Lobby cafe XR serves espresso beverages, breakfast, craft cocktails and casual bites like pizzas and sandwiches. Newly renovated rooftop bar Percheron, with a menu of mezze platters, local brews and creative cocktails, hosts live concerts throughout the summer. Italian restaurant Lazia’s seasonally rotating menu includes carpaccio, slow braised meats, housemade stuffed pastas and more. The hotel is also home to an art gallery, which features 2,000 square feet of rotating works from KC artists.
Beyond the hotel’s offerings, there’s plenty to do in this vibrant, artistic neighborhood. There’s First Friday’s where galleries, shops and street vendors display their wares from July 17 to 27, catch a cutting-edge theatrical work at KC Fringe Festival at one of the nearby host venues like Bird Comedy Theater, City Stage at Union Station and MOD Gallery.
Did you know? Four of Pendergast’s original walk-in safes remain intact at Crossroads Hotel. For the full experience, reserve the vault suite or get a group together to reserve Lazia’s ten-seat semi-private dining room.
AUGUST: Margaritaville Hotel Kansas City
Make Jimmy Buffet proud and book an end-of-summer getaway at Margaritaville Hotel. It has all the ingredients of a tropical hideaway without the passports or TSA lines: frozen drinks, cabanas and even swaying palm trees.
Two pools, poolside service and plenty of lounge chairs make it easy to kick your feet up and spend an afternoon in the sun. And when you need a break from the water, there’s plenty else to do around the resort, from letting the kiddos loose in the arcade to grabbing a drink at the O’Clock Somewhere Bar. End an evening with dinner at LandShark before heading back to the pool deck as the sun sets. We’re not in Kansas anymore!
SEPTEMBER: The Truitt
Art enthusiasts will enjoy a gallery-filled weekend in Midtown’s Southmoreland neighborhood. Just a few blocks from two cultural institutions (the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art), The Truitt makes for an elegant and stylish soft landing.
The colonial mansion turned boutique bed and breakfast has luxurious guestrooms equipped with high-end linen sheets and soft bathrobes, plus thoughtful touches like complimentary Christopher Elbow chocolates. The common areas, with mid-century chrome and leather chairs, turkish rugs and fine art, are likely to leave you with some design inspiration for your own home. Pack a book and soak up the afternoon rays while lounging in the black and white tiled sunroom.
For a walkable weekend, start the day off right with a stroll to Dad’s Bakeshop for pastries and coffee. After exploring the Kemper Museum’s collections, sit down for lunch at the museum’s restaurant Oil on Linen, an eatery led by three-time James Beard-nominated chef Ted Habiger. Relax and reset back at The Truitt before sauntering over to Italian establishment Ragazza for dinner (we recommend ending the night with a chilled pour of the restaurant’s housemade limoncello).
Insider tip: Stay during the last weekend of September, hop on the streetcar line and head to the 95th annual Plaza Art Fair. On the way back, take the 45th Street stop to wander through The Artiere, an experiential, interactive pathway that guides visitors through the Nelson-Atkins, Kemper and the Kansas City Art Institute.
OCTOBER: The Elms Hotel & Spa
Drawn by rumours of healing waters, visitors once traveled from around the country in search of rest and rejuvenation in Excelsior Springs—a tradition that continues today at the Elms Hotel & Spa.
Just 35 minutes northeast of Kansas City on Route 69, the turn-of-the-century resort rises above the town’s quaint downtown with its half-timbered exterior and native limestone facade. Major renovations completed in 2022 retained original features like the Craftsman-style lobby’s sprawling mosaic tile floor while introducing modern touches to the 153-room property, including its morning market and cafe, renovated spa with a mud bar and zen garden in the outdoor grotto.
If you do little more than don a robe and settle into resort mode, consider it time well spent. Rotate between the indoor pool and year-round outdoor hot tub, book the signature thermal spa circuit, split meals among the hotel’s restaurants, and cap off the evening with one of the Elms’ famous paranormal tours. Between two devastating fires and decades of tales involving phantom knocks and mysteriously empty elevators, the hotel has earned a reputation as one of the region’s most haunted.
Prefer to venture beyond the property? The Downtown Excelsior Springs Trail System offers a scenic two-mile loop through the river and up wooded Siloam Mountain. Along the way, stop at the Superior Well Pagoda, which overlooks one of the 46 mineral springs that made the town famous, and the Hall of Waters, a striking Art Deco landmark that once housed a working water bar.
Insider Tip: Lean into the town’s spirit of imbibing. Each fall, Witch Way to the Wine sends costumed revelers through downtown for more than 20 wine tastings. For something available year-round, book a cave tasting at Fence Stile Vineyards & Winery, where guests sip in the estate’s cool, candlelit cavern.
NOVEMBER: The Inn at Meadowbrook
The Inn at Meadowbrook is a Prairie Village retreat that feels plucked right out of a Nancy Meyers movie. Tucked inside a park that shares the same name, this hotel is cozy, coastal and an easy choice for a weekend staycation that doesn’t require much planning or driving.
Start a morning with a warm latte and breakfast sandwich from The Market before perusing the park’s walking trails, which loop three miles around ponds and fall-color prairie. Or, if you’re looking to pick up the pace and the weather calls for it, borrow one of the Inn’s rental bikes or head to the pickleball courts on the northwest side of the park. On the way back, be sure to climb the giant grassy hill (you can’t miss it) and you’ll get sweeping views of the green space.
As the temps cool, the Inn’s community fire pit is the spot to sip an Aperitivo before strolling over to on-site restaurant Verbena for dinner. Under executive chef Mike DeStefano—a Kansas City native who trained at several acclaimed restaurants, including those within Chicago’s renowned Alinea Group—the restaurant serves a polished, seasonal menu that thrives in late fall.
DECEMBER: Weston
Weston was made for the holiday season. Most people know the quaint town just northwest of KCI for its fall festivities, like Applefest and pumpkin patches. But we recommend planning your trip around Weston’s Annual Candlelight Homes Tour on December 5 and 6, when some of the town’s most beautiful historic homes open their doors, decked out in holiday decor.
Afterward, warm up with a tasting at Holladay Distillery, Missouri’s oldest distillery, where guided tours show a glimpse into Missouri’s bourbon-making heritage. And if you want to keep the holiday spirits flowing, continue the day at Pirtle Winery or at O’Malley’s pub, which is housed in a network of underground cellars hand-dug by Irish immigrants in the 1840s. On a chilly December day, there is no cozier place in town to have a pint.
Of course, no trip to Weston is complete without perusing the shops on Main Street, where storefronts are dressed up for the season (Cactus Creek and The Celtic Ranch are musts). Before heading home, make a pit stop at Red Barn Farm for local treats that make great stocking stuffers.
Insider Tip: Skip I-29 and enter Weston via Highway 45 through Weston Bend State Park. The windy road passes through the park’s wooded hills and has overlooks with sweeping views of the Missouri River Valley, which are arguably even better in winter after leaves have fallen.
