Southmoreland On The Plaza, Kansas City
August 2021
Delightfully appointed in a coveted location, Southmoreland on the Plaza pampers guests. The upscale 1913 Colonial Revival mansion touts covered porches, sumptuous bedding and breakfasts in the courtyard patio garden or enclosed sunporch.
Shaded by mature oaks, the inn lies a walkable one-and-a-half blocks from Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza. The Plaza’s Spanish-style architecture, embellished with stucco turrets and shimmering fountains, offers upscale shopping and an abundance of restaurants, perfect for evening strolls.
On a Friday night, my husband and I checked into the third-floor Clara and Russell Stover room, named after Kansas City’s celebrated chocolatier. Each of the inn’s 14 rooms, including two in the carriage house, have been themed after prominent citizens. We stopped in at the complimentary wine and beer happy hour and, after dinner at a local restaurant, munched on just-baked cookies while we relaxed by the garden waterfall.
Until the mid-1980s, individual families owned the house before it was beautifully renovated as an upscale bed and breakfast. In 2019, the longstanding owners sold the property to native Kansas Citian Aaron Clemons and his local partners. They completed a half-million-dollar renovation just before Covid hit.
“We tore out wallpaper and repainted in whites and grays but kept the architectural detail and original woodwork,” says Clemons. “We also refreshed the lighting, updated the furniture for a more modern look and replaced the mattresses and bedframes.”
On weekdays, the continental breakfast features from-scratch sweet breads and savory scones, overnight oats, parfaits, green juices, berry smoothies and fruit. Come weekends, breakfast becomes more elaborate and changes with the seasons, adding apple crisps and entrees in the fall. Guests might start with a warm citrus-poached pear in berry sauce or creamy banana bisque before tucking into stuffed French toast or savory shirred eggs intermingled with veggies and cheese.
Guests will find plenty of diversions. The inn has hosted wine and cheese tastings by local shops and cigar-and-whiskey nights around the outdoor fireplace. Author and artist events are under consideration. A six-minute walk along shaded streets leads to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. And for those staying between Thanksgiving and mid-January, the Plaza lights—more than 200,000 adorning every building and turret—have remained a beloved Kansas City tradition for more than 90 years.
Visit Southmoreland.com for more information.