The Elms Hotel & Spa can host meetings of 20 to 300 people, weddings of up to 300 guests indoors or under its gazebo, and full-property retreats with 153 guest rooms and suites on site. The hotel stands in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, a former mineral-water spa town northeast of Kansas City.
Seminars and company events
The hotel has 11,000 square feet of restored meeting space spread across nine event rooms. Large groups can open with a plenary in the Grand Ballroom or the Regent Ballroom, then move to breakout rooms for smaller sessions. The Truman Boardroom suits an executive committee of up to 20. The 16 acres of grounds are available for retreats and team-building activities, and attendees can book massages, facials or time in the Grotto after the working day. The hotel publishes meeting offers and shares an event guide with catering menus.
Weddings and receptions
Couples can hold the ceremony outdoors and the reception inside without leaving the property. The Elms Gazebo seats up to 300 guests, with 150 of the seats under cover, and comes with a sound system, chairs and microphones. The open lawns shaded by elm trees offer a second outdoor setting. Receptions take place in the Grand Ballroom or the Regent Ballroom, and the hotel keeps a wedding team for planning.
Rooms and capacities
The Grand Ballroom is oval, with high ceilings, a central skylight, chandeliers and a glass wall facing the grounds, the outdoor pool and the gazebo. It holds up to 300 guests. The Regent Ballroom takes up to 225 and has a rustic look: hardwood floors, exposed timbers, a large stone fireplace, tall windows and French doors. The Excelsior, Empire and Saratoga rooms work as one breakout room of more than 1,700 square feet or as three rooms of 550 square feet each, for 30 to 40 people. A private dining room, a patio, the pool deck and a fire pit area complete the options. The Truman Boardroom and the private dining room are not accessible to wheelchair users.
Accommodation
There are 153 guest rooms and suites, enough to house a large seminar or most of a wedding party on site. The spa covers 28,000 square feet and includes the Grotto, reserved for guests aged 18 and over. Spa access is booked separately from the stay, ideally in advance for groups.
Catering
Catering is in-house, with seasonal and custom menus. The hotel also runs three outlets: Three Owls for regional cooking, The Tavern for cocktails and light dishes, and Cafe Soterian for coffee and breakfast.
History and setting
The current building, made of native limestone, opened on September 7, 1912. It replaced two earlier hotels lost to fire in 1898 and 1910. Harry S. Truman stayed here on Election Day in 1948. In the 1950s, companies such as Avon and Standard Oil booked the entire hotel for conventions. Major renovations followed in 1998 and from 2011 to 2012. The hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Getting there
Excelsior Springs is about 30 miles northeast of downtown Kansas City. Kansas City International Airport is the nearest major airport, and most groups arrive by car or coach.
