SPONSORED BY THE RAPHAEL HOTEL

Completely renovated in 2009 to address modern travel needs, The Raphael Hotel, Autograph Collection, operates in a classic 1927 building at Kansas City, Missouri’s renowned Country Club Plaza. The property earned a AAA Four Diamond Award and four stars in the Forbes Travel Guide. Travel+Leisure readers named it one of the World’s Best Hotels in 2014.

Granite-topped vanities, mini-refrigerators and Keurig Brewing Systems accentuate 126 suites and rooms. European elegance meets modern convenience, with luxury bedding, French milled soaps and free WiFi. Guests may also use the fitness center, book in-room massages and enjoy complimentary valet parking.

Special packages have been a big attraction of The Raphael Hotel since at least the 1980s. There’s a birthday package, a spa package and a Girlfriends’ Getaway Package. History buffs enjoy the Sesquicentennial Civil War Package while the Kansas City Heritage Package features two nights of accommodations plus two tickets each to the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial, the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the American Jazz Museum and the Arabia Steamboat Museum. Romance Packages may include luxury accommodations, chilled champagne or wine and dessert, a seasonal bouquet and a meal at the hotel’s Chaz on the Plaza Restaurant & Lounge.

Here, guests enjoy a Wine Spectator award-winning wine list alongside upscale, modern American cuisine. “We strive to make dining an authentic Kansas City experience,” says Bill Carter, general manager of The Raphael Hotel. “The chef incorporates local ingredients, his Southern roots and a variety of ethnic and regional influences in his cooking, which is complemented by a superb wine and beverage selections.”

One of the city’s busiest music venues, Chaz Lounge offers nightly live performances, from jazz to classical and pop. Enjoy a jazz brunch on Saturday or Sunday and outdoor music on weekend evenings, from May to September.

*Service is a major component of this hotel,” Carter says. “There’s a warmth of hospitality and our management is very attentive.”

Sponsored by the Raphael Hotel