#52 Hotel Savoy in Kansas City

Odd and Eerie

It was oddly peaceful for being downtown in a city, on a weekday at rush hour. The Hotel Savoy is a well known Kansas City landmark, so I expected more tourist traffic around this 126 year old hotel.  

Entering

The Hotel Savoy opened as a luxury hotel in 1888, so I imagined somewhat of a spotlight on this grand building.  We wandered to find the entrance, then walked through the brass doors into a dimly lit hall, that felt more like the entry to an apartment building than a hotel.

Lobby?

The retro tiled floors took us past an old slotted box,  directly below a broken clock, held up by two angels.    

Found the Doors

Towards the end of the hall we found doors that brought us into a large 2-level space. Pale light lit up cloth covered cafe tables beside a wall of Art Deco stained glass. 

Up a Step

The upper level of what had once been the spacious elegant lobby, held the desk and a few lounging chairs beneath a stained glass dome.  A ponytailed man working behind the desk, looked more like a professor than a hotel clerk.  He continued to play the role of intimidating teacher as he checked us in and gave us our key and assignment.  

The Assignment

The assignment was to review the breakfast menu, check off our choices for dishes, fill in the time we would be arriving for breakfast  and return the completed form before 10 pm.  The "professor" suddenly became less intimidating when he gave us a hint about how to fill out our test, "Well, usually people pick about 4 items each!" 

 We loved this insane news!  These food options were a little more exciting than choosing between oatmeal or eggs! 

Details!

As Don finished getting us checked in, I started absorbing details.  The glowing dome above us seemed pretty spectacular.  It seemed odd that we were the only guests standing underneath.  Where was everyone?

Snake Floor

The patterns of the tiled floors made me want to get down on my knees like a little kid and touch!  It was like looking at snake skin, all shiny and hypnotic!

We stepped back through the lobby doors and found the elevator.  We debated for a moment whether we trusted the old thing, but our bags were heavy.  

Fourth Floor

The elevator rumbled us to the 4th floor without any mishaps. (Although we chose the very impressive marble stairs for all other trips.)  The doors opened and we looked left down a hall with newer carpet and light fixtures.  However, our "Victorian Suite", 402 was to the right... down a darker hall. 

A Bit Drab

My camera flash made our hallway look much cheerier than it seemed.  We were clearly in an area that made no attempts to impress.  The door beside ours had a name plate on it, hinting that there was a long term resident as our neighbor... which would have been fine at The Plaza in NYC.  Our door looked more like an old office door with a wood panel, filling in what might have once been glass.  I liked the fact we had a real key.

A Sweet Old Suite

We chuckled as we entered our spacious suite. It was hard to figure when the updates had occurred since 1888.  The black sofa (at a jaunty angle) and a few other pieces of furniture welcomed us with the lived in look of a student  apartment.  The cloth covered table with its coffee maker and cups and saucers, felt like a gracious old folks home.

No Complaints

But honestly, we were delighted with our funny hotel room.  The price was just around 100 dollars, which is pretty darn good for experiencing an iconic hotel and getting a humongous breakfast feast. I would rather find lacy curtains, metal venetian blinds, a.c. window units and Grandma's quilt in my hotel room, than Marriott decor when I'm trying to enjoy the past.

1880's Meets 1980's

The bathroom amused me with the mixture of old and new.  I'm guessing the old tub and sink and honeycomb tile were all original.  The wallpaper and mirror made me think 1980's, which is when the hotel became a "Bed and Breakfast".  And not far from the sink was small table with starched white cloth to hold all the junk I lug from hotel to hotel.  How cute and retro is that?

A View and Some Phones

When I parted the bent metal blinds, I could see the parking lot (which offered free parking) and the flat horizon beyond some smoke stacks.  I've seen worse views.

And when I explored a little more, I found myself quite intrigued by all the doors and phones in our suite.  I counted 6 doors and 3 phones.  And a coat rack.  Gotta love a hotel room with a coat rack!

The Savoy Grill

If we had been hotel guests when the Grill first opened in 1903, Don would have dined alone.  No women were allowed at that time.  But the Grill wised up and women have been enjoying the restaurant ever since.  It is the longest continuously operating restaurant in Kansas City. 

You can enter through revolving doors from the street or follow the "Snake Floor" from the lobby towards a beastly buffalo head mounted on the hall wall. Simply look in the direction of the buffalo's gaze and enter the double doors to the Grill.

Murals...

The dark and cozy space was jammed with tables, set with pink and white china and water carafes.  Some of the cozy booths were decorated with Western murals, painted by Edward Holslag for The Grill's opening in 1903.

And Stained Glass

Other booths had the soft glow of light from stained glass windows.  Harry and Bess Truman had a favorite booth at the Savoy.  I'm not sure if this was it, but it would have been a nice one.  A different Harry visited the Savoy long ago.  When Houdini was here, someone played a joke and locked him in a phone booth.

The Bar

Don and I needed to experience the cozy oak bar before disappearing into our booth. We had martinis in curious, vintage glasses and spoke with a number of  chatty wait staff wearing white jackets and bow ties. Most had been working at the hotel for decades.  Our young bartender was the newest, but his parents and grandfather had all worked at the Grill before him.

Morning

We slept well despite a number of train whistles in the night.  (You just have to learn to love train sounds if you want to enjoy old hotels!)  At 8:30 we headed down to the breakfast parlor, which was once the barber shop.  

The Feast!

Breakfast was ridiculous!  Or rather, we looked ridiculously greedy, since we had ordered 8 dishes!  We were barely seated when coffee, juice and sweet rolls appeared.

Then, without laughing or rolling his eyes, our white jacketed server began appearing every few minutes with a new dish.  Lobster Bisque, Kippers with Scrambled Eggs, Eggs Benedict, Lamb with Sautéed Artichokes, Baked Oyster Rockefeller, Corn Beef Hash, Scallopine Veal Marsals and finally, Smoked Salmon with Caviar!

It is almost not safe to eat that amount before hitting the road... but we had a lot of caffeine!

What's Notable?

I will always remember The Savoy as being an odd mixture of worn and classy.  The stained glass, old dishes, the tile floors and the even the food felt classy and elegant.  I didn't mind seeing the peeling paint or even the yawning staff.  I was just glad The Savoy still existed.  I was especially delighted that we enjoyed out oddball Savoy Stay, when I later learned that the hotel closed its doors a couple weeks after our visit.

A kitchen fire was the reason.  Luckily the hotel has been bought and will be gutted and refurbished and once again enjoyed.  But I'm glad we saw it before a classy restoration.  I'm sure it will be lovely and I'm glad it will be saved, but I feel lucky to have memories of our eerie, weary stay at the Savoy.