We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at The Raphael Hotel. Our suite was beautiful and comfortable; the staff was friendly, polite, and professional. Also, very easy access to the Plaza and other downtown venues. What a great place to stay. I want to return to Kansas City just to stay at The Raphael Hotel.

From the time I booked this reservation online until we checked out, this could not have been any better. I live in South Florida and my mom lives in the Kansas City area. I flew in to KC that morning and hooked up with Mom and we made our way to the Plaza. Growing up in KC, I always love the ambience of the Plaza and this trip was no exception. It was cold outside, but we were warmed by the wonderful reception we received from everyone. Laura let us check in early and we were taken to a beautiful suite on the 9th floor that had a side view of the Plaza...not head on, but not bad either. The room was really quite nice...better than any I've stayed in before. I must say that the thing that impressed me the most in regards to the room were the sheets on the very comfy beds...they were the softest sheets I've ever had the pleasure of sleeping beneath...honestly, they were wonderful. While I would say that I usually sleep at hotels, I never get a good night's sleep; not so at The Raphael...not even my mom's snoring disturbed me this trip :) We had breakfast at Chaz and it was quite good; we were still full from the night before at The Cheesecake Factory...but, we ate what we could the next day and enjoyed it. It was my mom's birthday and they put a candle in her omelet! Again...I will definitely make The Raphael a place to go when I want to do something special in KC again. Everyone who represented this hotel went above and beyond to make us feel welcome and very special...thank you so much!

My husband and I have stayed at several 4-star hotels in the KC area and can say without a doubt the Raphael Hotel is the cream of the crop. We had the pleasure of staying in a king suite last month and our expectations were more than exceeded. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful, and Tyler at the concierge desk went above and beyond to ensure our anniversary celebration was exquisite. The boutique decor in our room was the perfect combination of form and function. High-end touches like marble tile in the bathroom and a deep Kohler tub offered the relaxation we were looking for. The bed was layered with several soft pillows and was extremely comfortable. Our room was quiet, and since we had a suite there was ample room to enjoy a lazy morning. We ordered room service for breakfast, which arrived on time and tasted delicious. I really cannot say enough good things about this hotel. We have finally found a hotel in KC that is of the same caliber of our favorite boutique hotels in NY.

I booked a King Suite, Plaza View for one night for my wife and me as part of a belated birthday trip to Kansas City. Though we live a couple hours away, we are regular weekend visitors to KC for shopping, dining, and overall R&R. We have stayed on the Plaza many times over the past 15 years, and have normally booked one of several national chain properties there. But for this trip, I decided to splurge and make good on the long-held desire to stay at the Raphael. Certainly more expensive, but I'm pleased we did. I must say, though, that there were a few minor glitches. Easily corrected, but still somewhat disappointing nonetheless. Happily, the pros outweighed the cons. The cons first: At check-in, we did not get the Plaza View suite I had reserved online. This became apparent immediately on opening the suite door; we were clearly on the back side of the hotel, not on the Plaza side. Since Plaza View rooms carry a higher rate, I wanted to make sure we got what we were paying for, so an elevator ride back down to the front desk was in order. The switch was made after a rather lengthy delay while the clerk keyboarded and studied her screen. She did offer two breakfast coupons for the trouble, much appreciated but not taken since we had other breakfast plans made. Also, later that evening in the lounge, I was served a glass of straight gin instead of the gin and tonic I asked for. Again, easily fixed. But, two mistakes during moment of truth situations--wrong room, wrong drink. Those are basics, folks. The pros: Most important of all, the room was clean, top to bottom and side to side. The room was very nice, and as Glenn R noted here, a true suite--two separate areas divided by a real wall between the bedroom and the sitting room. Multicolor decor was really well coordinated, not just sprayed monotone. Very nice bath (on the small side and boy were those floor tiles cold!) but very nicely appointed with white subway tile and interesting details. Decent showerhead and water pressure. Two LG flat panel TV's, a bigger one in the sitting room and a slightly smaller one in the bedroom, with lots of good channels and a clear picture. Comfortable king bed, plenty of pillows, very nicely carpeted throughout, Kuerig coffee service (did not use), high quality bath amenities, 24-hour room service (not used), quick and couteous valet parking (free, believe it or not) and snacks/drinks available in the room (for a price, of course, and also not used) really made this a nice stay. On check-out, our only real regret was that we hadn't spent more time actually enjoying the room instead of across Brush Creek shopping, eating, and movie-watching. Oh, well, maybe next time. And I'm pretty sure there will be a next time!