The Elms Hotel and Spa Reviews
Reviews
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![Donna]()
Donna Sent on 04/26/2026Enchantment abounds at The Elms
Enchantment truly abounds at The Elms. My son and new daughter-in-law recently celebrated their wedding weekend there, and from beginning to end it exceeded every expectation.
They wanted a venue that could not only accommodate a large number of out-of-town guests, but also provide an unforgettable weekend experience beyond simply the ceremony and reception. The Elms delivered that and so much more.
The hotel and its amenities are exceptional. The property itself is elegant, charming, and rich with character, yet still feels warm, comfortable, and inviting. Guest rooms were beautifully appointed, and everyone commented on how incredibly comfortable the beds were. Our family and friends fully embraced everything the resort had to offer — from the Spa, Grotto, Tavern, Three Owls restaurant, wine and coffee bar, gym, pool and hot tub, to the outdoor games, scenic grounds, and even the haunted history tour. It truly became a destination weekend rather than just a wedding, and many guests told us it was one of the most memorable wedding experiences they had ever had. Having everything in one place made it effortless and enjoyable for everyone.
Guests who ventured beyond the resort also loved how easy and pleasant it was to walk into town. Several enjoyed the local restaurants, charming shops, and nearby mineral springs museum, which added even more to the overall experience.
As the Mother of the Groom, it was not always easy to sit back and resist inserting myself into every planning detail, but my son and daughter-in-law were in excellent hands with Tori Foster, The Elms’ resident wedding planner. Tori was an absolute joy to work with and guided them through each step with professionalism, warmth, and calm assurance. She created a beautiful, seamless, and stress-free event while also keeping my husband and me informed whenever needed.
The couple chose to host both their ceremony and reception in the Regent Ballroom, which meant the space had to be completely transformed during an extended cocktail hour held on the adjoining patio. I truly cannot say enough about the reveal when guests entered for the reception — it felt like stepping into an entirely new room. It was stunning. The lighting, acoustics, décor, and table settings were all beautifully executed, creating a setting that felt both grand and elegant while still wonderfully intimate for celebrating with close family and friends.
Throughout the weekend, the staff at The Elms were warm, attentive, and welcoming. We especially appreciated the gracious greeting we received from the General Manager upon arrival, which immediately set the tone for the hospitality we would experience all weekend long.
If you are anywhere near the Kansas City area and searching for a wedding venue that offers beauty, convenience, charm, and an unforgettable guest experience, I truly cannot imagine a better choice than The Elms. -
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![L AP]()
L Ap Sent on 02/04/2026So pleased!
We are so pleased with our decision to host our wedding at The Elms. It has been in the KC area for 150 years, so we think it will be around for another 150 years as well and a story and location to share with the grandkids and nieces and nephews. Tori, Lacee, Danielle, Brian, Shay and Jenny paid attention to every detail and assisted in any possible way. We hosted a brunch wedding ~ I highly recommend this as you can enjoy the entire day with your spouse, it is elegant and the guests loved the menu. It's hard to go wrong with breakfast. The chef even recreated one of our family favorite recipes of chocolate gravy for the biscuits.
The Elms allowed us to bring in our own antique china, some of it belonging to our grandparents, to serve the brunch on. They took great care of the pieces and the staff often commented on the idea, so we knew the family heirlooms were in good care.
Roger, one of the shuttle drivers, had a nice conversation with my air force veteran father in-law and even sent a bottle of champagne to his room to thank him for his service.
I assembled my own cake (Two 10" Costco Cakes) and needed some help on the final touches. Danielle, one of the banquet managers, thankfully went to pastry school and was able to jump in and pipe the frosting edge. It was beautiful!
The Elms worked with us on pricing and helped us to get the most for our dollars, which we greatly appreciated. The beauty of hosting your wedding at The Elms, or a similar full service venue, is so much comes with it including the linens, chair covers, centerpieces if you like, full service staff, glassware, dishware and the rooms are already so beautiful, so there is not much need for additional decorating. We are a late in life marry couple and wanted to enjoy our time with the family and guests. Since we did not have to worry about setting up tables, the bar, overseeing catering, and piecing the wedding together, we were able to enjoy the time with those near and dear to us and not wear ourselves out or our family before the big event. I am in the non-profit profession and accustomed to hosting Gala Black Tie events for 900+ people. So I know where to spend the money and where not to. The Elms, and Tori specifically, was exceptional in helping us design a plan to meet this goal and she was constant and responsive with her line of communication.
We were married on 1.31.26. There was snow on the ground which made the property even more beautiful.
We felt the cost was extremely reasonable for all the outstanding service, beautiful and historic surroundings, great meal and drinks provided to our guests. Plus, we received additional Hyatt points which we plan to use for our first anniversary.
The Elms is also very supportive of their surrounding neighboring local businesses and we like to spread the love, so to speak. We hosted our Welcome Supper offsite at Casa Di Vite who also did a fantastic job. A local Mexican food restaurant catered it for us and was quite yummy.
FYI - I think this is the first time I have ever written a review on a product or service. So, I hope that can also attest to the great service we received.
Best wishes in your wedding and marriage journey to all those who may be reading this ~ the ceremony and celebration goes fast! Soak it all in!
LAMP -
Nat Sent on 12/05/2025
A lovely wedding venue
We had a great experience with our wedding at the Elms. Tori helped us plan things down to the last minute. It is a beautiful historic venue with two ballrooms to chose from and a gazebo outdoors. It rained on our wedding day but Tori helped us plan around this to make everything go perfect. Thank you to the Elms for the memories we will never forget and making our day go seamlessly. -
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![Cael]()
Cael Sent on 10/20/2025Perfect Wedding Venue!
My husband and I cannot recommend a wedding at The Elms enough! Everything was perfect from start to finish! From the first time we toured their grounds to the days following our wedding, The Elms staff was extremely attentive and conscious of our wedding experience. Tori is simply the best venue coordinator ever! She helped us stay on top of even the smallest details and was extremely organized when it came to planning out our day. She ensured that our wedding day went exactly according to plan and took all of the stress off of my shoulders! We cannot thank her enough for all that she did to make our wedding operate smoothly! Our guests were obsessed with the overall experience, we seriously did not hear a single negative experience from anyone. Overall they offer great food, great prices, beautiful grounds, and wonderful staff! 10/10's all around! -
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![Sam]()
Sam Sent on 09/08/2025A wonderful venue
We had a wonderful experience with The Elms! Not only is it a fabulous venue with multiple amazing locations for ceremony, reception, and photos, but they also handle coordination (both leading up to the wedding and day-of), catering, and hotel blocks for guests. The resort and spa are also beautiful!
Our coordinator, Tori, was terrific to work with and also willing and available to answer any question we had throughout the entire process. She met with us multiple times leading up to the wedding day, and then she and her team worked throughout the wedding weekend to ensure that we had the perfect experience. We couldn't have asked for a better coordinator and were thrilled to have Tori help us throughout the process.
The hotel is beautiful. We had our ceremony in the Gazebo outside and our reception in the Regent Ballroom. Both spaces were exactly what we were looking for.
All-in-all, we had a great experience with The Elms and would recommend it to anyone getting married around Kansas City.
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![Samantha]()
Samantha Sent on 09/07/2025My Dream Venue
This place was literally a dream. They had everything planned out so well with packets for us to fill out so we could have our perfect wedding. Everything was able to be altered to our specific needs and I never felt like I was getting a wedding that had been done before. I highly highly recommend this venue if you are someone who loves the elegant, timeless look it provides. -
![Heidi]()
Heidi Sent on 08/22/2025Beautiful historic wedding setting
The Elms was a fantastic venue for a wedding, dinner, and dance! The beauty of the hotel and grounds, to the staff who attended to all our needs throughout the busy wedding weekend…we felt like it was the perfect wedding at the perfect location. Thank you, Tori, for all your help in making the wedding come together flawlessly. -
Aja H. Sent on 01/08/2025
Perfect Wedding
Thank you to Tori and thank you to the Elms for the best wedding I could have asked for! -
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Taylor Sent on 12/25/2024
Definitely the best choice!
Everything was absolutely perfect at The Elms. They helped us plan the entire day perfectly. Even when it looked like the weather wouldn’t cooperate with us, they immediately set up a plan b without even us asking making the day of super low stress. -
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Dajon Sent on 12/22/2024
Our Wonderful Experience at the Elms
My husband and I decided to celebrate our wedding at the Elms because it was the perfect wedding venue for us. We decided to have our wedding ceremony and reception in the Regent Ball Room because it was the right fit for our guest count and for our out-of-town guests. The Elms Hotel staff were courteous and professional from the day we checked in to the day we checked out. Their staff did an amazing job in setting up for our ceremony and the room flip for our reception. Their servers were very attentive to our needs during our dinner rehearsal and our wedding day. One item that we emphasized was that our food to be severed hot which they’ve achieved with no problem.
Above all, Victoria Foster, the Elms’s event planning manager was amazing to work with. Her expertise in this field made our experience stress-free. For example, Victoria had a checklist over 100 items that she reviewed with us over the span of our meeting sessions. In addition, Victoria was very flexible with scheduling in person meetings and via zoom calls to discuss various topics from vendor selection, dinner selections to room layout.
Based on our experience and satisfaction we highly recommend the Elms Hotel as your wedding venue because they offer full services and everything you need for your dream wedding. -
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![Sher]()
Sher Sent on 12/09/2024Fantastic Experience at The Elms
The Elms was definitely a wonderful place to get married. The Hotel and Spa were beautiful and unique, which made it a destination wedding that all of our guests loved. The planning process was a fabulous experience with Tori, their wedding planner, who made it all so easy and fun for us. She was amazing with her ideas, attention to detail and to us, quick communication turnaround, making us feel like our wedding was the only one she was handling, when in fact, there were others in the same time frame that she attended to just as committed. Tori should get best Wedding Planner of the Year award! Highly recommend having your wedding at The Elms!
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![Kirsten]()
Kirsten Sent on 12/06/2024Best Wedding venue!
Having my wedding at the alms was one of the coolest things we could have done. I've always enjoyed coming here over the years and to get to have our wedding here was very magical. They are so easy to work with and provide quick service and met every need I ever had, even before I thought of it. Highly recommend! -
![Hannah]()
Hannah Sent on 06/18/2024Best day of our life!
We had our wedding here in June and it was truly magical. We worked with the day of coordinator Tori and she was amazing, I cannot thank her enough for all of her hard work the day of and beforehand. The venue is stunning, historical, magical, and timeless. This is the place to go if you want a classy and beautiful wedding venue. The food was great, service was amazing, and worth every penny. -
![Emmanuella]()
Emmanuella Sent on 05/03/2024Don't look further, this just stop here!
My wedding was international. I had guests from multiple states, countries, and continents. The Elms was a perfect getaway for us to get back together and enjoy this special event. Lacee and Tori offered great guidance and helped me a lot during this journey. The food, flawless. Even my guests with the pickiest taste enjoyed it. I will never forget how magical my wedding was at this venue and the rooms were awesome. If you're considering, go for it, it's a great option. -
![Brianna]()
Brianna Sent on 12/20/2023Better than a dream
We knew we wanted The Elms from the beginning, and they were the only venue we toured. It made it so easy for us and our guests to have hotel accommodations & the event all in the same space. They provide/ handle a lot of the little things like linens, serving ware, glassware, catering, bar tending, etc. The food was wonderful for both the rehearsal and reception dinner, and the staff was amazing! The only issues we ran into were guests had trouble booking on our block using the website and there was a small mix up on when we wanted dinner served, but it was quickly and easily resolved. We can never fully express how amazing our wedding was; we can’t thank Tori, Lacee, and the rest of The Elms Staff enough. Everyone kept telling my husband how calm I seemed all day and it’s absolutely because of how amazing The Elms was to us.
They also surprised us with a bottle of Blue Champagne outside the door the morning of and a wonderful gift bag of some of our favorite snacks in our room at the end of night. We both thought this was a beautiful little touch and greatly appreciated all the tiny details they make happen. -
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![Taylor]()
Taylor Sent on 09/12/2023Wedding at the The Elms Hotel
We had both the ceremony and reception in the Regent ballroom which has access to the patio and walking paths of the property. The Elms even provided yard games! Tori was very informative and attentive during the whole planning experience. What seemed very overwhelming and stressful at first, came together flawlessly. The Elms provided the use of table cloths, chair covers, and even provided the use of candle votives for the tables and fireplace mantle. Knowing those small details were taken care of made it easier knowing I just had our personal decorations to focus on. It looked absolutely beautiful once our finishing touches were in place. For dinner, we opted for the buffet option, and the food was delicious. My husband and I felt like royalty seeing as they had servers walk through the line with us and held our plate to make sure we didn’t our clothes dirty. It was a small, but very thoughtful detail we wouldn’t even have considered. On top of the great ceremony and reception service, the rooms were also very comfortable. The room was spacious and clean and we enjoyed every minute of it. They took amazing care of us and helped make our big day go so smoothly. If your looking to book your wedding here, I highly recommend so. -
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![Greg]()
Greg Sent on 06/22/2023Everything was perfect. it is a beautiful venue
Our daughters wedding was perfect. Tory and the rest of the staff at the Elms was amazing. We held the ceremony in the Gazebo and reception in the Regent room and it was fantastic. I would definitely recommend this venue. Everyone was very accommodating and made the day run very smoothly. Could not be happier with the venue, staff, and ambiance -
Kortney Sent on 05/08/2023
The Elms & Tori are the best!
We just got married at The Elms, and the entire weekend was perfect. Tori made it all happen. I would recommend her to absolutely anyone & everyone! I wish I could go back to Friday morning & relive the entire weekend again. It was even better than we planned. -
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![Tony]()
Tony Sent on 04/28/2023Amazing wedding, ceremony, and experience
The staff at the Elms were incredibly responsive and helpful when planning our wedding events. We had a lot of folks flying in from all over to attend, and they were exceptionally easy to work with and very accommodating to our requests (even several last minute ones). The food was delicious and everything went off without nay problems. Would absolutely recommend them again. -
![Megan]()
Megan Sent on 10/25/2022Amazing Experience at The Elms
Tori and the entire staff at The Elms Hotel & Spa did such a wonderful job of helping make our wedding beautiful and successful. We had a lot of questions throughout the process that were all answered quickly by Tori. The event staff also went out of their way to help keep our guests happy and tended to throughout the event, and made the whole thing a wonderful success. -
Hannah Sent on 06/02/2022
The Perfect Wedding Venue!
We are so happy we picked The Elms as our wedding venue! This location is versatile, elegant, and full of historic charm. On the evening prior to our wedding, we had our rehearsal dinner in the Regent Ballroom. We had our wedding ceremony outside in the gazebo, our cocktail hour on the patio of the Regent Ballroom, and our reception in the Regent Ballroom. My husband worked in a different state while we were planning our wedding, so we knew we needed a venue which would make our wedding planning process easy. The Elms, and especially Tori, went the extra mile for us! Every person we worked with was incredibly kind and helpful. Tori, the Event Planning Manager, really made our experience a positive one. She was extremely attentive, gave us advice, and made us feel like old friends. You don’t always think about all the random stuff you’ll need when you start planning your wedding, but so much is included when you have your wedding at The Elms. The Elms provided chairs, tables, tablecloths, and so much more. This was a weight off our shoulders (and wallets), and everything provided by The Elms was beautiful. Our guests enjoyed all the food provided by The Elms, too. We are so thankful that we chose to have our wedding at The Elms! -
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![Emma]()
Emma Sent on 05/29/2022The best day ever!
I had the best day of my life thank you to The Elms Hotel and Spa!Every detail that I had planned was executed perfectly by their team. Our day of planner Tori was so helpful and organized! We did plated dinners and heard things from our guests like "That was one of the best meals I have ever had!" The bar and waiting staff were so awesome and gave excellent service to our guests. I would recommend this venue to anyone looking to get married soon!! -
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![Marcey]()
Marcey Sent on 04/18/2022First class experience hidden in a quaint little town
The Elms and Victoria made our daughters wedding day worry free with a storytale ending. There was no task too big or small. Victoria and her team made it all happen. The venue is beautiful, freshly remodeled and ready to make your wedding dreams come true! -
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![Caroline]()
Caroline Sent on 01/18/2022We loved The Elms Hotel and Spa
Tori and Lacee at The Elm were amazing. I could not have had a more beautiful wedding without them. The team was responsive, respectful, and listened to all of our requests. If there were any problems during the wedding day, we never knew or noticed. I would highly recommend having a wedding reception at The Elms Hotel and Spa. -
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![Kristen]()
Kristen Sent on 12/06/2021We 1000% recommend having your wedding at The Elms!
Short version: We 1000% recommend having your wedding at The Elms!
Long version: The day after getting engaged in December 2020, we reached out to The Elms about hosting our wedding as we had spent our first anniversary at the hotel and absolutely fell in love with it. We knew 2021 would be hard to find a venue and we were delighted they had options in November and December for us. From our very first meeting with Lacee to preview their ballrooms, The Elms went above and beyond for us.
We chose to get married in the Regent Ballroom (room with fireplace) November 20, 2021 and have the staff flip and host our reception in the same room. During the flip, our guests enjoyed a cocktail hour in the lobby (because it was a bit too chilly out on the private patio). Our guests loved this as the hotel had just been decorated for Christmas and many guests took festive photos by the decor.
There are so many benefits in selecting a venue that handles the food, drink, room flip, etc. They knew their space well and they even had most of it set-up on the Thursday before the wedding so we were able to move in decor, etc days before the wedding. The best part is not spending money on a teardown crew or asking intoxicated friends or family to pack-up decor. They placed everything in the corner of the room for us and locked the ballroom. We were able to access it with ease the next day. That is unheard of with other venues.
The process: We filled out a form on the website and were contacted by Lacee to schedule a time to visit the venue shortly after. They have two ballrooms and an outdoor gazebo available to use. Each space has its own rental fee. We fell in love with the Regent ballroom. Depending upon the month/date of your wedding, the Elms sets a minimum amount you need to spend on food and drink for the event. Peak wedding months had higher minimums than others. We found the minimum fair for the size of the event we planned to host and we hit the minimum easily. On top of the food and drink prices, The Elms charges tax and a service fee. This takes out any guesswork on what to tip the hotel for food and drink. Throughout the planning process, all charges and totals are completely transparent and at no point did we have any question on what we owed. We opted to make 4 payments towards our total and it worked really well for us.
Tori Foster was assigned to work with after we signed our contract and she is an absolute pro. She has been in the wedding industry for awhile and it shows. She also knows the Elms very well and was able to answer or find answers for literally everything we threw at her. The planning process consisted of three planning meetings set every couple months where we went through a very thorough document outlining the details of the day. I can’t think of anything that wasn’t included in this list but should have been.
The Elms offers a number of things other venues charge for or you have to coordinate on your own. Some of these include: decor (ALL the candles!, lanterns, chargers, etc), table linens, chair covers, variety of colored napkins, room set-up/tear down, and passing out welcome bags at check in. That is hundreds of dollars of savings right there.
We also met with Tori to do a food tasting and were able to include our parents in for this part. We got to try plenty of options. Our final selection was caesar salads for a starter and waitstaff brought by rolls, then we gave guests the choice at RSVP of KC strip, seared sea bass or chicken breast with roasted rainbow carrots and mashed potatoes on the side. They even have late night snack options where we chose warm, soft pretzels and our guests LOVED them. If you are interested in having a signature cocktail at the reception, be sure to have that included in the tasting as well.
They have a variety of options on how you want to handle alcohol. While we understand we could have saved money here by going with a venue where we could bring in our own, sometimes it is just worth paying someone to handle all the purchasing and bartending. We chose a 5-hour bar package with beer, wine, and spirits. We also offered an Old Fashioned as a signature cocktail for no additional charge. As soon as our ceremony was over, they had two Old Fashioneds waiting for us (at our request) and we spent our first 10 minutes as a married couple enjoying a drink under the twinkle lights in the gazebo.
The only tricky part of planning was the room block. The Elms requires you fill 90% of what you reserve (much higher than other hotels). We found this tricky as we were still navigating COVID and weren’t sure how many guests would end up coming. So we started small and ended making 2-3 revisions to add more. The Elms was fine with this and were able to do it quickly. I do recommend adding some suites to the room block for parents or family coming in town for a few days. We did get access to an event manager page and could easily see who had reserved rooms, types, dates, etc. That was very helpful.
We had The Elms pass out bags to all our guests on the room block (at no charge!) and in there we ended up including a voucher for guests to use at the Cafe. Tori helped us with this and we only had to pay for the vouchers used. We had it set-up as a flat $5 and it was a nice touch for our guests.
Lastly, on the Friday before the wedding, a group of seven ladies went to the spa for massages and relaxing time in the Grotto. We got a contact to work directly with at the spa and we even got a 10% discount for having 6+ people join.
The Elms had a couple little extra surprises for us that day that I won’t spoil here. We just can’t say enough about how wonderful our entire wedding was at The Elms and we can’t wait to go back every anniversary to celebrate. -
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![Abigail]()
Abigail Sent on 07/31/2021Simply amazing!
We are thrilled with our choice to have our wedding at The Elms in Excelsior Springs. It was perfect little getaway for those of us local to KC, and all of our out of town guests had a BLAST and want to come back for their own pleasure, too
We had to postpone our wedding due to COVID, and both Lacee and Tori at the Elms were fabulous at helping us through everything that entailed-while also being so mindful of how difficult it was to make that decision. We were so supported and extremely thankful for that! Tori, our fabulous day of coordinator/wedding planner was simply amazing to work with. She was on top of evert tiny detail and made sure that each small thing I would have never thought of, but that she knew would make a big difference, was planned and done perfectly for us. On the day of, Tori went above and beyond to make sure everything was perfect. She was around to help, but also running around behind the scenes making sure that everything was in place. She was so calm and I just wanted to hug her each time I saw her because she knew everything we needed before we needed it. There were multiple times I turned around to tell someone something I needed done and it was already taken care of by Tori. The wait staff was absolutely amazing as well. They were constantly checking on our head table as well as other guests to make sure no one needed anything throughout the night. So professional and courteous...and so fun too! I thanked them for being there and for everything they had done and was thanked back for allowing them to help with our event...it warmed my heart to its core. I can't recommend The Elms enough as your wedding venue. If I did it all over again, I would chose The Elms again and again. Thank you Tori, Lacee, and everyone at The Elms for making our day so wonderful! We loved it, and we loved you guys! -
![Karen]()
Karen Sent on 04/28/2021Beautiful venue with excellent staff
We couldn’t have asked for a better day, or a better venue. The Elms was the first venue that we viewed, and we left with such excitement knowing that it was the venue that we wanted to get married at. It really did exceed all exceptions of how the venue looked on the day, and how the day came together. Our reception dinner was amazing, and our guests were equally impressed.
We would like to thank you, for all your help from the day we inquired about booking our wedding with Lacee, until the moment it was time for bed on our day.
Nothing was ever too much to ask for, and questions were always answered in a timely manner by Tori. I was extremely happy to have Tori help with so much as she made everything so effortless and adapted to any change that we made at the last minute.
We had a great time as a family spending the weekend there and the entire staff went above and beyond. The paranormal tour with Jay was fantastic and very entertaining. The restaurant staff for dinner on Friday night and brunch on Sunday morning were very thorough in meeting everyone's dietary needs.
We highly recommend this venue! This is a beautiful venue and not much is needed to make it more stunning.
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![Gayla]()
Gayla Sent on 11/06/2020The perfect wedding weekend
We chose the Elms because we wanted a wedding weekend not just a day so it had to have a venue and a hotel. We didn't want to run all over town for good photos. The Elms turned out to be so much more. The hotel is so charming. It has a historic feel and several acres for photos. The images turned out better than we ever hoped. Almost every guest at the wedding also came for the whole weekend. The spa, lawn games, and ghost tour were just some of the things we did. Our guest were so impressed at how much the hotel offered and how accommodating they were. If you like to eat, you will be very happy with the food. The restaurant and catering staff were our favorite! They were fun, attentive, and the food is so good! Tori was our hotel coordinator. She handled everything we needed help with. On the wedding day, I didn't have to stress or think about anything. If there was an issue, no one told me =) My husband and I plan to celebrate there every anniversary! -
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![Sarah]()
Sarah Sent on 11/01/2020Perfect Location for a Pandemic / Destination Wedding
The Elms provided the destination wedding I didn't know I wanted. We had originally planned a large outdoor ceremony in our backyard. Covid had other plans. We looked for destination hotels with character and enough activities to feel like a true escape. The Elms came through in spades. The hotel itself has an amazing spa and grotto, beautiful grounds, indoor and outdoor pools, a ghost tour, and historic charm for days. The town of Excelsior Springs has multiple wineries, a nice golf course, a craft brewery with axe throwing, and quaint shops within walking distance. The hotel staff and our wedding coordinator, Tori, were great to work with. -
![Laura]()
Laura Sent on 10/09/2020Romantic, historic, elegant venue & BEST STAFF
Having my daughters wedding at The Elms was the best choice we could have made. We originally chose this location because of the historical ambiance, the charming outdoor gazebo that was perfect for an outdoor ceremony and also gave us the opportunity to have a more formal ballroom reception. Most importantly it was ideal for bringing in guests from out of town and having everyone at the same place. We didn't have to worry about guests driving home after the wedding and it also allowed for everyone to have more fun with the family together for a weekend with additional activities for them to take advantage of like the spa, pools, outdoor games, patio areas, etc. Our original date in May was postponed until June and then again for October due to the challenges of the pandemic. We could not have been more pleased with the way that the staff handled it. They were flexible, understanding, supportive, and during this time we actually felt they became members of our family. As trying as it was, this situation was beginning to feel like a blessing because we were getting to know Tori and Lacee and Kara even more. We were able to see how The Elms and the staff would perform under pressure and it was during this time that they showed us we weren't just another financial booking and they were there to do "the right thing". In turn, we had many opportunities to change plans and consider a backyard wedding but by this time we were more determined to follow through at the place that had cared so much for us. It was worth it too. From the beginning Lacee offered suggestions and help for anything and everything and we appreciated her constant patience with us! Tori worked tirelessly at the rehearsal dinner and the wedding. I watched her effectively coral talkative family and friends into being where they needed to be in order to keep things moving. She was kind and patient and professional throughout the entire process. Kara was phenomenal during the lockdown period when she had to step in and take care of al of our room blocks, wedding and wedding rehearsal questions. She never sounded confused or unorganized even though I knew this was not her primary job and was part of our planning process. She seamlessly stepped in and kept things moving along. This group of girls will always be considered our A TEAM. They are experienced, knowledgeable, helpful, and genuine. We love our experience with this A TEAM as much as the beautiful grounds, gorgeous elegant ballroom and the historic venue. My only suggestion is that when Tori leaves, that there be someone on hand to take over for her. We could have used a point person to ask for help during the times that we needed help with lights, cake cutting, dance floor drink spills, lost items, etc. I plan to recommend The Elms to anyone and everyone possible. It was a beautiful storybook experience! Thank you for working so hard for us and for helping us in the most important day of our lives! -
![Clarice]()
Clarice Sent on 08/09/2020A Fabulous Wedding with Fabulous Staff
We cannot say enough good things about The Elms. When searching for vendors, we sought out vendors who were reasonable, affordable, and honest. Tori, Lacee, and the entire Elms staff met all of those criteria. It was fabulous to have so much support from Tori and The Elms staff.
Tori and The Elms have been so helpful in the process of rescheduling our wedding due to the pandemic and have made sure that all of our dreams came true in the safest way possible. The hotel itself is beautiful and we had a fabulous stay at The Elms outside of the wedding. We extended our stay for a few more days as a mini-honeymoon and went on the Ghost Tour with Jim. It was all fabulous.
Tori thought of every little detail and remembered every comment or question we had. She was exceptional. She made sure everyone was in the right place at the right time. Tori and the Banquet staff ensured all tables were in the right place, the decor they placed was beautiful, and my husband and I didn't have to get up for anything the whole event.
In regards to the wedding and reception, the food was amazing, the drinks were strong, and the staff was incredible. The entire weekend was fabulous and we cannot wait to have our larger event next year at The Elms. One of the main reasons why we picked The Elms is because we didn't want ourselves or our family to have to do any work during the event. Everyone was able to relax and have a fabulous time.
A benefit of having the wedding at The Elms is that we didn't have to worry about our guests at the end of the night having to drive home. During our stay, every staff member checked in with us to make sure we had everything we needed and that we were enjoying our time. The bridal suite was beautiful and our hairstylist from The Elms exceeded expectations.
We honestly cannot say enough good things about our experience with The Elms. We cannot recommend them enough and we look forward to celebrating anniversaries and other events there for many years to come. -
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![Anne]()
Anne Sent on 06/18/2025Very Helpful!
The Elms planners and staff were incredibly helpful and kind! I had been intimidated by the wedding planning process, but the planners working for the elms had it down to a science and helped me make my dream wedding come to life! -
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![Ashley]()
Ashley Sent on 09/15/2022Perfect day, despite a few curveballs
Our wedding day was absolutely wonderful. We are still gushing about our day, and we have Tori to thank for that. Although we lived out of state, Tori was super communicative and was so easy to work with. The entire staff was so professional and our guests had nothing but nice things to say about them.
Two curveballs happened on the day of the wedding. 1) Despite the whole week looking like it would be sunny, it poured rain starting about an hour before our ceremony began until near midnight. At that time, we talked to Tori and she arranged for the ceremony to happen in the Regent ballroom! It went perfectly and no one missed a step. I'm so grateful for Tori's quick thinking and management of the situation. 2) Our cake was damaged somewhere in transit and the frosting was messed up. I never saw it, but Tori was quite devastated. By the time I found out about it, Tori already had a plan and the catering team made some buttercream frosting, and fixed the whole cake. Tori even consulted me to make sure the frosting ingredients would work with my many food allergies.
We only had two complaints throughout the whole process. 1) As mentioned above, I have a lot of food allergies, as do many of our guests. I wanted to get an ingredient list of our buffet so that I and our guests could make informed decisions about whether to eat or not. Allergies are complicated, and I wanted to give people the agency to make their own risk assessment. Despite Tori advocating for the ingredient list, the chef never gave it to us. They did, however, compare allergies to the menu and made recommendations for what people could and couldn't eat. This ended up being fine but was certainly not my preference. In general, I think it would be best for the Elms to have ingredient lists on hand to avoid this in the future. 2) We paid for the super premium bar. It was a great selection of liquor, however, many guests said the mixed drinks were terrible. If we were to do it over again, I think we would have preferred a few signature cocktails to choose from, instead of mixed drinks that folks didn't enjoy.
Overall, we had a wonderful experience with the Elms. Tori was so easy to work with and she cares so much. We were lucky to have her. -
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Whitney Sent on 11/06/2021Beautiful and historic wedding venue
We had a great experience working with Tori at The Elms to plan our wedding. Everything from the groundskeeping to the guest service was exceptional. The Elms was so appealing to us from the beginning due to the historical background, the various ceremony location options, and availability for our many traveling guests to stay on site. The team at The Elms is well-organized and went out of their way to take care of us - couldn't have asked for anything better! -
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![Mary]()
Mary Sent on 08/23/2021Wedding Venue
The Elms was a beautiful venue for my son's wedding. It was just getting reopened after COVID and the staff was new to their roles. They were helpful and willing to assist when help was needed. Tori and Lacee kept us well informed and they were very responsive to any questions or concerns we had regarding the event. I would definitely recommend this venue. -
![Sam]()
Sam Z. Sent on 08/15/2020Excellent Considering COVID
My wife’s father grew up in excelsior springs so The Elms was one of our first choices in venues. The ability to have both the wedding and ceremony in one place helped us a lot with regards to planning. Victoria worked with us to plan our big day and was very accommodating and creative with her approach to COVID restrictions during our event.
The staff were very professional and we enjoyed the service over the weekend of our event. We did higher a day of coordinator to help with the details and set up. The Elms team supplies a lot of things but they do not set up decorations.
Additionally the grounds are fantastic during the summer and even through our wedding was at 4pm in the afternoon on August 1st the gazebo was cool and we didn’t have too much trouble with heat. Our photographer loved the venue for photos and we enjoyed exploring the grounds to grab some special pictures.
The only thing we had an issue with was the food. When we tasted it the food was simply amazing and we loved it! However during the reception the food that was served was not to the same quality that we experienced at the tasting. Our guests loved the food and the drinks but my wife and I were a little disappointed because we had higher expectations for the reception dinner.
Overall experience was good and We would definitely recommend The Elms Hotel and Spa for anyone looking to have their wedding In one central location and not brake the bank. -
![Lindsey]()
Lindsey Sent on 11/13/2021Incredible Place to Marry!
The Elms Hotel & Spa was the perfect place for us to marry! Not only is it a stunning venue, Tori, our wedding coordinator was so kind, professional, and helpful! She was a dream to work with!! THANK YOU TORI! We also had mostly out of town guest, so it was wonderful for all of us to be staying at the same place: getting breakfast at the cafe, socializing in the hot tub and spa, and even getting to have fun on the paranormal tour! I couldn't recommend this hotel enough! I only had a few complaints. The first being that one of our tables at the reception got cold food (due to them being served last I think). The second was that my room didn't have enough toilet paper. We called multiple times to have it brought up, and then my sister when down to ask at the front desk and the gal working was snippy with her say she has to call down to get it. We did end up having someone bring us more though. Thank you for making my wedding day perfect!! I highly recommend The Elms Hotel and Spa for your wedding!! Can't wait to return and relive it all over again!! -
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![Melissa]()
Melissa Sent on 09/13/2016We had our wedding at The Elms in September of 2016. Our day was absolutely perfect. I wanted so badly to give 5/5 stars, but we did have a bad experience early on with staff who left The Elms and did not communicate that to any of her booked couples. This led to about 3 months of unanswered emails as her email had not been shut down or set to send a generic email notifying of an alternate contact. We were lucky as we booked about 2 years in advance of our date so this did not affect the overall outcome. However, the overall word we got was that they do have a fairly high turnover. I ended up hiring an outside wedding coordinator which I felt was a perfect to aide in communication.
Once Larry took over our event, things were pretty much perfect. Larry almost always responded immediately to my emails, and was very patient and understanding. I was so happy to work with him after the earlier situation I endured last fall with the MIA wedding coordinator/employee.
We had our ceremony in the Regent Ballroom and the reception in the Grand Ballroom. I think we were the only wedding there that night. If not, it certainly felt like it. Both spaces were perfect for our events. The Regent has so much natural light and allowed for a beautiful transition to a cocktail hour on the patio.
The Elms staff was the best part of our wedding space. Everyone from the front desk to the waiters during our reception were fantastic. They were kind and attentive, and I could not have asked for more.
Again, in regard to the last 6-12 months or so I would certainly give The Elms 5/5 stars. However, it was unfortunate that before that we felt that we had been forgotten about until we were able to reach out to various Elms employees and managers via Facebook and other avenues to get information on who our new contact was. I think this was likely more a reflection on the previous employee than all of the hotel, but it certainly did make the planning process a little more stressful. -
![Carly]()
Carly Sent on 02/24/2017Christina was our wedding coordinator and she was fantastic. She understood that I was under an immense amount of pressure planning a wedding in three months and was incredibly helpful in getting every detail of our day right. She was patient with my many calls and emails of questions and I couldn't have gotten through the planning process without her.
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