I was the last person who wanted to cancel a vacation, but as the days passed and the news stayed the same, I finally accepted that our trip to the beach probably wasn’t the smartest idea. Cancelling the flights stung a little bit, and I wondered how long it would be before we were able to travel again. After a fair amount of moping, I re-centered around the idea that someone somewhere has Kansas City on their bucket list. I began to rethink being stuck at home as an opportunity to take a vacation with very little travel time.
I decided our big expensive vacation would be replaced with several smaller, ones in a series of local escapes. So which destination to visit first? Sitting at the tippy top of my list was something to fulfill my canceled beach vibes. I sought out a Kansas City hotel with an outdoor pool. After a bit of research, I landed on The Intercontinental Hotel on the Plaza. Their pool is larger than most, it’s actually open, and the rooms are plush and spacious with an amazing view of the Plaza.
I emailed a few days before our stay to verify their amenities in light of Covid-19 safety measures. I was impressed that Don, the area general manager, wrote back quickly and any further questions were replied to within minutes. He also helped me secure an early check in—I wanted as much pool time as I could get!
Upon our arrival, check in was easy and we were able to get to our room quickly. It was really spacious and had the most perfect view. Even after years of living in Kansas City, I’d never seen the Plaza from above like that. We dropped our things and headed down to the pool. The mask order was in full effect and guests were honoring it. We were able to take them off once we got seated at the pool, of course!
Don had given us a heads up that the hotel food and bar service was down as an added safety measure to reduce the spread of Covid-19, but they did sell canned beverages and bucket deals to enjoy by the pool. We spent hours soaking up the sun, and really appreciated that all the patrons kept social distance from each other, but still managed to be social. We chatted with some couples actually traveling as well, as others on staycation, and exchanged recommendations for dinner and evening drinks.
After the pool, we headed out on to the Plaza for dinner. If you’re actually from Kansas City, you know the Plaza is loaded with delicious and unique restaurants. We decided to visit McCormick & Schmicks. It felt like the tight thing to do when on vacation with no kids! We also stopped into The Monarch Bar for an after dinner cocktail, because we had never been on the Plaza late enough to check it out before. That’s parent life, ya know?
We had a fantastic time at both stops, then enjoyed a quiet summer night’s walk along the river back to The Intercontinental. We decided our view was better than anything we would find on TV and spent the rest of the evening people watching off our balcony. The most perfect summer air breezed through our room, and it was so relaxing.
We still hold onto a little bit of routine while on vacation, so we were so happy to learn the hotel gym was still open. We’ve seen a lot of hotel gyms, and I can honestly say The Intercontinental has one of the most equipped gyms we’ve ever used while away from home. It wasn’t crowded at all, and we were both able to start the day with a great work out.
We ventured back on to the Plaza one more time for brunch at Rye, a must in my opinion, but hurried back to soak up a little more sun at the pool. The front desk attendant was nice enough to grant us a late check out so we could squeeze in a couple more hours of vacation before we left. Even with the added time, it was tough to pull ourselves away and head back to reality. We left The Intercontinental feeling so rested. We got great service, a fun night out, and all the sunshine we were longing for from our cancelled Florida trip. If you’re in the same boat, check out The Intercontinental Hotel for a fun staycation, and stay tuned for our next local escape!