The Elms Hotel & Spa, part of the Destination by Hyatt portfolio, is an iconic historic property that has served as a refuge of rejuvenation since 1888. Located 30 minutes from Kansas City in the town of Excelsior Springs among vineyards, golf courses, historic sites, parks and trails, the resort features recently renovated guest rooms, lavish amenities, top-notch service, and a world-class spa.

The newly renovated The Spa at The Elms is the resort’s 28,000-square-foot wellness sanctuary that recently underwent a massive revitalization. In 2022, the spa also received The World Spa Award for Missouri’s Best Hotel Spa 2022. In addition to an expansive grotto, the spa has luxurious VIP treatment rooms and suite experiences, as well as a variety of creative treatments for guests to indulge and rejuvenate from the inside out.

We interviewed Marissa Krems, Spa Director at Elms Hotel & Spa , to learn more about treatments to try, insider tips, and more.

Why You’ll Love It: Guests love our Grotto! The Grotto is one of the most popular amenities to spa and hotel guests. In the middle of Winter, the Grotto is our guests’ favorite place to warm up their body and soul.

Key Features: The Grotto takes you on a journey of sight, sound, and touch to engage your senses and reinvigorate your soul. It’s our rejuvenating take on a classic bath experience that provides a soothing environment to sit, relax, and experience the therapeutic benefits of hydrotherapy. The grotto features a dry sauna, eucalyptus steam sauna, hot tub, cold plunge shower, and seasonal exfoliation bar.

Our Sanctuary features seasonal snacks, teas, and infused waters to be enjoyed throughout the spa day. The Sanctuary is a great place to disconnect, relax with a book, or doodle in one of our meditative coloring journals. Kashwere blankets can be found in the Sanctuary for an added layer of warmth and comfort.

Insider’s Tip: Guests should make time to enjoy our complimentary wellness activities, pools, and mediation garden during their spa day. These amenities are offered daily and make for a full wellness experience, allowing guests the opportunity to fully disconnect and recharge.

Bonus: Guests with a confirmed spa treatment will have access to other amenities on property like our salt water lap pool, soaking tubs, and meditation garden. Guests are served complimentary champagne in our salon.

Snacks Served: Our spa water is made with Pure Inventions coconut water infusion drops. Pure Inventions Coconut Water infusion drops have a fresh, sweet coconut flavor from coconut juice extract that helps you drink more water for healthy hydration. The infusion drops can be enjoyed in our Sanctuary and Salon, while also available for purchase in our spa boutique. 

We offer a variety of hot teas from Hugo Tea Company. Guests will find green teas, white teas, and black teas within our Sanctuary. The Rainer tea is one of our most popular teas, featuring a blend of organic peppermint and lemongrass.

Our spa snack bar changes with the seasons, offering local fresh snacks throughout the year. Some of our fan favorites are probiotic raisins covered in sweet yogurt, chocolate-covered cranberries, and the American grown trail mix featuring honey roasted almonds, maple pecans, pumpkin seeds, and dried cranberries.

Splurge Treatment: I love the Ultimate Facelift for a splurge. Indulge in the perfect dynamic duo treatment. Exclusive to The Elms Hotel & Spa, enjoy the benefits of a HydraFacial that combines cleansing, exfoliating, hydration and antioxidant protection simultaneously, resulting in clearer, more beautiful skin with no discomfort or downtime. Each product targets specific skin issues including sun damage, blackheads and whiteheads, enlarged pores, acne, brown spots, uneven skin tone, early aging fine lines and wrinkles. Finish off with fitness for the face, using the NuFace microcurrent device. The Hydrafacial includes the nutrition your skin needs and the NuFace microcurrent is the perfect exercise to leave your skin with a radiant youthful glow.

Unique Treatment: The most unique treatment offered is the Quartz Massage Ritual. Derived from the ancient Greek concept of psammo therapy (hot sand therapy), natural quartz crystals envelope the body whilst you enjoy a powerful hot poultice back, face and scalp massage. The poultice massage will not only ease tense, pained muscles, but also help to stimulate the lymphatic and immune systems. Begin your journey into deeper relaxation through a guided meditative singing bowl ritual, where your body’s energy centers will be restored and rebalanced.

Insider’s Favorite: Yes, my favorite treatment is the Moroccan Detox Ritual, a 105 minute body treatment featuring Red Flower products. This is a detoxifying body treatment created to draw deep impurities from the body to increase the skin’s radiance as well as facilitate in ridding the body of toxins. It consists of a 6-step process featuring essential oils, fruit, nut and plant extracts, chosen for their therapeutic and healing properties.

Featured Products: The Elms Spa sells a variety of products from brands such as Babor, Circadia, Dr. Dennis Gross, Red Flower, Dazzle Dry, Gulcin, and Leef Organics.

For more information on The Elms Hotel & Spa, visit their website and follow on Instagram: @elmshotelandspa

[Photos courtesy of The Elms Hotel & Spa]

The Elms Hotel & Spa

401 Regent Street

Excelsior Springs, MO 64024

816-630-5500