Oh, how good it feels to be traveling again! We were lucky enough to be invited by 21c Museum Hotels to visit one of their newer properties, the 21c Kansas City. Only a short three and a half hour drive from Fayetteville, we hit the road on a Friday afternoon for a two-night getaway.

If you’ve never stayed at a 21c property, there are quite a few things that set them apart. Most notably, there’s an art museum in every hotel which makes it as much of a destination, as a place to stay. Iris, however, would say that it’s the penguins that make it special. Each hotel has a certain color penguin so her first question was, “What color is this one?!” She was thrilled when she found out the penguin was sky blue, one of her favorite colors. These penguins are known to show up at random spots during your stay – sometimes even in your room!

My personal favorite though is always the restaurant. Each one is uniquely curated to represent its location, with one of the best food and drink experiences you can find. On the night we checked in we grabbed a happy hour drink at the bar, followed by dinner at The Savoy. The name is an homage to the old hotel that occupied the building previously. We had actually stayed there years ago and, let’s just say it has improved tremendously. I love that they kept the historic charm of the building, but gave it a modern, warm feel. Iris’ favorite part of the meal is always the cotton candy served with the check. And the cotton candy always matches the penguin’s color at that particular hotel. I live for little details like that!

Now I can’t talk about our stay at the 21c Kansas City without talking about the star of the show – our room. We had a corner suite with an adjoining king room for Iris, which made for a perfectly relaxing (and oh so comfy) stay. The beds, the sheets, the Nespresso machine – oh my!

As much as we loved our room, we wanted to get out and explore so on Saturday we walked around the downtown area and found the cutest little breakfast spot just around the corner. After downing a latte and biscuit, we headed to the nearby Nelson-Atkins Museum to meet up with a few old friends who live in Kansas City. The museum currently has an outdoor artist-designed, mini golf experience. It’s a temporary exhibit, but perfect for kids and adults (hello, drink cart!). I highly recommend getting reservations if you can.

After a fun day out and about in Kansas City, we decided to have a low-key evening back at the hotel. Before turning in, we took time to explore the different art exhibits around the museum. There were some truly stunning pieces on display. After our self-guided tour was complete, we got in pajamas, ordered room service from The Savoy, and curled up to watch movies. An absolute perfect night to end a perfect weekend trip!

Visit the 21c Kansas City website to join the fun and book your stay!