My husband and I live an hour from downtown Kansas City. We love the city with its entertainment, shopping, and fantastic restaurants.
This past week we booked a downtown hotel; The Fontaine. We spent three nights and days lounging by the pool and enjoying nearby restaurants.
Retirement definitely has its perks, one of which is being able to book really nice hotels during the weekdays in order to take advantage of low rates! We arrived on a Tuesday afternoon. We pulled up and valet parked the car. We were able to check in an hour early, so we headed straight to our room and changed into our swimsuits. We grabbed a drink from the bar and then headed outside to find two comfy lounge chairs by the pool.
This hotel has a nice little rooftop pool. It is just outside the bar and lounge. The pool area is complete with tables and chairs, outdoor furniture, cabanas available for rent, easy access to restrooms, firepits, and lounge chairs with umbrellas. They keep cool water and cups accessible all day, and the bartenders serve bar drinks and food poolside! When the really good bartenders are on duty, you don’t even have to get out of your lounge chair or the pool. They come out to take your order and bring your requests straight to you. Some bartenders are better than others!
After a few hours of enjoying the evening sunshine, sipping our drinks, and some light reading, we headed inside to get ready for a late dinner. We dressed and dined at the hotel restaurant. We didn’t have reservations, but it was pretty empty so we had no problem getting a beautiful table by the windows overlooking the neighboring apartment complex with two gorgeous rooftop oasis spaces. I would LOVE to meet the individuals who live there. These two rooftop patio spaces include a complete outdoor kitchen, fire pit, comfy outdoor seating, and are covered with plants and flowers. I kept hoping the owners of at least one of these beautiful spaces would come out while we were eating dinner, but I wasn’t so lucky. We ordered the hummus trio as an appetizer and I ordered the scallops and risotto as my entree. Unfortunately I filled up on the hummus and barely touched my risotto. Lesson learned.
The next morning I woke up and headed straight to the gym. I spent 30 minutes on the treadmill then another 10 minutes strength training with light hand weights. After my workout I headed back up to the room. Luckily my husband was awake and dressed, because I was ready for COFFEE! We went to the lobby floor atrium and ordered coffee. My husband also picked up a muffin and I ate the Optavia fueling bar that I had brought down from the hotel room. (I was on ‘vacation’ but that doesn’t mean that I threw healthy eating out the window!) We walked outside to the lovely hotel courtyard to enjoy our coffee and breakfast. The courtyard is filled with comfortable outdoor furniture and is shaded from the sun. My husband read and I completed my typical morning reflection and gratitude journal.
We knew the pool opened at 10:00 am, so shortly before then we returned to our hotel room to change into our suits, and headed straight back up to the rooftop pool. We lounged all day, enjoying the sun, the water, and the poolside service. We didn’t move until about 5:00 pm when we decided to get dressed for dinner on the plaza.
We had reservations for 6:30 pm at McCormick and Schmick’s, a delicious seafood and steak restaurant with a renowned dessert called “The Chocolate Bag.” I started by ordering a beautiful bottle of Sangiovese red wine. We skipped the appetizer this time, having learned our lesson from the previous night, and went straight to entree. I ordered the crab stuffed salmon, and my husband ordered a steak. The food was absolutely delicious! We shared the infamous dessert…didn’t even come close to finishing it…then headed back the hotel. We spent a bit of time in the hotel courtyard allowing me time to work on some Sommelier tasks, then headed to bed.
The next day was a complete repeat of the previous. I skipped my workout on Thursday morning, having slept in later than intended (Sangiovese goes down so easily!). The pool was packed with guests on Thursday. I’m glad we arrived when they opened and claimed our poolside spot, as only a few hours later guests were eagerly hovering around waiting for someone to vacate a spot. It was a bit much honestly. It was fun…but a whole lot of stimulation. I much prefer having the place to myself, calm, quiet, no children splashing…truly relaxing. We stayed until 5:00 pm again. That’s our routine.
Thursday night we had reservations at Seasons 52. They are a chain, but I chose this restaurant because they source seasonally available ingredients and their menu changes accordingly. All their dishes list calories and most are under 500 calories per entree and are actually of appropriate portion size! I enjoyed a watermelon and arugula salad, scallops on risotto and asparagus, and a shot glass sized raspberry and ricotta dessert. Delicious! I love going to chef owned restaurants and I try to avoid chains, but I really do enjoy this restaurant!
Friday morning we took our time getting ready to check out, first enjoying our coffee and breakfast in the courtyard. The hotel uses an app and text messaging to communicate. We received a text to respond with our intended departure time so they could have our car valet delivered and waiting for us. We exited the elevator, checked out, and our car was already there! Lovely experience at The Fontaine. My husband enjoyed it so much, he rebooked within 48 hours of our return home. We are going back in a few weeks to do it all again.
There are trips you take to TRAVEL, and there are trips you take to RELAX. We are making sure to include a balance of both in our retirement experience.
Have you ever traveled an hour or less from home for a “vacation?” Have you ever tried a “city stay” as a vacation? If not…you should give it a try!
