Our story
Eighteen Years of Getting the Small Things Right
We bought a tired 1940s farmhouse on twelve acres of prairie in 2008 and turned it into twelve suites, a spa, a wood-fired dining room and a cellar bar. We have been getting the small things right ever since.
- 12 Suites, no two quite alike
- 18 yrs Independent and family-run since 2008
- 4.9/5 From 3,520 guest reviews
- 62% Of guests who rebook within a year
How it started
The House We Bought in 2008
The first thing you should know is that we did not buy a hotel.
We had looked at eleven other properties. Most of them were sensible. This one was not, and that was the point.
Milestones
Eighteen Years, One Address
A few dates that changed the shape of the house.
-
2008
The farmhouse on twelve acres
Geneviève and Michael bought the property with a leaking roof and three good oak trees, and opened six rooms the following spring after a winter of restoration.
-
2011
The kitchen found its fire
We built the wood-fired hearth into the old summer kitchen and hired our first full brigade. The Dining Room opened for dinner, and never quite closed again.
-
2014
The potting shed became The Spa
Two treatment rooms, a sauna and a soaking tub, run by a director who had trained as a physical therapist and insisted on doing things properly.
-
2017
Twelve suites and a cellar bar
The final four suites opened in the rebuilt east wing, and the old root cellar became a wine bar that holds fifty people and feels like it holds twenty.
-
2021
The prairie comes back
We stopped mowing the north field and seeded it with native grasses and wildflowers. By the following summer the bobolinks had returned.
-
2026
Eighteen years, same rule
Twelve suites, a spa, a dining room and a cellar bar later, every guest still gets the same thing: a house that knows their name.
How we build
We Restored the House Rather Than Rebuilt It
When you walk into the lobby, you are standing on the original oak floor. We had it sanded back over four slow days in 2008 and finished with a hard wax oil rather than a lacquer, which is why it has a soft sheen and not a shine.
The footprint is the 1940s footprint.
- Original 1940s oak floors, sanded and waxed rather than replaced
- The original farmhouse footprint, room proportions and two brick chimneys
- Six-over-six sash windows, reglazed and draught-proofed
- A new east wing built to match the old roof pitch and brick
The people
The Family, and the Family We Hired
A house is run by people, and ours have mostly been with us a long time.
-
Geneviève Marchand, CHA
Co-founder and General Manager. She grew up above a twenty-two-seat bistro in Lyon and still writes the welcome note in every room by hand.
-
Julien Baptiste
Executive Chef. He came to Kansas City by way of Marseille, Copenhagen and Chicago, and cooks almost everything over one live-oak hearth.
-
Amara Osei, LMT
Spa and Wellness Director. Trained as a physical therapist before she ever touched a massage table.
-
Clara Whitfield, CMP
Director of Weddings and Events.
The food
One Hearth, Ninety Miles, Four Menus a Year
Almost nothing leaves our kitchen without touching the wood-fired hearth, and almost nothing arrives from further than ninety miles away. Those are the two rules Julien set on his first day and has not moved since. The vegetables are grown by people we can name.
The menu changes four or five times a year, not four or five times a week, because he would rather perfect a dish than chase novelty. That is a deliberate choice and it is not the fashionable one.
How we work
No Corporate Script, and What That Means
There is no script at Praivelle House. Nobody is trained to say a particular sentence at a particular moment, and nobody is measured on how many times they used a guest’s name.
In practice, it means the person who checks you in is allowed to tell you honestly that the fish is better than the chicken tonight.
Eighteen Years, Measured Honestly
Numbers we actually track, because they tell us whether we are doing the job.
- 12 Suites and rooms, each a different shape
- 12 Acres of prairie, six of them restored to native grass
- 90 mi The radius our kitchen sources within
- 62% Of guests who book a return stay within a year
The land
We Gave Six Acres Back to the Prairie
In 2021 we stopped mowing the north field. It had been pasture for decades and lawn for the rest, and it was doing nothing for anyone.
By the third summer it had found itself. The grasses came up chest-high.
- Six acres seeded with native prairie grasses and wildflowers
- Ground-source heat pumps for heating and cooling
- Two rainwater cisterns feeding the kitchen garden
- Kitchen waste composted on site and returned to the beds
- LED lighting throughout since 2019
The house was never the point. The point was the ninety seconds after you walk in, when you decide whether you are going to relax. Everything we have built is aimed at those ninety seconds.
What you will notice
The Small Things, and Why We Bother
Guests rarely comment on the things we spent the most money on. Nobody has ever written a review about the ground-source heat pump. What they notice is that the room was cool when they arrived on a hot afternoon.
We keep a house file on every returning guest, and we use it.
Our promises
Six Things We Will Never Do
A short list of rules that decide how the house runs every day.
- We will never hand you a script instead of an answer
- We will never sell you a treatment or a dish we do not believe in
- We will never charge a resort fee or a hidden service charge
- We will never make you queue to ask a simple question
- We will never let a room go out that we would not sleep in ourselves
- We will never forget that you chose us over a hundred other places
Good to know
Questions About the House
A few things guests ask before they arrive, answered plainly.
Who owns Praivelle House?
It is independently owned and run by Geneviève and Michael Marchand, who bought the property in 2008. There is no chain, no management company and no investor group.
How many rooms do you have?
Twelve. Eleven suites and one garden room, no two the same size or shape, because they were fitted into a restored farmhouse rather than a template. That is also why we can tell you exactly which one gets the best morning light.
What time is check-in and check-out?
Check-in is from 3:00 PM and check-out is by 11:00 AM. Reception is staffed twenty-four hours, so late arrivals are no trouble at all. Late check-out is often possible for a small fee, and is included in some of our packages.
Is the house suitable for guests who do not want a big hotel?
That is exactly who we built it for. There is no lobby music, no television in the bar, no queue at the desk and no upselling.
Do you allow children and pets?
Children are welcome, and we keep a small number of rooms set up for families.
Where exactly are you, and how do I get there?
We are at 1200 Prairie Ridge Road, Kansas City, MO 64112, about ten minutes from the Country Club Plaza and twenty-four minutes from Kansas City International. Valet is complimentary from the porte-cochère, with self-parking in the gated courtyard behind the house.
Come and See Whether We Mean It
Words on a page are cheap. Book a night, sit by the fire, eat dinner and judge for yourself whether eighteen years of getting the small things right adds up to anything.
Keep reading
Where to go next
Come and See Whether We Mean It
Words on a page are cheap. Book a night, sit by the fire, eat dinner and judge for yourself whether eighteen years of getting the small things right adds up to anything.
- Lowest rate guaranteed when you book direct
- Breakfast for two and valet parking included
- The Prairie Escape from $279 a night
Two ways to book
Check availability Call (816) 555-0147Reception 24 hours · Dining 7a–10p · Spa 9a–8p
Need something tonight? Concierge on (816) 555-0148