Kansas City ยท Country Club Plaza
The Raphael Hotel
Alonzo H. Gentry's 1928 Villa Serena apartments by the Country Club Plaza, a hotel since 1975 modeled on small European hotels.
- Built
- 1928Designed and built in 1928 as the Villa Serena Apartment Hotel; converted to the Raphael Hotel in 1975.
- Style
- Italian Renaissance Revival
- Architect
- Alonzo H. Gentry
- Type
- Boutique hotel
- Area
- Country Club Plaza
- Credentials
- Historic Hotels of America member; Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The story
Alonzo H. Gentry designed the nine-story Villa Serena in 1928 as luxury apartments in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, matching the Spanish theme of J.C. Nichols’ new Country Club Plaza; it was the first of six luxury high-rises around the Plaza. The J.C. Nichols Company bought it in 1974 and reopened it as The Raphael in 1975, modeled on small European hotels. It joined Historic Hotels of America in 2001 and was listed on the National Register in 2009.
Good to know
- Address: 325 Ward Parkway, Kansas City, MO 64112
Sources (3)
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.