Landmark Country Club Plaza Kansas City Hotel
Kansas City’s historic The Raphael Hotel originally opened in 1928 as the Villa Serena Apartments, designed in Italian Renaissance Revival style by architect Alonzo Gentry. In 1974, the J.C. Nichols Company purchased the building and transformed it into a boutique, all-suite hotel, reopening in 1975 while preserving its historic charm. Lighthouse Properties acquired the hotel in 2005, completing a major renovation in 2010 that modernized infrastructure and décor, maintaining its listing on the National Register of Historic Places. In May 2024, Bentley Legacy Holdings, in partnership with Pendant Capital, assumed ownership and management. Plans include a guestroom refresh and enhancements to the lobby and public spaces, ensuring The Raphael continues to blend historic elegance with contemporary boutique hospitality.
From Frontier to Foundation
The land on which The Raphael stands has supported enterprise since the 1800s, when Daniel Boone’s son trapped furs and later farmed along Brush Creek. In the early 1900s, a Swiss dairyman operated a dairy farm here, and the site later served as the Lyle Brickyard and Sunset Hills Garden, a nursery and floral shop.
From Beauty Salon to Chaz Restaurant and Lounge
Before becoming home to Chaz Restaurant and Lounge, the ground-floor space operated as Michael’s Salon of Beauty from 1935 to 1974. One long-time guest fondly recalled visiting the salon for her prom hairstyle in the 1950s—only to return years later for her first date with her future husband in the same space.
Boy with Thorn
The Raphael Hotel’s iconic “Boy with Thorn” sculpture, also known as Fedele or Spinario, traces its origins to a Greco-Roman bronze from the third century BCE, depicting a boy removing a thorn from his foot. Commissioned by the J.C. Nichols Company, Italian sculptor Bernhard Zuckermann recreated the piece in white marble atop a Tuscan travertine base from his Pompeian Studios in Carrara, Italy. Installed in 1976, it stands as one of the Country Club Plaza’s most admired artworks. Reflecting the hotel’s Italian Renaissance architecture and name, the sculpture symbolizes the harmony between art, history, and design — a fitting tribute to The Raphael’s cultural roots and its enduring connection to the beauty of Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza.
Country Club Plaza Mosaics
Lobby Registration Desks
Donna Van Hooser
Depicting the Country Club Plaza, the two mosaics were created by artist Donna Van Hooser for our hotel lobby. Although portraying the same historic area that is home to The Raphael, each mosaic celebrates the unique, Spanish architecture of the Plaza through different seasons. Donna, who started her career at Kansas-City-based Hallmark Cards, fabricated each mosaic using small pieces of stained glass with the colors being carefully selected, cut, and placed. Additionally, small circles of Italian 24-karat gold smalti were cut to represent the thousands of lights during the winter. As guests check-in and depart from the hotel, they will be left with memories of our city represented in local art.
Chaz Mural
Chaz Private Booth
Marianne Cascone
After receiving a Bachelor in Fine Arts from Avila University, Marianne continued her training in decorative finishes, digital design, and illustration. In addition to the “Boy with Thorn” painting, she also designed the striking mural that adds character to the private booth in our restaurant, Chaz on the Plaza. Marianne includes many styles and characteristics within her work to make each project unique. While patrons of the restaurant enjoy seasonal dishes and local jazz, this landscape of the city can be admired on the wall.