Haunted hotel guide · Kansas City, Missouri

The Haunted Hotel Savoy, Kansas City: Room 505, Betsy Ward and the Fourth Floor

A Kansas City hotel since 1889, with a dining room where presidents ate in Booth No. 4 and a fifth-floor room where the bath taps are said to have a mind of their own.

By The Haunted Rooms Team · Updated November 2026 · How we rate hotels

4.0/5Haunted Rooms Score
1888Year built
Room 505Most haunted room

Check availabilityMeet the ghosts

The Hotel Savoy stands at the corner of 9th and Central in downtown Kansas City, a red brick building put up in 1888 by the owners of the Arbuckle Coffee Company. It opened in 1889 as the Hotel Thorne, took the Savoy name in 1894, and for more than a century was best known for the Savoy Grill and its stained glass, murals and presidents’ booth. After a long restoration it reopened as the 21c Museum Hotel in 2018, and since January 2025 it has traded under its old name again as Hotel Savoy Kansas City, Tapestry Collection by Hilton.

It also has one of the longest-told ghost stories in the city. The hotel does not promote it, but Kansas City media have repeated it for years: a woman named Betsy Ward is said to have died in Room 505 in the 1800s, and she is blamed for bath faucets that turn themselves on, doors that open and close, and music heard in the room when nothing is switched on. A little girl in Victorian clothes is said to wander the halls. Here is each story, what we could check, and how to ask for the rooms. It is one of the best-known haunted hotels in Missouri.

Hotel Savoy at a glance

4.0/5
Haunted Rooms Score
Haunted reputation4
History5
Ghost hunter access3
$$ · $150 to $300Haunted room bookable
  • Address 219 W 9th St, Kansas City, MO 64105, at 9th and Central
  • Built 1888 to designs by Van Brunt and Howe; opened in 1889 as the Hotel Thorne and renamed the Savoy in 1894. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 30, 1974.
  • Most haunted spots Room 505, the fourth floor, the old Room 307 area and the hallways
  • Best-known ghosts Betsy Ward of Room 505, a little girl in Victorian clothes, a man in 1930s clothing and a weeping woman who is heard but never seen
  • Booking the haunted room There is no haunted room package. Book any room, then call the hotel on 816-443-4200 to request Room 505 or the fourth floor. Rooms were reconfigured in the 2016 to 2018 renovation, so old numbers may not match exactly.
  • Good to know Pets up to 70 lbs are allowed for a $75 fee. Parking is valet only (about $39). Check-in 4 pm, check-out 11 am. The hotel is non-smoking.

Check availability

The ghosts of Hotel Savoy Kansas City, Tapestry Collection by Hilton

Betsy Ward and Room 505

The Savoy’s best-known ghost is a woman remembered as Betsy Ward. KC Today says she died in Room 505 in the 1800s. The KC Downtown Loop newsletter says she was found dead in the bathtub, while KSHB says she died of a sudden heart attack. We have not found a death record or newspaper report that confirms who she was, so treat her as a Kansas City legend rather than a documented guest.

What keeps her story alive is water. She is said to control the water in the room, turning on the bathroom faucets, and to open and close the doors. One line repeated in local coverage sums it up: a guest who checked in here never checked out.

Music from an empty room

The second part of the Room 505 story is music. Guests staying in the room have reported hearing music when no radio or TV was on, and KC Today notes visitors hearing music from the room while it was empty.

It is a small story, but it is the one most often repeated in Kansas City coverage of the hotel.

The little girl in Victorian clothes

Employees and visitors have described a girl dressed in Victorian clothes wandering the halls, seen and then gone. No name or story is attached to her. She is sometimes linked to the hotel’s 1880s and 1890s years, when families traveling by rail stopped here soon after leaving the old Union Depot.

The man in 1930s clothes and the fourth floor

KSHB’s list of local haunts adds the ghost of a man dressed in clothing from the 1930s, a separate spirit seen on the fourth floor, and the long-told line that two past guests never checked out of the Savoy.

Ghost City Tours adds a weeping woman who is heard crying in empty rooms but never seen, and a male figure in the area of the former Room 307, where legend says there were suicides. The same tour company notes that none of the Savoy’s stories have been confirmed in historical records.

The most haunted rooms and places to look

  • Room 505: Betsy Ward’s room, known for faucets that turn on and music from the empty room. Request it when booking and again at check-in.
  • The fourth floor: Where witnesses told KSHB they have seen a spirit. Ask for any fourth-floor room if 505 is taken.
  • The Savoy dining room: The historic Grill room with its 1903 Edward Holslag murals of the Santa Fe Trail and Booth No. 4, where Harding, Truman, Ford and Reagan ate.
  • The lobby and stairs: The original reception desk and stained glass survived the renovation. Take a slow look after dark.

History of Hotel Savoy Kansas City, Tapestry Collection by Hilton

The Savoy was built in 1888 by the owners of the Arbuckle Coffee Company and designed by Van Brunt and Howe. It opened in 1889 as the Hotel Thorne and became the Hotel Savoy in 1894. In those years it was a luxury stop for rail travelers, the first grand hotel they saw after leaving the old Union Depot in the West Bottoms.

A 1903 remodel added the west wing and the Savoy Grill. Edward Holslag painted the dining room murals that year, scenes of pioneers leaving Westport Landing and traveling the Santa Fe Trail, and they are now part of the Smithsonian’s Bicentennial Inventory of American Paintings. During Prohibition the Grill’s bar was hidden behind drapes rather than torn out. Booth No. 4 became known as the presidents’ booth after Warren Harding, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan ate there, and Harry and Bess Truman were regulars.

The hotel declined after the Depression and the move to the suburbs, but the Grill kept going. Don Lee bought the Grill in 1960 and the hotel in 1965, and in 1985 began turning the building into a bed and breakfast. The Savoy was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 30, 1974. A kitchen fire on October 23, 2014 badly damaged the Grill.

The hotel closed in 2016 for a renovation estimated at $50 million and reopened in 2018 as the 21c Museum Hotel Kansas City, a contemporary art hotel, keeping the original reception desk, stained glass and murals. It joined Historic Hotels of America in 2019.

In January 2025 the property changed hands, most of the 21c art left the building, and it took back its historic name as Hotel Savoy Kansas City, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, managed by Avion Hospitality. The restaurant still trades as The Savoy.

Tips for a haunted stay

  • Book any room, then call 816-443-4200 to ask for Room 505 or the fourth floor. Ask again at check-in; requests are noted, not guaranteed.
  • Book dinner at The Savoy and ask whether Booth No. 4 is free. The murals are worth the visit even if you stay elsewhere.
  • Parking is valet only, so budget about $39 a night if you drive.
  • Pets up to 70 lbs are welcome for a $75 non-refundable fee.
  • Walk a few blocks south to Hotel Phillips for a drink in its basement speakeasy and the Room 1513 story.

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Frequently asked questions

Is the Hotel Savoy in Kansas City haunted?

It has one of the city’s longest-running ghost stories. Local media describe a woman named Betsy Ward in Room 505, a little girl in Victorian clothes in the halls, a man in 1930s dress and a spirit on the fourth floor. The hotel itself does not promote the stories.

What happened in Room 505 at the Savoy?

Local lore says Betsy Ward died there in the 1800s, either found in the bathtub or of a heart attack. Guests report faucets that turn on, doors that open and close, and music in the room when nothing is on. We have found no record that confirms her death.

Can you stay in Room 505 at Hotel Savoy?

You can ask. Book any room, then call the hotel to request 505. Rooms were reconfigured during the 2016 to 2018 renovation, so the current 505 may not be the same space as the old one.

Is the Hotel Savoy still the 21c Museum Hotel?

No. The hotel was sold in January 2025, most of the art was removed, and it now operates as Hotel Savoy Kansas City, Tapestry Collection by Hilton.

How old is the Hotel Savoy?

It was built in 1888 and opened in 1889 as the Hotel Thorne. The Savoy name dates from 1894.

Is the Hotel Savoy pet friendly?

Yes. Pets up to 70 lbs are allowed for a $75 non-refundable fee, according to Hilton.

Sources

Facts on this page are checked against the hotel’s own website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local historians tell them. Read how we rate haunted hotels.

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About the authors

The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every hotel in our guides using hotel histories, local archives, news coverage and the accounts of guests and staff, and we review each guide regularly so you are not booking a hotel that has closed or changed its name. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.

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