Hello Wichita!
Many people visit downtown throughout their week, but most of the time people will only hit a few restaurants (often times chain restaurants) and don’t necessarily break out of their bubble.
Let us ask you this: How many times have you explored Wichita as a “tourist”?
Candace and I had the opportunity to partner with the Ambassador Hotel, in downtown Wichita, to do a ‘stay-cation’ with the goal of showing what the Ambassador and our downtown have to offer. We have stayed at this luxury hotel a couple times before and always leave pleased with our stay. This time we wanted to take advantage of its location in our city and create a plan for our weekend that gave us a glimpse into life downtown.
Being so centrally located on Douglas, it gave us a great chance to be nearby many local spots and stops. If you look up the Ambassador on maps you will notice it’s either walking distance or a very short drive to many of Wichita’s top eateries and places to see.
Lobby:
In our opinion, the lobby sets the tone for the rest of a hotel… and let us add that this lobby is beautiful. There are elegant fixtures, such as the beautiful crystal glass chandeliers and rich purples among comfortable seating. One of our favorite things aesthetically about the Ambassador is their care for details. It shows in their décor how much time they spent hand selecting certain pieces to fit the style of the entire hotel. The service at the front desk was excellent. Felipe checked us in quickly and was welcoming and kind.
Room:
The room we stayed in blew us away. Not only was it very large and spacious, but everything was high quality and in great shape. The view was amazing. We could look right down Douglas with many of the iconic Wichita buildings (such as the Garvey Center, New York Life building, and the Epic center) viewable from our 8th floor corner room. We could also see right down Broadway street.
There are plenty of options to choose from room wise to fit your every need. We stayed in the Premium Corner King Room. It had a king size bed, reading chair, and a separate seating area with a sectional couch, coffee table and television. C
Amenities:
Fitness:
This fitness center has more than the average hotel gym. It offers a full cable machine and pull-up system, a few benches and dumbbells up to 50lbs. There is another side to the fitness center which offers an elliptical, a bike, and three treadmills. All of this leaving you with more than enough to get your work out fix while staying at the Ambassador.
Conference Rooms:
Although we did not need to use any of the conference rooms for this weekend, we were at the Ambassador a few weeks back for a rehearsal dinner in the Regent Room. There was abundant space for all the guests, as well as delicious catering provided by the Ambassador restaurant, Siena Tuscan Steakhouse, and great bar service. There are four conference rooms to choose from (Regent Room, Viceroy Room, Boardroom, and The Study) which will fit any needs from rehearsal dinners to small business meetings. Below are a few examples.
Siena Tuscan Steakhouse:
We both grew up in the Wichita area, but had never actually eaten at Siena Tuscan Steakhouse which we both realized was a mistake on our part when we first stepped into the restaurant. It is a beautiful restaurant with fantastic service and incredible food. On the main floor of the hotel, you get the Wichita feel while in an upscale restaurant. I had the filet while Candace had the fettucine bolognese. We would have taken pictures of the main course, BUT the food looked so tasty we immediately dove in and didn’t realize until after it was gone that we didn’t take a single photo. An empty plate picture just doesn’t do it justice..
Dockum:
“Hidden” underneath the Ambassador, Dockum Speakeasy has a unique, historical vibe. The secret door and numerous candles set the mood for an experience unlike any other in Wichita. This was another place that we always heard was great, but had not yet been to. We headed downstairs after dinner for a night cap. You will not be without options when looking over the drink menu (even a few you may never have thought of before!). As with the entire hotel, the service was great and the drinks were delicious. We will definitely be coming back and bringing friends next time!
Our stay-cation weekend started at the hotel on Friday after work. As usual, there was something going on downtown, so we went just half a block from the Ambassador to Pop-up Park where FinalFest 2019 (part of April’s Final Friday). FinalFest consisted of several local music acts performing on a stage along with three food trucks (Uno Mas, Nora’s, and U Hungry). We went with the tacos and nachos from Uno Mas. We highly recommend exploring downtown, especially on Final Friday, where Wichita really shines by highlighting the arts.
If we learned anything this weekend, it is that you can easily get away and break up every day life here in our town. The Ambassador isn’t just a great hotel for guests traveling to Wichita, it’s great for Wichitans to get away and enjoy downtown. We will be recommending the Ambassador, Siena Tuscan Steakhouse, and Dockum Speakeasy to friends in and out of town. Thank you again to the staff at the Ambassador for the room and dinner accommodations! We couldn’t have enjoyed this experience more!
