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The front desk greets visitors with an immediate dose of Wilson history: It’s made of compressed cotton encased in glass and topped with suede. A Renaissance-style portrait of Louis, a Wilson resident’s late French bulldog, keeps watch. “Louis was the town’s concierge, so he had to be front and center greeting people again,” Kleen says. 

Photo: Courtesy of the Louis Hotel

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Staple, the Louis’s stop for drinks and bites, boasts a dramatic marble bar and comfy green leather armchairs. The menu focuses on local ingredients like long-grain Arkansas rice, catfish from the Mississippi River, and cheesy grits. 

Photo: Courtesy of the Louis Hotel

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In the restroom on the hotel’s first floor, the design team chose a merlot-colored tile as a nod to the wineries Gaylon Lawrence Jr., the entrepreneur behind Wilson’s revival, owns in California.

Photo: Courtesy of the Louis Hotel

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A close look at the mural of a tuxedoed man in the lobby bar reveals an overlaid railroad—a nod to the railroad that runs through town.

Photo: Courtesy of the Louis Hotel

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In the rooms looking over the square, the team added seating nooks so guests can take in the view.

Photo: Courtesy of the Louis Hotel

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“I wanted to put people out in Wilson’s sky,” Kleen says of the rooftop terrace, which has an outdoor space, a screened-in area, and a bar. “The sunsets over the fields feel like they stretch on forever.”

Photo: Courtesy of the Louis Hotel

Lindsey Liles joined Garden & Gun in 2020 after completing a master’s in literature in Scotland and a Fulbright grant in Brazil. The Arkansas native is G&G’s digital reporter, covering all aspects of the South, and she especially enjoys putting her biology background to use by writing about wildlife and conservation. She lives on Johns Island, South Carolina.