First Look: Hotel Genevieve in Louisville

A pink lobby greets visitors, and the art behind the front desk is a find from Round Top—a team member spotted the piece rolled up in a tent. “Something drew me to open it, and boom, it’s the most perfect mural,” Hills says. “We split it up and put some pieces outside at Bar Genevieve, but one major panel ended up behind the front desk.” They added their own touch, too, when they bedazzled it.

“Connecting with farmers and makers of the region and exploring local flora and fauna has always been an important thread in the stories I tell through my food,” says chef Ashleigh Shanti, Hotel Genevieve’s culinary director. At Rosettes, Shanti serves Southern-meets-French fare: country ham and benedictine, chicken with pomme puree, and a squash and onion tart.

Cocktails abound at Rosettes, too: the Abigail Adams is a mix of gin, aperol, ginger sugar, and lemon. “Rosettes is a place that transports you to the feeling of dining al fresco in a beautiful Parisian Cafe,” says Amar Lalvani, the executive chairman of the hotel’s hospitality group. 

Lucky Penny, the hotel’s pocket bar that serves drinks and snacks late into the night, was conceived as a retreat from the rest of the hotel’s bright spaces. It’s moody, dark, and secretive, but with plentiful sparkling accents—all nods to Louisville’s disco ball heritage (the city was one of the world’s largest producers of disco balls for decades).

Hotel Genevieve’s rooms immerse visitors in blues and yellows and terracottas from floor to ceiling—even the bathrobes have wild patterns. An ivory high-gloss lacquer on top of the paint reflects the saturated hues, adding a layer of luminescence.

Visitors to the hotel bar can take in views of the city over French street-inspired fare. The bar itself hails from an antique warehouse in Pennsylvania, and the chandelier is another vintage find from 1stDibs.