First Look: Hotel Genevieve in Louisville

Hotel Genevieve, which opened its doors this month in Louisville’s NuLu neighborhood, would like to remind visitors that there is more to the city than bourbon and horses. “Why not make this a feminine, rich space?” mused Tenaya Hills, senior vice president of design and development at Bunkhouse, the hospitality group behind the new hotel. The rooftop bar and restaurant takes inspiration from Paris, nodding to the French king who gave Louisville its name. The lobby bursts with color (no dark wood paneling here). A grab-and-go local foods market is part convenience store, part art installation (“think 7-Eleven run through an Andy Warhol filter,” Hills says) that meanders into the Lucky Penny, a hidden pocket bar. Modern interpretations of Appalachian quilt patterns cover the corridor carpets and bedroom throws. Here, take a peek at the design that Hills calls “refined, but a bit over the top.”