First Look: The Louis Hotel Opens in Wilson, Arkansas

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

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

“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.”