Travel

First Look: The Louis Hotel Opens in Wilson, Arkansas

In 2010, the entrepreneur Gaylon Lawrence Jr. had preservation in mind when he set to work on a makeover of Wilson, Arkansas, which became a ghost town after the Depression hit and the cotton industry dried up. The Louis Hotel is the latest addition to a roster of openings over the past few years, including White’s Mercantile, Wilson Cafe, and the Delta School. The inn—named after a Wilson resident’s late, gregarious French bulldog—just opened on the square as the town’s first place to stay the night. Set among Tudor-style buildings, the sixteen-room boutique space nods to Wilson’s history at every turn. “We wanted to speak to the cotton culture of the town, so we’ve layered in an industrial feel but kept it warm and comfortable,” says interior designer Jennifer Kleen of FODA Design, which led the project. “This place is going to be such a jewel because it will bring people in and give them a place to stop, rest, and take in the town instead of just passing through.”

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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

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

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

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

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

“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