#132 The Hotel Seville

1929 Hotel in Harrison, Arkansas

​We found this dandy little Spanish Revival building, just a block from Harrison's town square.

The smooth brick facade was decorated with all sorts of fun stuff.... tile, terra cotta, wrought iron, arches and colorful paint!

Hotel History

​Since its beginning in 1929, the building has had many uses.  ​

After closing down to hotel guests in the '60's, the building was purchased by Christian Faith of Wichita and used to house and feed the elderly. In 2008, the hotel reopened after a 3.5 million dollar renovation. 

Finding the Door

​There were 3  impressive entries to the hotel. The entrance that opened to the lobby was tucked into the corner of the building, away from the street.  ​

We pulled right up in the drive and walked past two striped columns, towards the arched doorway.

Lobby 

​Just inside, the 2-story lobby greeted us with huge squares of floor tile and a glowing chandelier.  ​

A lobby desk window was off to the right. A very pleasant staff member, was waiting to check us in.

Old Spain

There was a Old Spanish flavor to the sweet hotel.

Lots of arches and ironwork! I loved the painted birds and flowers on the walls.

From Above

​Looking down from the mezzanine, we had a good view of the birds and chandelier. ​

All we needed was a little Flamenco guitar, echoing in the space.

Lobby Goodies

​I like a renovation that doesn't clear out all the old.  The wooden telephone door looked mighty sweet, with the white curtain. I just had to peek! Instead of a phone in the cozy space, I saw a chair, desk and computer. Nice perk for hotel guests!

The double writing desk was an amusing reminder, that people once wrote postcards from hotels. There was an old style radio sitting on one half, playing some music from the 40's.

Upstairs

​We followed the carpeted hall to our room, # 321.  ​

The framed number, with the familiar bird image was a nice touch. The brown doors were new, but kept the old style. ​

Tiny Room

​The room was pretty darn small, but so was the price!  For around 80 bucks, we got a newly remodeled room in a charming hotel.  ​

The queen bed, bathroom and flat screen TV, gave us some modern comforts. The exposed brick and an odd little bathroom door, were fun reminders of the past. Brown painted, metal door knob... I love it! 
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John Paul's Bar & Grill

​The restaurant and bar at the south end of the hotel had a totally modern face lift.

We returned later in the evening and grabbed up the sleek, blue sofa in the back of the room.

Food and Music  

​We were relieved to have a comfy place to hang out, since the downtown was quiet and weary looking, on that Friday evening.  ​

We ordered some appetizers for dinner and enjoyed some good people watching.  The crowd was made up of locals rather than travelers and everyone seemed to know the deep voiced singer who entertained us with country ballads.  The singer's young wife and baby occupied one table. A local artist seated nearby, introduced himself to us, so we didn't feel like total outsiders.   

Morning

​In the morning we were entertained by a club of Fiat Mini drivers, who had all parked their sweet little cars in front.  ​

The cute cars added to our car fun, since the day before we had shared the road with numerous Corvettes. Corvettes and Fiats , enjoying the annual Corvette Arkansas Weekend. Lots of fun cars in Arkansas!
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Breakfast

​We sampled some of the complimentary breakfast that was served in a small diner area, on the north end of the hotel.  

 

The food options were fairly typical, but the setting with columns, painted beams and tile work, made my coffee taste better than typical. 

What's Notable?

​The term hidden gem is overused, but it fits for Hotel Seville. It was surprising to find such a perfectly renovated and charming hotel, in small town Arkansas.  

I wish I had good things to say about the town. It looked a bit worn and in need of its own facelift. 

Worst of all, I Googled for info and learned of the town's connection to the president of KKK. Ugh. Maybe I shouldn't have shared that. That's a notable piece of information that is not fun. But travels should open your eyes to good and bad. Our hotel was great... that bit of knowledge was not.
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