A New American Town - Bentonville, Arkansas
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A New American Town - Bentonville, Arkansas
Rooftop Views: The AC Hotel Redefines Bentonville
Experience the newest jewel of Northwest Arkansas hospitality at the AC Hotel Bentonville. This European-inspired hotel is conveniently located at the entrance to Walmart's new Home Office campus, making it a must-visit for travelers and locals alike. The hotel uniquely blends modern design with local heritage, paying homage to Sam Walton on the rooftop at the Falfurrias lounge. This space showcases authentic artifacts like Mr. Sam's hunting vest and offers stunning sunset views with handcrafted cocktails and chef-inspired dishes.
The European influence extends beyond the aesthetics to the culinary experience. The hotel's breakfast features imported croissants and prosciutto freshly carved on a traditional slicer. At the AC Lounge, you can enjoy exclusive cocktails, including a smoked old-fashioned prepared tableside. The hotel fosters a vibrant community atmosphere with regular events like live jazz and trivia nights, creating a lively space where connections happen naturally.
Whether you're visiting for business, art exploration, or mountain biking, the AC Hotel Bentonville is perfectly equipped for today's sophisticated traveler. The property offers amenities like indoor bike storage, direct trail access, EV charging stations, and a transfer lounge for early arrivals. Steps from the Momentary and a short walk to the downtown Square, it's ideally situated to experience everything that makes Bentonville special.
Follow @achotelbentonville on social media to stay updated on events and offerings, or simply stop by Falfurrias to experience this exciting addition to the Bentonville scene.
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Welcome back to a new American town where we explore the stories, spaces and people in Bentonville and this world-class destination. I'm your host, natalie, and today we're taking you to the heart of the new Bentonville Hotel on the new Walmart Home Office campus, not just for work, but for an elevated stay that changes the game for visitors and locals alike. We're talking about the brand new AC Hotel Bentonville, a sleek, modern hotel that has a thoughtful design, trail access and a rooftop bar that's already become one of the best spots in town to catch a sunset. Thank you, guys for joining me. We have Celine and Christy from the AC Hotel right here in Bentonville Hello.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having us.
Speaker 1:I'm so excited to talk to you guys about this new space. It's super amazing the rooftop oh my gosh, we're going to get into it. But first off, what makes this hotel so special to you guys?
Speaker 2:this hotel so special to you guys. Oh well, one it's location. You know we are the one of the first buildings right as you get onto the Walmart campus. We're on the corner of 8th and J. It's such a beautiful designed hotel that just really inspires a lot of just collaboration in the lobby. We also have a lot of great artwork from OzArt that's scattered throughout the property. So of course it brings in a little bit of that culture. But also it has talking points. We've got an amazing art piece right behind the front desk that took hours and hours to do behind the front desk. That took hours and hours to do. But it's those little things that really bring a little bit more of that attention to detail when it comes to our guests.
Speaker 1:We don't want them, just to be our guest in our hotel.
Speaker 2:We want the guests that are staying here, that are living here, to be a part of that experience as well.
Speaker 1:It really feels like that. It does feel like a very Bentonville focused space. It feels like it fits perfectly into this town, perfectly on the Walmart campus, and the attention to detail is very, very apparent. I love it. Anything to add, christy?
Speaker 3:um, I I think just that it, when you walk in, it immediately feels different than any other hotel in the area yeah um, I think it's warm and inviting, but it's also really open. Yeah, um to your point there's a lot of workspace, a lot of space for people to get out of their rooms and gather right and spend time together in a, in a public space.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's that networking.
Speaker 3:Yeah, perfect yeah, if anyone is curious it is a Marriott property, so for those that collect points or are loyal, customers and if you don't, we want to help you.
Speaker 1:Right, that is always a perk and it's really close to downtown. Like I don't think people know that, maybe when they book online, but AC hotel is just a stone's throw from the downtown square, from all of our trails. You can pretty much bike or walk anywhere from the hotel, which is really, really a huge perk. I'd love to talk to you guys about the rooftop lounge. Yeah, fall. Furious named after Fall Furious Texas. Correct, that is correct. Tell us the story behind that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it's Mr Sam's, where he used to have a hunting acreage, sam Walton. Sam Walton, yeah, we call him Mr Sam Love that, but he used to have a hunting lease down there and he would always quail hunt. So for him it was a matter of fellowship with friends and family, just going down there, getting to spend time away from the office, obviously, but also getting to connect with his peers and his family. A big advocate on quail hunting, obviously, but his accommodations weren't lavish or this uppity lifestyle was very, it was very, mr sam, yeah yeah, just to add to that, I think we always knew that it would be.
Speaker 3:The rooftop would be. It would be really cool, something special, and it is. I think when you get off the elevator you automatically feel that warm, that lean is talking about. That ties it back to Felfurious and the hunting lease where Sam Walton took his friends and family and associates, and that really is the goal there.
Speaker 1:And, like you said, time away from the office. People can go there to connect whether they're traveling in for work or they live here, so they're to connect whether they're traveling in for work or they live here. And yeah, it's a perfect name for a perfect, perfect location.
Speaker 2:Well, that's a great step back in time too. You've got a lot of great artifacts from Mr Sam's collection.
Speaker 1:We've got his hunting vest, even the fall furious map of Texas. You know that he used to have in his glove box.
Speaker 2:Wow, that's the map that he had. I didn't know that. It's so amazing. They've got pictures on our south wall in the restaurant of all the different times that he's been down there and the pictures from Mr Sam and then also Miss Helen of their time down there, but also friends and family with Bud. It's really cute to see. But just being able to make it special for everybody on campus but then also locally, it's really been such a great job and it's exciting to watch.
Speaker 1:Yeah, people can almost connect with the Walmart story in a whole different, new way that they probably haven't heard of before. Yeah, the view is amazing. You guys can see over the momentary and straight to downtown. That's one of my favorite parts the sunsets, all the things I'd love to talk to you guys about the menu and the offerings, what people can expect when they come and spend an evening at the Fall Furious.
Speaker 2:Absolutely so. Our menu itself is a chef-inspired menu creation. So we've got a lot of that South Texas. Is that Tex-Mex?
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:The flair, like you said we've got tacos and we've got brisket and we also have queso and a few different other options on there, but we also have some really nice refined pieces such as a tuna. It just melts in your mouth. So it's really amazing the different things that our chef has been able to come up with. We are currently working on like a fall menu, so we're having R&D.
Speaker 1:I already sound so good I'm like I need to go to the summer menu now and then I'll go get the fall menu.
Speaker 2:But we do want to rotate that because obviously we work with local purveyors when it comes to our food and beverage offerings.
Speaker 3:Our two tortillas and our beverages.
Speaker 2:Exactly so, that's. But what about the cocktails?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm like I need to hear about the drinks, of course. Yeah, I would say my favorite is sunshine in the, in a bottle, which could go away, I would guess, for the fall, but so you need to get over and try that one what is that one? Like it's the. It's really light and citrusy. I think it's a gin and and maybe a little vodka, but it's um comes in a little like a message in a bottle. Yeah, it's so cute.
Speaker 2:The presentation is is really cute my favorite's the bob white, which is a little nod to a type of quail. Um, it's just. It's just got such a great and everybody says that I like a sweet drink, which I don't think it's sweet, but it's just got such a great flavor to it. Our bartenders and managers are just so awesome at coming up with specialty cocktails and just thinking outside of the box, which is nice. You know, it's not a rum and Coke, it's something that's really it's curated.
Speaker 1:Well, I feel like it's just a place where you can go for a casual weeknight or you can go for a celebration Like I'm like this is going to be my next birthday dinner why wouldn't I do that? And I just feel like it's the perfect backdrop to any season of life that you're in 100%.
Speaker 3:I think you can come over from work for happy hour. You can hop off your bike and drop in.
Speaker 1:Right, no dress code. Obviously, wear shoes and a shirt.
Speaker 2:This is Bentonville.
Speaker 1:Or dress it up for a girl's night out or a special occasion, of course yeah, and and how seasonal it is, like there's a whole inside, it's not just all outdoors and open, so you'll be able to serve the community in the winter time and people can still get good pictures outside.
Speaker 2:We even have a private dining room up there too so if people want to book that for a special event. We can always do something up there too.
Speaker 1:And it still has the same views of, but it's more on the South side, so you get to see more of Rogers and you know, whereas the North side, you get to see North Bentonville and yeah, well, what kind of events are you guys having there to kind of tie in the community, bring people upstairs?
Speaker 3:Well, just to back up a little bit, not only can you do the private dining space, but you can rent the whole rooftop for a private event as well. So just something to keep in mind. But otherwise, yeah, we've built a pretty good cadence of activations throughout the hotel. A pretty good cadence of activations throughout the hotel. We have some weekly things that are kind of regular that our guests can look forward to coming back to.
Speaker 3:Locals can make plans weekly or monthly or whatever, and they can know that on Wednesdays we'll have live jazz downstairs in the AC lounge and then on Mondays we alternate trivia and bingo nights upstairs in Foul Furious, and then on Fridays we do live music. Occasionally we've done DJs and live music on Saturdays, so that's, that changes a little bit, but you can follow our social media and it's always posted there.
Speaker 1:Is it a different social media for Fall Furies or all AC Bentonville?
Speaker 3:It's all AC Bentonville right now, right.
Speaker 1:Cool, yeah, everyone needs to go and follow that Absolutely.
Speaker 3:But then we'll also tie in holidays and special community events. Maybe a signature cocktail list that ties back to the Bentonville Film Festival or Square to Square. I'm sure we'll do something, but we've been talking about that already.
Speaker 2:That's true, yeah, you know. But we've been thinking about the future. You know what do we come up with? And, like Christy had said, that, there's those areas of opportunities such as the bike fest and the square to square they will literally drive right by the hotel, you know. So why not have a little bit of an active activation, either on the lawn, in the parking lot or inside, or bring it like just invite them in? We had a big Fourth of July party. That was party like at 1776. So we did a great buffet, but then we also had a live DJ. Of course, the magical views of North Bentonville and Orchard Park and having the fireworks go off right there and having complete, unobstructed views of fireworks, like it was absolutely magical, like you can see the entire skyline, just absolutely light up, it was so amazing.
Speaker 1:Next, year, that is exactly where I will be. That sounds great.
Speaker 3:It was great it was a ticketed event, but I think something to keep in mind is that most of our like our weekly activations. There's no charge for those. Anybody's welcome to come to those, but we will have ticketed offerings also throughout the year. I think you know curating experiences is at the heart of what we do as Marriott and as Horry Hospitality, which is who we are, who we manage as the hotel.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so other than Fall Furious you talked about the lounge downstairs Is there any other food and bev offerings on site coffee? What can people expect if they come and stay absolutely?
Speaker 2:so our breakfast area is called the ac kitchen. Um, it is a european spread. So you've got um, imported croissants from france. But then we have this amazing um and all the acs will have. It's called the burkle slicer, the beautiful um prosciutto slicer that we get to actually activate that during breakfast, so you'll see our chefs actually carving and slicing up some like fresh prosciutto right in front of you. So it's a little different than your regular typical American flair. We focus a little bit more on the protein than we do on the carbs and you just that heartier breakfast. It's a very light but natural flair. So, um, and then we've got the ac lounge well, I think you gotta talk about the coffee.
Speaker 3:Oh, yes, and the nespresso.
Speaker 2:So we do have um, I guess, four different, four or five different um ways to make coffee. So we've got nespresso, we've got um cappuccino, lattes, um all of your coffee shop favorites and is it self-server?
Speaker 1:is it at a coffee bar, or so it's actually in?
Speaker 2:the ac kitchen so our servers can do it for you yeah, it's great. And then we've got the ac lounge. Our ac lounge is our evening um food and beverage option. And then the AC is known for its very curated and crafted cocktails. We've got the ACGT.
Speaker 3:They have exclusive crafted cocktails that are exclusive to the AC brand.
Speaker 2:We've got a smoked old-fashioned, which is absolutely amazing. So you're smoking a board right in front of our guests and really creating that activation in itself in the space.
Speaker 3:I think that one of the things to know that sets the AC lounge apart from Felfurious. It's a little more low key. It's on the first level, just off the lobby. So if you, you know, don't want to play bingo or you don't want to hear a live band, then it's a little more laid back and you can, especially if you're need a quick business meeting but you want to tie that into happy hour.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a little more going out to dinner. You know it's a great place to grab a cocktail before you get your uber um, they also have um small plates there as well.
Speaker 3:Just a little, yeah, um different than the ones upstairs.
Speaker 1:Perfect, a little appetizer before dinner.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's a different experience.
Speaker 1:One of my favorite things to do as a tourist whenever I travel and I hope people do that when they come here is to go to a hotel lounge, go to a hotel bar. It's just so special and so unique everywhere in the world and Bentonville's hotel lounge scene has really picked up in the recent years, so I love it. I love what you guys are contributing to our city and our whole community does too. You've had great community response.
Speaker 3:It's been great. It's definitely a popular spot.
Speaker 1:Well, for the visitors that are coming and maybe they're not going to be on the Walmart home office campus that week and they're actually going to explore Bentonville, do you have any tips for getting out on the trails or going downtown?
Speaker 2:Oh gosh. Well, we're right connected to the trails, whether it's biking, or you can bring your bikes because we've got bike storage on property, actually right next to our front desk, so it's indoor storage, which is really nice. And then, of course, you've got the walking, like just the walkability of the city itself. You know, a street market is less than a quarter of a mile from the hotel, it's literally right across the street and the momentary also.
Speaker 3:You can literally see it all.
Speaker 1:I know I love it. You can see the buckyball. Like the you can there's night and the you belong here. Sign you can see so many things crystal bridges, getting into crystal bridges.
Speaker 2:You're talking less than a mile and a half, two miles just to get there and it's such a great walkable, walkable space it is yeah, cool, um, for last minute things.
Speaker 1:Do people need reservations to go to any of your spaces, I think?
Speaker 3:reservations are highly recommended for Falfurious and for the hotel, of course. Parking's complimentary so that's really nice.
Speaker 3:It's self parking. We also have EV chargers in the parking lot of EV chargers in the parking lot and, as she mentioned, the bike storage. One other thing I thought to share is the transfer lounge. So, even if you're coming for a long weekend and you want to get an early start but your room's not ready, we have the transfer lounge, which is there's a male and a female option, but they have lockers, almost like an airport is what it makes me think of. There is a bathroom, um, so you can freshen up a little bit if you need to, but there are um secure lockers in that space so you can throw your suitcase in, you know, go have lunch or explore the area and come back later and grab that and get checked in.
Speaker 2:It's been great for our business travelers too that you know if they've got a meeting, but they need to check out of their hotel but don't really want to carry their luggage all throughout the area. Store it in there, so you have the opportunity to come back before your flight and just freshen up.
Speaker 1:Take your makeup off, put your makeup on?
Speaker 2:Yes, absolutely, there's nothing worse than trying to get to the airport after a full day.
Speaker 3:Change your shoes, get out of your heels.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and just a private space, instead of having to ask the receptionist to hold it behind the desk. Absolutely. We'll do that too if you need us to, yeah, of course.
Speaker 2:And then, of course, if you get a chance you've got to come and see the fitness center. Like, our fitness center is right on the corner of 8th and J, it's got amazing windows it has amazing views. Yes, Wow, so that's. I mean, it's just something so special to watch everybody work out and you know like you've got such amazing views when you're working out, and it's kind of like an AI thing.
Speaker 1:The windows on the ac are really beautiful from from the 14th street across the road, I always see them. I'm like I want those windows in my house they're so beautiful, so nice cool.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you guys so much for your time today. I'm so excited to head over to the fall furious, like right after this. If anyone is listening and you guys want to check it out, you can make reservations. Go check it out. Open table yeah, open table. Love that. Um, if you guys are looking for any more information about Bentonville, go to visitbentonvillecom or follow us on social at visit Bentonville. Once again, I'm Natalie, and thanks so much for listening. See you next time.