A New American Town - Bentonville, Arkansas

Bentonville's Newest Boutique Hotel: The Compton

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Welcome to A New American Town. In this episode, we are joined by Emily Reynolds at the New Compton Hotel to give us a first look at this brand-new hospitality experience.

The Compton isn’t just a hotel — it’s a tribute to our region’s rich past and a vision for its future. It’s where fresh air meets refined design, where locals and guests come together, and where outdoor adventure is just steps away. A gateway to the Ozarks. Whether you’re planning your next visit or just curious about what’s new in town, this is one you won’t want to miss

Learn more and book your stay today! thecompton.com/

A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.

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Natalie Stika:

Welcome to A New American Town. I'm your host, natalie. Today we're exploring one of the most exciting additions to Bentonville's downtown the Compton Hotel. I'm joined by Emily Reynolds, the Director of Sales and Marketing, to give us a first look at this brand new hospitality experience. The Compton isn't just a hotel. It's a tribute to our region's rich past and vision for the future. It's where fresh air meets redefined design, where locals and guests come together and where outdoor adventure is just steps away. It's a gateway to the Ozarks, if you will. Whether you're planning your next visit or just curious about what's new in town, this is one you don't want to miss, so let's get into it. Thank you so much for joining us, emily.

Natalie Stika:

I'm so excited to talk to you about the Compton Thank you very much I appreciate you having me today. Thanks for joining us. So for anyone that's hearing about this hotel for the first time which I can't imagine they are, but just give us a brief overview of what the Compton Hotel is, sure absolutely yeah.

Emily Reynolds:

so the Compton Hotel is located on the downtown square in Bentonville. It's the new up-and-coming hotel which I know. We'll kind of get into a few more details, but in general it's all about more details. But in general it's all about it's 142 guest rooms. It's an independent lifestyle hotel and it is set to open in the fall of 2025. So, coming up here very soon, the hotel is being developed by Blue Crane and some additional local dedicated design teams and design teams from out of town as well, uh, across northwest arkansas and across the area. The hotel itself is actually named after dr neil compton, who was a renowned conservationist who actually played a really important role in the preservation of the buffalo national river, and some people may or may not know about him, but we're really excited to be able to highlight his mission. And then, you know, additionally, the values of the hotel and the mission itself of Dr Compton and our cycling community, and we'll, you know, touch upon a number of other things that we're going to be bringing.

Natalie Stika:

Yes. So, talking about Dr Compton, you guys have completely designed. From the mock-ups that I've seen, you've completely designed the hotel to look like you're in nature and it's stunning, it's beautiful. So let's talk about those details. What inspired every design, and do you have specific stories of things that Dr Compton did that you're incorporating?

Emily Reynolds:

Yes, yeah, absolutely. Dr Compton was pivotal in spreading the message and working with the Ozark Society in the 60s and 70s and preserving the Buffalo River and actually getting it recognized as the first national river in the United States, and so it's been an honor for everybody to really pay homage with a lot of the building facilities and the things that it includes, and we have things that are locally sourced. There is a huge wall in the atrium area right as you walk in. It's actually locally sourced limestone and it will have a water feature that is running down it and it will be kind of trickling down that area. So it's kind of this big, soaring, open atrium with sunlight, if you can imagine this, this big limestone wall with water in?

Emily Reynolds:

exactly, yeah, it'll be a lot like the buffalo river, kind of a an immediate nod to that. We will also have local plants, live plants, in the lobby space. There will be other immersive parts of the hotel. So on the second level of the atrium we're actually going to have even more nods to Dr Compton. There are spaces that are designed to reflect, without being identical to a lot of those experiences along the Buffalo River, but lots of references. There will be immersive sounds, there will be immersive smells throughout the hotel, things that are designed specifically for the hotel, for the hotel itself.

Natalie Stika:

So I guess, just drawing the connection between Dr Compton's impact to Buffalo and then here in Northwest Arkansas, I feel like it's really important for context. He you might probably know more than I do, but he had a really instrumental hand in the Compton Gardens, which is not far at all from the hotel, actually just right down the promenade that just reopened. Yes, that was his property, he lived there and he basically created a new Buffalo, a whole wildlife experience right here downtown Bentonville a long time ago, a lot of native plants. So I just think it's so cool that people can experience that touch that he had on our community and then experience something that reflects the buffalo as well, just like a couple steps away.

Emily Reynolds:

Yes, it really draws all of the, especially in northern Arkansas buffalo, the river valley, all together. For sure, Dr Compton's house was near downtown Bentonville, which is kind of an iconic location now with the.

Emily Reynolds:

Compton Gardens, and so we're going to be another piece in that puzzle. We are located also right off of the new promenade that is going to be part of the Quilt of Parks, where we're going to connect these green spaces, as well as these other locations, these different promenades, together, and so the hotel is really going to pay homage to a number of those things and really draw upon the natural beauty of this environment that Dr Compton loved so much Right, just the natural state in general.

Natalie Stika:

Exactly, benville does a great job, remaining true to that. The natural state I feel like you can see it around our community and all of the design. There's a lot of wood and rock elements everywhere, and so I think it's just amazing how this hotel is fitting into our vibe and our community seamlessly.

Emily Reynolds:

I'm glad you mentioned that, because, along with that limestone that was locally sourced, we've also sourced some of the woods that that are used in the hotel itself. There's oak and there's, I believe, white ash, and some of those things are really from our natural environment, and so it's all, it's all part of that, that experience that we're wanting to create, um, in honor of the outdoor enthusiast. That's, that's what we, what we say, basically what we, our mission is a part of outdoor enthusiasts, culture seekers and business travelers, so we are wanting to draw together these communities of people and pay homage to each of them, including our local cycling community. We've got a lot of great things going on which we can touch on as well for our cycling enthusiasts?

Natalie Stika:

Yeah, what kind of offers do you?

Emily Reynolds:

have for cyclists. Yeah, so we are going to be we're still developing some of those programs right now but we will have a cycling concierge which is going to be somebody that will be able to answer questions, able to curate rides. That person is going to be a really instrumental part in the fabric of our hotel, of the available programs and things that we can do to really draw that outdoor in for our guests, because we don't anticipate every guest knowing exactly everything about the Razorback Greenway it's a large, expansive area or everything about the cycling community. So that partnership will really help to enhance that cycling experience. We'll have bike valet so we'll have availability to store bikes. We will have bike washing as well and then, and honestly, as these programs get finalized and develop, which we can't wait to get rolled out, you know, soon as we go through this pre-opening process, it really will shine a light as well on that outdoor enthusiast, with the cycling community and working with our local bike clubs and working with our local enthusiasts as well.

Natalie Stika:

Just a whole wellness experience. It really ties in everything, and the hotel looks like it's going to be a work of art.

Emily Reynolds:

It really will. Yes, the spaces are designed to be very approachable but very organic in nature, drawing on those local resources, drawing on these local stories and these local communities. The whole thing is just really designed to enhance the story of Northwest Arkansas and really in all of Arkansas, in conservation and outdoor enthusiasm Right.

Natalie Stika:

I don't know if you know, but we get a lot of people coming here and they come to stay in Bentonville or they come to hang out for a couple of days and they take a day excursion to go and see the buffalo and I just I'm excited for people to come and stay at the Compton and do that exact thing, where they come and hang out in Bentonville and enjoy our art museums and our amazing amenities and and enjoy our art museums and our amazing amenities and then they go to the Buffalo and then they get to really see the hotel, expansive and like the real world. It's just awesome?

Emily Reynolds:

Yes, we do. We have a very vibrant business travel community, which is part of that kind of mission statement of ours that we want to. You know, people may be coming here for business, but we want them to also immerse themselves in the beauty of Northwest Arkansas and we want to be the part of that catalyst of that experience for those people. So as they come into town, exactly that Go, you know, we can help to set up maybe a tour or directions or projects or facilitate that experience with the Buffalo River, facilitate that experience within our cycling communities with the Greenway and then also the local downtown area. That's such a vibrant space with so many wonderful restaurants, so many wonderful things to do in partnerships. So we're really looking forward to pulling all of those things together in kind of our own unique way.

Natalie Stika:

Yeah.

Emily Reynolds:

Yeah, it's day and play. We love that. Exactly yes.

Natalie Stika:

The business travelers that come back and they're like, oh, I got to bring my family or my family came with me while I'm on my business trip so that we can stay a little longer and see this awesome town. Yeah, it's going to be the perfect landscape for that. So obviously this is an exciting addition to Bentonville and from a tourism perspective, it's going to be a game changer. What does it mean to you to have a hotel like this in downtown Bentonville?

Emily Reynolds:

So the Compton is going to, you know, we hope is going to anchor Bentonville's really transformative downtown project and everything that is happening.

Emily Reynolds:

I think that locals and visitors alike can see the changes that have been happening over time and in really positive ways. Again, it's going to be part of that larger Quilt of Parks initiatives, which is a multimillion dollar project that is created as a network of the public green spaces throughout the downtown area. But also the hotel itself sits between Dave Peel Park and that pedestrian promenade. Hotel itself sits between Dave Peel Park and that pedestrian promenade, so it's really well positioned to offer the direct link to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which is, as we may or may not know, the largest expansion that it's had to date. So some really amazing things happening over there as well. But we're excited to connect all of those spaces and be a natural footpath and a natural advocate for those projects and the really exciting things that are going on here that people may not have been exposed to yet. But it also provides that central home overall for the outdoor enthusiast, the culture seeker and the business traveler. It's the perfect backdrop too.

Natalie Stika:

I love now that the outside is pretty much done. I love seeing what it's done to the addition of our skyline and just it's just beautiful and I think everyone is so excited and happy to experience it. Whether you're coming to dine just for an evening or you're going to stay, I think you'll see a range of different people coming and everyone is already so excited about it and that is what we hope.

Emily Reynolds:

We do hope to be exciting to those different communities of people and within the hotel itself that we will be having a number of additional amenities. So those are some of our programs and some of our values, but we will have dining outlets within the hotel.

Emily Reynolds:

We will have three different concepts we also have for both in-town business, social events For any reason that somebody may need event space. We also have some really beautiful event space. On our second level is our Dogwood Ballroom and it actually has floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the square. That's about 4,000 square feet. We have additional space on the first level. That's about 1,300 square feet. How many people do you think that you'll be able to fit in those? We can successfully, I would say kind of depending on the event itself, but around 200 people in our ballroom space and some of the I can't say everything yet because a lot of it's on order and a lot of it's being finalized right now. But some of the things that we have coming in for these spaces are just really beautiful, very unique. As somebody who's been in the industry for a long time, I'm excited about some of the things we have coming up.

Natalie Stika:

That is a good question. What are you most excited about?

Emily Reynolds:

I think that I am the most excited about getting that mission statement and getting our purpose across in multiple ways. I can't wait that we can share that with the business traveler. I can't wait that we can share that to the family who's looking for a great dining experience that night. We can share that with the community that has grown up here myself included. I've actually am a native of Bentonville, arkansas, from Central Street, from the square itself, wow. So I you know we want to share that with the longtime community, the new people that are moving in here, that are ready to share in this experience. We want to be a part of all of those journeys.

Natalie Stika:

Yeah, that's awesome. So I guess next steps how can people learn more? When can they start booking their stay? Can they follow you on social media? What can our listeners do?

Emily Reynolds:

Yes, absolutely yes, so reservations are going to be opening up here soon. That is something we are actually doing our testing on right now. People will be seeing our website continue to develop. We have launched it. It is wwwthecomptoncom, and so you'll start to see new things pop onto there as we continue to finalize our concepts, continue to build some of those spaces out. We also have our social media. We would love everybody to follow as well. At the Compton Hotel and then on many of those sites, you can actually book direct. Eventually, they will see where you can book sleeping room reservations that will also go live. There are links to send us an email to join our newsletter so that you can watch these things unfold. You can connect with us directly. I would love to speak with anybody personally if they have questions as well, via some of those outlets, whether people are planning on a trip or if they're local and they just want to know a little bit about the hotel. We're looking for advocates in every corner. Yeah, love that.

Natalie Stika:

Well, you have an advocate here and we are so excited to see the fully done Compton Hotel. It's going to be amazing for our community. Thank you so much for joining us. If anyone is listening and wants to learn more about Bentonville in general, don't forget to go to visitbentonvillecom or follow us on social at visitbentonville. Thanks so much for listening.