Hotel Reviews
Travel Tuesday: 21c Museum Hotel (Bentonville, Arkansas) Review
Last month, my wife and I decided to take a short but real vacation. So, after a stop in Oklahoma, we set off for a couple of nights in Bentonville, Arkansas — with the main goal of checking out the beautiful Crystal Bridges Museum. When looking for accommodations in the area, one spot in particular jumped out to me: 21c Museum Hotel. Sure enough, that’s where we choose to stay for our getaway.
With that, let’s take a look at what 21c Museum Hotel Bentonville has to offer as well as what the area itself has in store for visitors.
21c Museum Hotel Bentonville Luxury King Room Review
Booking and How We Booked
As usual, you can find 21c Museum Hotel Bentonville on a variety of travel booking sites and portals. However, we booked directly via their site. For our two nights, the total (after taxes) came to $614 — although we were able to bring that down a bit thanks to our credit cards.
With 21c being a part of the Accor family, I was able to redeem some ALL points toward my stay. Specifically, after transferring a handful of points from Mesa and Bilt, I was able to use 2,000 points for a discount of about $45 (ALL points have a set value… but it’s pegged to Euros. 2,000 points is 40 Euros).
In total, we paid $569 (plus the 2,000 points) for our two-night stay. I then ended up using my Capital One Venture card’s miles to cover this charge, so we paid nothing out of pocket. Now that’s how you vacation.
I’ll also point out that 21c did not have any resort fees and parking was free in a nearby garage. That said, valet is available for a fee.
Checking In and the Museum
Speaking of the parking, our 21c experience started before we even left the garage. It was there that we noticed an old (and quite large) vehicle covered in coins. If there were any doubt that this belonged to the museum hotel, the license plate read “21c.” Looking at photos, it seems that this vehicle is usually parked outside the hotel itself… although it was likely relocated due to some construction happening in the area of the hotel, which we’ll talk a bit more about shortly.
From the parking garage, it was a very short walk over to the 21c lobby. Along the way, we passed the bike wash area as well as an art installation featuring basketball hoops. Stepping into the lobby, several other works jumped out, including one behind the check-in desk that grabbed my wife’s attention. As it turns out, the artist is Kehinde Wiley, who also designed one of the Amex Platinum card options. FYI, another Wiley painting is on display in Crystal Bridges as well.
Before I get to our check-in, I do want to mention some other museum aspects. In addition to the lobby, there was also a hall with more art as well as a small theatre showing a video piece. What became clear is that the museum is regularly rotating out certain works. In fact, there were a few times when we saw workers preparing to update an installation. In other words, yes, this qualifies as an actual museum and not just a hotel with some extra art on the walls.
Moving on to our check-in experience, even though we were a few hours early, the front desk agent informed us that our room was ready. She also offered us maps of the local trails and eateries, which we happily took. Then, while handing us our room keys, she let us know that we also had a few drink vouchers in our packet, which were meant as an apology for the surrounding construction.
With that, we headed around the corner, past some more intriguing art, and made our way upstairs to our room.
The Room
There are a few things that stood out to me as we stepped into our room. The first was the nook area, featuring L-shaped seating around a table. Furthermore, the throw pillow featuring the face of a dog definitely got my attention. Another adorable dog pillow was also placed on the chair in the opposite corner, which included an ottoman as well. Going back to the nook, the hanging right above it was a unique cluster of three lights that added to the artsy feel of the property. The same is true of the log-shaped lamp on the nightstand.
As for the bed, what I noticed right away were the chocolates placed on the pillow. While I’ve heard of such things before, this may be the first time I’ve ever actually experienced it. By the way, the chocolates were quite tasty — and we ended up purchasing a bar of the brand’s chocolate in the gift shop as well. Oh yeah, the bed itself was quite comfy, allowing us to sleep well on both nights.
Turning to the bathroom, the most noticeable inclusion is a purple light that glows behind the mirror. This light could be toggled off or on individually, which was nice since we could elect to leave it on as a night light. Stepping further inside, the shower was lovely, featuring different sizes of subway tile. 21c also stocks their rooms with Malin + Goetz products, which is a brand I’ve previously encountered in Delta SkyClubs. The shower also worked well, although I could have used just a tad more water pressure.
Overall, I really liked this room for a few reasons. First, the nook area was great for the couple of meals we ended up eating in the room, but also proved to be perfect for the live stream my wife had to do during our first night there. Second, I loved the slightly quirky decor. Also, rather than finding a Bible in the nightstand drawer, we discovered a book of artist quotes. Once again, just as we found ourselves purchasing the featured chocolate, we did pick up a copy of this book — although we bought it on Amazon after our trip as it was cheaper than buying it from the gift shop (I made up for it by also buying a beaning from the 21c store).
As for the construction, while we heard it for a little bit here and there, it was never overly loud or disturbing. Perhaps that assessment would change if we were located in a different part of the hotel — but it didn’t really impact our stay at all. Meanwhile, I only ever heard our neighbors once, and that was the person on the floor above us on checkout day. Other than that, it was a quiet and relaxing stay.
Location and Attractions
Seeing as our main goal was to visit the Crystal Bridges Museum, I was delighted when the front desk agent asked if we planned on walking there. As it turns out, this is not only possible but is a quick (and beautiful) trail walk that’s about six-tenths of a mile. This was even close enough for us to head back toward the room for lunch before returning to the museum for our tour time.
Beyond Crystal Bridges, 21c is close to other local attractions as well. In particular, you’ll be steps away from another museum: The Walmart Museum. I’d been to this location years ago and yet had no idea we’d be so close to it. Incidentally, I was also unaware that the museum only reopened a few months ago following a major refurbishment. Regardless of your feelings for Walmart, this free museum is worth stopping in, as it has some truly fascinating displays.
Other than that, we really enjoyed walking around Downtown Bentonville, including heading to a local library branch (which was gorgeous). I also loved the look of the Ledger building, which was also on the way to said library.
Basically, 21c will put you in the heart of Bentonville — and, thanks to the walkability of the city, you likely won’t even need to get your car out of the garage in order to explore.
Dining
Just as 21c Museum Hotel is close to several attractions, it’s also near a variety of food options. At the top of my list was Onyx Coffee Lab, which was just around the corner (the headquarters for this renowned roaster is in Rogers, but this cafe location is one of a few in the area). We also enjoyed Azul Tequila Bistro, located right on the square. A bit further away, we had a chance to try Oven & Tap, which was delicious as well.
I should mention that there’s also a restaurant in 21c itself. Alas, we didn’t actually eat at The Hive as nothing in particular on the menu called to us. However, I was able to redeem one of the drink coupons I received for a can of Athletic (which paired nicely with the honey pepperoni pizza we got from Oven & Tap).
Lastly, I’ll also mention that there’s a Walmart Neighborhood Market right across from 21c’s drop-off area. This was convenient for when we wanted to pick up some drinks and snacks — but they also sold bags of coffee from Airship, which is another local roaster that has a shop in the aforementioned Ledger building.
Basically, when hunger hit, we found that we were never more than a short walk away from something tasty.
Final Thoughts on 21c Museum Hotel Bentonville
To be honest, I was shocked by how much there was to see and do in just the small area of Bentonville where we stayed. What’s more, from Crystal Bridges to the Walmart Museum, much of it was free! For that reason, I’d recommend a visit for sure.
As for 21c itself, I thought the property was fun and comfortable while also feeling upscale. This vibe continues throughout the hotel, with the halls displaying both serious artwork and those playful penguins. Plus, the room decor walks the line by including some standout features without sacrificing function or going too avant-garde.
The location of 21c could also not be any better — although I guess it actually will be even better once construction is complete. As a result, we easily could have spent a full week here, visiting different destinations on foot (or by bike, which is something I’d like to do in the future). For all of those reasons, I’d highly recommend 21c Museum Hotel Bentonville.
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