Keeli's Culinary Tour: 21c Museum Hotel, Bentonville

This is the view from Valet Parking, which is a total waste
of money. You can park right behind the hotel for free and
notice the luggage art by the front door...

This sculpture by Cuban artist Alexandre
Arrechea is super cool

Notice Jackie here, he is taking in all the license plates from
New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey parked in front
of the hotel

Friday, June 28, 2013

Harmon and Jeanie recommended that we take Chloe to the 21c for its quirky art and to see this contemporary, boutique hotel located on the square in Downtown Bentonville. They were right, the hotel was cool, fun and interesting in so many ways starting with checking in.

They have a troop of doormen and valet drivers that welcomed us and opened the double doors. Chloe was about to use it in the lobby so I quickly looked for a bathroom for her but it wasn't that easy to find. I went back to the doormen, men not man, and one of them directed her past the bar to the right. I couldn't tell where to check in and he had to direct me around the corner to two young people standing behind wireless laptops at a table-high bar, not a counter. I was handed a key to our room in a record time of 2 minutes, I don't think that's ever happened, like ever. And it was good since Chloe couldn't find the lobby powder room located behind the large bar in between nooks of art. So we were up in the elevator to our third floor room fast and just in time.

I called down to the front desk to have a key made for Jackie who was parking the car, since I was given a single key that must be swiped in the elevator for it to operate. I like this security. So after a text, he was up putting our stuff away and made notice of a 4 foot green Penguin in our hall. We got the hotel information book and found out the Green Penguins were a permanent exhibition of the hotel, see from their website:

Chloe next to it on the way
to dinner....

About the Exhibition

“We have sought the origins of life in the earth’s oldest natural material, that is petroleum. A black, dense liquid disgorging from the warm womb of Mother Earth, and the natural repository of the planet’s entire history of organic life-forms, from its origins to the present day. We have studied the technique known as ‘cracking,’ which breaks up this natural magma into a series of synthetic, artificial derivative products. We have discovered plastic, the most modern and extraordinary element that any artist can manipulate.

We use objects and shapes in plastic that evoke or simulate nature, so as to reinstate petroleum’s ancient, primary forms of life and imagery. This means turning life back in its tracks, as a way of finding the poetical voice an soul of art in the material itself.” — Cracking Art Group

21c fans and residents of Northwest Arkansas selected green as the color to best represent the region. The mission of Cracking Art Group is to raise awareness of environmental issues and the use and misuse of natural resources by creating artworks with materials derived from petroleum products. The name Cracking Art refers to the chemical reaction that occurs when converting raw crude oil into plastic, or the moment when natural becomes artificial. Founded in 1993, Cracking Art Group has created over 600 exhibitions worldwide.

We also enjoyed reading the amenities of the hotel which included a "Zombie Apocalypse", which in a nutshell, described as if Zombies show up, you can use anything in your room to defend yourself and no charges will occur on your bill. This was fun to read to Chloe as she contemplated what a Zombie Apocalypse was. :) She took a million photographs without the artist's name so I'll share them to spark your interest, I hope. We loved the contemporary hotel right in the middle of a buzzing downtown all sparked because of Sam and Bud Walton and the 5-10 dime store that turned into a retail phenomenon. Thanks to the Walton's for keeping it's headquarters in an absolutely beautiful part of Northwest Arkansas and eventually bringing this Oklahoman and Rural Eastern Arkansas family to see the wonderful 21c Museum Hotel in Bentonville. I will watch as they will open another 21c hotel in Lexington, Kentucky and Durham, North Carolina. This one has so many interesting rooms of art I haven't mentioned, as well as luggage out front that has a fake cigarette can out front. I know, no one smokes in Arkansas.

Try this hotel, you won't be disappointed, just a little blown away by the art and the penguins that remind us to respect our natural resources and a reminder that global warming is real and to be respected and hopefully slowed.

21c Museum Hotel, A st, Bentonville, AR Check out their website: http://www.21cmuseumhotels.com/bentonville/?s_kwcid=TC|1028367|21c%20hotel%20bentonville||S|p|27329739674

And here's an indepth article on the hotel's grand opening in April: http://www.arktimes.com/arkansas/offbeat-at-bentonvilles-21c-hotel/Content?oid=2851703