This Town in Arkansas' Ozark Mountains Is One of the Best Places to Go in 2026-and It Got a Brand-new Hotel Today

"The hotel's interior spaces, envisioned by Brooklyn-based design firm Crème, are rooted in its natural surroundings. "Our overarching concept was completely inspired by the Ozark Mountains," says Jun Aizaki, the firm's founder and principal. "We wanted to bring the outdoors indoors as much as we could and blur the distinction between outside and in." Guests enter via a covered patio into a two-story atrium anchored by an Ozark limestone bluff wall and a 900-foot skylight overhead."

"On the mezzanine, the Ozark Room serves as both a guest lounge and a pre-function space. A small library is stocked with books on local folklore, geology, and natural history, along with vintage records and mineral specimens curated in partnership with the University of Arkansas Department of Geological Science. Guests can even cue up field recordings from the Buffalo River to listen to the sound of water and wind from the surrounding hills."

The Compton, named for conservationist Dr. Neil Compton, is a 142-room boutique hotel on Bentonville's historic square. Interiors by Brooklyn-based Crème take inspiration from the Ozark Mountains to blur the boundary between outdoors and indoors. Guests enter through a covered patio into a two-story atrium anchored by an Ozark limestone bluff wall beneath a 900-foot skylight. Public spaces feature locally sourced stone at the front desk and fireplace, and artworks curated by OZ Art NWA showcasing regional artists. The Ozark Room mezzanine serves as a lounge with a library, vintage records, and mineral specimens. Guest rooms offer window seats, turquoise-tiled bathrooms, green-blue accents, yoga mats, foam rollers, and nightly turndown tokens tied to Ozark folklore.

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