The Bellwether features a four-bed, two-bath unit that has a full kitchen, lounge area and hosts two World War II era murals. | Photos by Kathryn Harrington
The heart of the Highlands is now home to The Bellwether Hotel. Located at 1300 Bardstown Road, the Bellwether has given new life to two early 20th century buildings that have sat empty for the past two decades: the old Highlands Police Station and the former home of the Louisville Ballet. Purchased in 2019 by Park Mile Partners, Highlands residents Ben Botkins and Sarah Mattingly, and Sean and Annie OLeary, the 20 unit apartment-hotel is heavily inspired by the Art Deco period of the ’20s and ’30s and will take you back in time as soon as you step inside. It’s also an “invisible service” hotel, meaning guests will check themselves in with a secure code.
For the Park Mile Partners, getting the approval of the neighbors in the surrounding Highlands neighborhood was paramount. What we believe is our biggest asset is getting friends and family of the neighbors when they come to visit them to stay here, said Ben Botkins. So, that’s what we sought out to do, and all signs point to that weve done that. People come to us all the time and say they cant wait to put their friends and family here. Botkins said the group of owners always recognized that the project had to fit with the neighborhoods around it. “Everything about it was to do it at neighborhood scale. Even the branding says The Bellwether Neighborhood Hotel.
Each room in the hotel is unique with its own style and the rooms are also named after streets in the surrounding Tyler Park neighborhood. The Bellwether sleeps 50 people and also has a four bed, two bath unit that is great for larger groups. Rooms start at $139 a night. The largest unit will cost upwards of $600 per night. Booking begins on Oct. 15.
Guests of the Bellwether can snap a selfie in the ‘Selfie Check-In’ room just inside the entrance on Rosewood Avenue. The self check-in keeps down costs and patrons are given a secure code once their room is booked.
Many of the rooms in the Bellwether are named after the surrounding streets in the Highlands.
The Tyler Room.
The Golden Hour room.
Each room in the Bellwether is unique while utilizing design elements from the Art Deco period of the ’20s and ’30’s.
This room is part of a four bed two bath unit in the Bellwether that’s perfect for a larger group.
The four bed two bath unit is perfect for a larger group of travellers.
The Rosewood Room.
The Rosewood Room.
The Art Deco style can be found all throughout the hotel.
What once was used as a studio when the building was home to the Louisville Ballet has been converted to a lounge area for the Bellwether Hotel.
Guests can gather in the large lounge area that was once a studio space for the Louisville Ballet.
Owners Ben Botkins and Sarah Mattingly with Annie and Sean O’Leary.
The Bellwether entrance on Rosewood Avenue.
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