A unique Alabama hotel with just 10 suites has been voted the best boutique hotel in the country by voters in USA Today’s 10Best poll.
The GunRunner Hotel in Florence was chosen as one of the 20 finalists in the competition in July. The results were announced on Wednesday and the hotel not only made it into the final 10: it came in first place.
“Inspired by the historic Shoals area, the GunRunner Hotel features 10 spacious suites – seven with private balconies – that celebrate the region’s history and people,” the article’s brief description states. “GunRunner’s guests can also enjoy world-class services and treatments at the GunRunner Spa.”
The GunRunner takes its name from a pawn shop that once stood at 310 E. Tennessee St. in downtown Florence. Each suite has a theme that reflects the history of the Shoals area. For example, suites are dedicated to the University of North Alabama, the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, music pioneer Sam Phillips and even famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. (The only Frank Lloyd Wright house in Alabama is in Florence and operates as a museum.)
The rest of the top 10 is rounded out by a few similarly distinctive inns, although at least a couple – the 122-room Staypineapple Chicago (No. 3) and the 133-room Beaufort Hotel in North Carolina – may seem a bit big to be called “boutique.”
According to USA Today, in the 10Best polls, “nominations are suggested by a panel of expert judges. 10Best editors narrow the field to select the final nominees for the Readers’ Choice Awards.”
For more information about the GunRunner, visit gunrunnerhotel.com.
