One address in West Little Rock. Six chapters. A French soul that has carried through them all.
The story begins with a word: lagniappe, Louisiana French for “a little something extra.” That was the hotel’s first name, and its first promise. Built around a light-filled atrium with wrought-iron railings and a glass elevator, The Lagniappe offered marble vanities, a steakhouse, and around-the-clock service, rare grace for its day. The atrium and garden courtyard you see now are the very same.
For nearly two decades the hotel was the Governor’s Inn, an all-suite Best Western under local family ownership. Mornings meant breakfast in the atrium garden; evenings, a fire in the Club Room. It became one of West Little Rock’s most gracious all-suite addresses.
In 2002, hoteliers Bhu and Jyoti Makan bought the hotel, drawn to its character and its intimate scale. “We always knew this property was meant to be something special,” he has said. With just 49 suites, the right identity would take time, and patience, to find.
In 2007, the hotel became a Best Western Premier, marking its next step toward a more elevated independent identity while preserving the intimate all-suite experience and atrium-centered character guests already knew.
After a full renovation, the hotel was reborn as The Burgundy, named for the French region of vineyards and small, gracious inns. From Creole lagniappe to French countryside, the soul stayed the same. And here, Table 28, our signature restaurant, was born.
At last, the right partner. The Burgundy joined Hilton’s Tapestry Collection, a family of one-of-a-kind hotels, gaining the assurance and reach of Hilton’s hospitality while keeping everything that makes it ours. Today it is celebrated as West Little Rock’s first boutique hotel: 49 custom suites, a glass-roofed atrium, and Table 28 at its heart. A little something extra, still.
