Bentonville Hotel Owners Expected to Make Announcement Soon

For those wondering what will ever become of the Clarion Hotel and Convention Center on Rainbow Curve in Bentonville, your wondering days soon will be over.

Whispers has learned the property owners expect to choose a new brand for the hotel before the end of the year, and construction to renovate the facility should begin in January. The project will completely update and modernize the 105-room Clarion, which opened in 1998, and is expected to last four to five months.

Little Rock-based Sree Akshar Inc. bought the Clarion and neighboring Sleep Inn last spring for $3.3 million, a deal that netted a combined 208 rooms and 10 acres.

The two properties were shuttered in September 2011. The Sleep Inn was re-branded as a Motel 6 and re-opened March 26.

As we understand it, a lead designer, contractor and other principals are in place to lead the Clarion renovation, and the ownership group is fully funded.