Hotel Bentley

Joseph Bentley spent $700,000 on this Renaissance-style hotel in downtown Alexandria — allegedly because another establishment had refused him dinner service for improper attire. It opened in August 1908, and Bentley lived in the building until his death in 1938. The Louisiana Maneuvers brought Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley, and Stilwell through central Louisiana during World War II. Many of them headquartered at the Bentley. A World War II exhibit in the Main Lobby holds memorabilia from that period. A case in the lobby displays artifacts on loan from the Louisiana History Museum. The hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 15, 1979. After a closure in December 2004, Michael Jenkins purchased the facility for $3.4 million in October 2012 and reopened it with a hundred rooms. The newer seven-story tower is being converted into condominiums; the older section remains a hotel. The Bentley Room restaurant and Mirror Room lounge have reopened. The hotel has hosted Cary Grant, Roy Rogers, and John Wayne. The building celebrated its 110th anniversary in August 2018, still operating as the Bentley.