Welcome The Little Things That Make A Difference

The practice of hospitality is a primordial one. The ancient Greeks called it xenia, the generous receiving of guests as decreed by the gods. Offering a place to stay, a meal, or a kindness to another was thought to create a bond deeper than friendship.

When we open our guest room (or our couch) to a visitor today, we continue that ethic of hospitality that’s echoed through the centuries — and maybe we really do experience that special bond that only forms between host and guest.

Sarah Mattingly saw an opportunity for that experience when she and her husband partnered with another couple to buy the buildings that now make up the Bellwether Hotel on Bardstown Road in Louisville. The Highlands Police Station (established in 1907), BellSouth Switching Station (established in 1917), and Louisville Ballet all once called The Bellwether home, but the buildings had been sitting vacant for more than two decades.

“We had walked past them — we live two blocks away — so seeing these gorgeous buildings, if they hadn’t been so well made, they would have fallen apart,” Sarah says. “They were a dark corner of the neighborhood.”

Sarah says her goal in restoring the buildings was to create an immersive experience, as though guests were stepping back into the buildings’ heyday in the 1920s and ’30s. “That was the goal, to feel like you go back in time but you have all the comforts and amenities of our 21st-century world,” she says.

The Bellwether opened as a boutique hotel and restaurant in fall 2021. “To see our vision really come to life and hear that people are experiencing the space in that way, I really do love,” Sarah says.

Sarah shares some tips on creating a wonderful stay for visitors, whether you’re in the formal hospitality industry or just practicing some everyday xenia:

Think a few steps ahead of your guests. The Bellwether is an invisible service and self-check-in hotel, so communication is key. “We try to get people’s needs met before they express they have that need,” Sarah says. “When they arrive, everything’s taken care of. We clearly communicate anything a guest could possibly have questions about.”

The biggest thing is cleanliness. “Always make sure the space is impeccable.”

Experience your space the way a guest would. “You need to stay all night in that space and know the functionality of everything in the room,” Sarah says. “Walking into a room and standing in a room are not the same experience as lying in the bed like the guest would. When you lie in the bed, you see the ceiling fan — does it have dust on it? Are the lightbulbs too bright? How’s the lighting at night when it’s different from the natural light of day? Are there bedside lamps so we’re not making people get up across the room?”

Bring in local touches. One of Sarah’s goals with the Bellwether was to benefit the surrounding businesses of the neighborhood. She uses locally made coffee and cookies for refreshments and sourced much of the hotel’s art from local artists.

Choose quality comforts. Sarah says she gets a lot of positive feedback on the hotel’s high-quality mattresses and organic cotton sheets. And when it comes to furniture, it has to be well-made and able to wear well over time. “White shearling was really popular for a while, but it’s just not a long-term piece after you sit in it a few times,” she says. “Antiques or vintage furniture already have that natural wear to them. And then pillows, we make sure we have two firm and two soft. We can satisfy most people with those options.”

Lighting is really important. Warm light, always warm light. Minimizing overhead lighting, especially in a sleeping space. So making sure there are bedside lamps that can be turned off and on from the bed. Not making people get up across the room. Then it’s not functionally the best experience.

The Bellwether buildings have been reimagined after laying dormant for over two decades. The Highlands Police Station (est. 1907), BellSouth Switching Station (est. 1917), and Louisville Ballet all once called The Bellwether home, and you can still experience elements of each throughout your stay. The original police station façade and WWII-era murals have been completely restored, and you can now lounge in what was once a studio for ballet dancers. We are excited to bring you a taste of the history of these classic buildings while experiencing a modern stay in our beautiful neighborhood.

Sarah and her husband already owned a bike shop and some AirBnB properties, and they’d experienced the benefits of showing hospitality — and brightening their neighborhood by being part of the local business community. “Bourbon is booming, people are coming to Louisville, and it’s great to be able to have a hand in what people do and see while they are here,” she says.

• Have a nightlight in each space — the guest room, the bathroom, the kitchen — so people can navigate at night without turning on lights.
• You need a bedside table or shelf, and it needs to have a lamp and some access to a plug or extension cord for phones, etc.
• Use warm lightbulbs over cool.
• Consider making a little sign showing your home’s Wifi information.
• Use an end-of-the-bed bench or something similar for guests to put their suitcase on.
• Have a fan or white noise machine available in the room.
• Use blackout curtains.
• Offer multiple blankets in different heaviness for differing needs.
• Prepare a basket of things that your guest might need in the bathroom.

By Jessica Alyea | Photos by Kate Leichardt, Lang Thomas Photography

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