THE HAYWOOD
Delayed by the coronavirus, it’s finally time for a stay at the new El Dorado hotel.
TIM HURSLEY
BY RAY NOLAN
The Haywood Hotel, Murphy Arts District, El Dorado
26 | BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING VOLUME 7 | 2021
I
n January 2019, a press release announcing the groundbreaking of The Haywood hotel in El Dorado said it would open in April 2020. Our development team had every reason to believe the opening would be on time or close to it. From bad weather to material shortages, the reality of our industry is that projects inevitably get delayed. The Haywood opened six months later than scheduled, in October 2020. The coronavirus pandemic had shut things down. Manufacturers had been furloughed, and shipping came in stops and starts. Our architects and general contractor, the subcontractors, the vendors, an obsessive interiors duo charged with the arduous task of making The Haywood, in words taken from its official brand book, “a modern take on southern life … sleek, vibrant … an unparalleled alternative to the conventional hotel stay …”— all these people, despite never slowing down, couldn’t stop things from slowing down. The Haywood is four stories and 70 rooms, a rectangular, metal-clad building with a wraparound, ceiling-fanned front patio, landscaped courtyard and pool, and The Well — a fullservice bar of inlaid marble tile, stained wood, sink-down couches and side tables to put your drink on. Or drinks. It’s located a block off El Dorado’s historic downtown
