A Northwest Arkansas native is seeking a partner to build The Outlier Hotel, a 10-cabin boutique hotel geared for luxury travelers and mountain bikers, near Lake Leatherwood mountain bike park and Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs.
Developer Brandon Gore is founder and owner of Wichita, Kan.-based Gore Design Co., an umbrella company for multiple businesses, including a concrete design company.
“I want to build a monument to architecture, a monument to what can be done,” Gore said. “It’s not the easy route. It’s not the cheap route. It’s not the fast route. But it’s the route to where I will feel proud of it. I will feel that I did the best I could, and my kids will be proud of it. And eventually my great, great, great grandkids hopefully will still be running the family business, and they’ll be proud of it.”
Gore, 46, was born in Rogers and raised on a Bella Vista dairy farm. He’s built concrete furniture, sinks, and countertops for 21 years and started the business as a stepping stone to rammed-earth construction — the ancient building technique used to construct the Great Wall of China.
The Outlier Hotel, spanning roughly 7,500 square feet, is designed to include 10 freestanding cabins built with rammed earth. Gore said rammed earth comprises stone dust, and he has machinery that will compact the earth to form the cabin’s walls, using area materials. He’s built a house with rammed earth that’s about one-quarter of a mile from the hotel site.
Each cabin will comprise about 750 square feet and accommodate two people. Amenities include outdoor pool and hot tub, fire pits, bike storage, bike wash station, mechanics area and mountain bike trails.
Gore said he owns the land at Arkansas highways 62 and 187. He declined to provide a project cost estimate, but groundbreaking will take place when funding is secured. He’s searching for a project partner. Construction will take about 18 months.
The architect is Omar Gandhi Architects, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The design was named a 2025 Architizer A+ Awards Special Mention honoree in the unbuilt hospitality category of the architecture and design awards program.
“That level of design is…what’s going to bring people to the hotel in addition to being in Eureka Springs,” Gore said. “We’re going to be the closest hotel to Thorncrown … Opera in the Ozarks, and we’re just three minutes from downtown Eureka Springs, less than 10 minutes to Beaver Lake. It’s a good spot.”