Alabama hotel up for best boutique in America in new USA Today poll

A small, one-of-a-kind Alabama hotel has a shot at top honors in USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice awards, and voting is open.

The GunRunner in downtown Florence is among 20 finalists in the awards’ Boutique Hotel category. USA Today says the category is dedicated to hotels that “offer an escape all their own, complete with a more customized experience and the best modern amenities and service … [and] unique accommodations in the middle of some of the nation’s greatest destinations.”

The competition certainly is distinctive: other finalists include the Bottleworks Hotel, a former Coca-Cola bottling plant in Indianapolis, Ind.; the chateau-like Castle Hill Inn in Newport, R.I.; The Inn Above Tide overlooking San Francisco Bay; and the Sewanee Inn on the grounds of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn.

The GunRunner is no run-of-the-mill place to spend a night or two. Its name is taken from a pawn shop that once occupied its space at 310 E. Tennessee St. Each of its 10 suites has a theme reflecting Shoals-area history. For example, The Lion’s Den honors the University of North Alabama, Smithsonia references a local merchant influential in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and The Devil’s Backbone is a nod to a notorious Civil War-era outlaw. Other themes celebrate Muscle Shoals Sound, music pioneer Sam Phillips, designer Billy Reid and even famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. (The only Frank Lloyd Wright home in Alabama is in Florence and is operated as a museum.)

Online voting in the 10Best competition continues until noon Monday, Aug. 5. Voters can weigh in once per day. The 10 winners will be announced Wednesday, Aug. 14. A leaderboard can be found here. For more on the GunRunner, visit gunrunnerhotel.com.