Ellington

Description

No matter how mediocre such eateries might be, they've got captive audiences - travelers too weary, lazy or temporarily car-less to go somewhere else, conventioneers who have to go along with the program. They can usually get away with being just OK.
But a hotel located at the restaurant-rich Shackleford/ Markham intersection can't do that. With so many decent local and chain restaurants within walking distance - from P.F. Chang's and Jason's Deli to the places on Macaroni Grill Hill (a tricky walking distance, but walking distance nonetheless) - it has to try much harder.
That's the task of Cafe 201, now open in the new Crowne Plaza Little Rock (formerly a Holiday Inn Select) that features nearly 250 rooms billed as upscale. During a recent breakfast, lunch and dinner at the hotel, we felt the hotel restaurant really was trying, even if it didn't have a 100 percent success rate.