Bourbon and baby grands in Richmond, Indiana

The building announces itself before you even step inside. A former piano factory from the early twentieth century, its brick bones carry the weight of a different era of American craftsmanship. Starr Piano: The Highball Suite occupies a piece of that history, converted into a private residence that feels less like a vacation rental and more like a carefully art-directed apartment hidden inside an industrial landmark. The ceilings are high, the windows generous, and the sense of scale immediately registers as something rare for a short-term stay.

The Highball Suite draws its personality from a love of classic cocktail culture and mid-century warmth. The space is designed for gathering and lingering, with a full kitchen, comfortable living areas, and bedroom accommodations that can host small groups or couples looking for something with genuine character. Vintage details and curated furnishings give each corner a sense of intention without feeling precious. There is a lived-in quality here, the kind of place where you settle in rather than just check in. The suite sits within the larger Starr Piano building, a property that has been thoughtfully reimagined to house a collection of individually designed suites, each with its own name, aesthetic, and sensibility.

Richmond, Indiana, sits along the eastern edge of the state, a small city with deep roots in music, manufacturing, and American creative history. The Starr Piano Company once produced instruments and phonograph records here, and the building's second life as a hospitality destination feels like a natural continuation of that legacy. The surrounding area offers antique shops, local dining, and the kind of unhurried pace that rewards curiosity over itineraries. It is a destination for those drawn to places with genuine stories rather than manufactured ones.

What stays with you after a night in The Highball Suite is the texture of the experience. The industrial architecture overhead, the warmth of the interior design below, and the quiet satisfaction of sleeping inside a building that has been making things worth caring about for over a century. It is a stay that trades polish for personality, and is better for it.