Built as the Narrows Hotel, the building was renamed in 1941 for General Douglas MacArthur. The wide two-and-a-half-story brick building, a loose interpretation of Colonial Revival, is anchored at each end by pedimented gabled pavilions. In the center of the facade is a grandiose semicircular portico with monumental columns. The inn is conveniently located near the former Norfolk and Western Railway Passenger and Freight Depot (1927; Depot Street), which brought tourists and commercial travelers to this picturesque town. The dark-red brick depot has exposed rafters supporting the broad protective overhang of the building's hipped roof.