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Dinner at The Peabody: Just Don't Try and Order Duck Confit

Where: 149 Union Ave. [map], Memphis, TN, United States, 38103

For everyone with an oil portrait of Robert E. Lee hanging in the Billiard Room, you and your fellow Daughters of the American Revolution should venture from the plantation to enjoy a fantastic meal at Chez Phillipe, a Forbes Traveler story on the best hotel food reports.

The French-Asian establishment, located within The Peabody hotel in Memphis, is one of the highest rated restaurants below the Mason-Dixon.

Apparently, all the restaurant buzz proves the hotel now has more than marching ducks to offer its travelers. Since 1932, when a few drunken aristocrats left their duck decoys in the hotel fountain after a day of hunting, fowl have achieved royalty status at The Peabody. According to the hotel web site:

The ducks are housed in the "Duck Palace" on the hotel roof. Every day at 11 a.m., they are led by the Duckmaster down the elevator to the Italian travertine marble fountain in the Peabody Grand Lobby. A red carpet is unrolled and the ducks march through crowds of admiring spectators to the tune of John Philip Sousa's King Cotton March. The ceremony is reversed at 5 p.m., when the ducks retire for the evening to their palace on the roof of the hotel.

Somewhere, Scrooge McDuck seethes with jealousy.

[Photo: bearclau]

Tags: Memphis Hotel Reviews / YouTube / Hotel Deals / → All Tags

The Madison Hotel Tour With Added Bonus Booking Tip

Where: 79 Madison Avenue [map], Memphis, TN, United States, 38103

Fearless Jaunted contributing editor Davie has flown into Memphis, Tenn. for a quick trip and is staying at the Madison Hotel in room 1308.

For those of you so fascinated by this hotel video tour that you want to book a room immediately, Davie has this tip on getting a special internet rate:

Go to the Madison Hotel web site, click "make a reservation" and then "promotional rates" at the bottom---or pay $60 extra per night plus a few extra in taxes.

We put her tip to work and found a Bankers full room for $175 on Friday, Feb. 9 and Saturday, Feb. 10 under the internet promotions rate. Otherwise, the hotel is offering the room for $235 both nights. Thanks Davie, now go and put your records on.

Related Stories:
· Memphis Record Shopping Double-Up [Jaunted]

Tags: Google Earth Hotels / Elvis Hotels / Memphis Hotel Reviews / → All Tags

Google Earth Hotels: Guitar Shaped Hotel Pool

Where: 3839 Elvis Presley Boulevard [map], Memphis, TN, United States, 38116

The Days Inn Graceland is your run-of-the-mill motel. Most hotel mavens will not want to spend one more minute here than they have to, however, Elvis freaks feel a whole lot different.

This hotel is a two minute walk from Graceland, and more importantly has a guitar shaped pool you can see from space, er, at least from Google Earth.  

Related Stories:
· Days Inn Graceland on Google Earth [maps.google.com]
· Days Inn Graceland [GoogleSightseeing]

Tags: Memphis Hotel Reviews / → All Tags

Four Presidents Slept Here!

Where: 533 Beale Street [map], Memphis, TN, United States, 38103

[Ed. Note: Hotel Maven Tim Leffel winds down his Memphis trip by stopping in at the Hunt Phelan. Enjoy.]

Plenty of hotels have heads-of-state pedigree built into their history, but how many have hosted four U.S. presidents in the 1800s?

Down in the hot south, they're not big fans of Trump-style hyperbole and boasting, so the brochure from the latest B&B to open in Memphis just says, "The Inn at Hunt Phelan is not your average 177-year-old mansion." That's certainly an understatement. For one, the estate was designed by architect Robert Mills, who also had a hand in the U.S. Treasury, the Washington Monument, and part of the White House. Three U.S. Presidents spent time there: Andrew Jackson, Ulysses Grant, and Andrew Johnson. A president with an asterisk, Jefferson Davis, also used it as a temporary office.

More on the Inn at Hunt Phelan post-jump.

more ›

Tags: Memphis Hotel Reviews / Anti-View / → All Tags

An Up and Close Look at Strip Mall Sadness from the Doubletree

Where: 5069 Sanderlin Avenue [map], Memphis, TN, United States, 38117

Want an up close and personal view of what's wrong with American urban planning? Get a first floor room at a typical business hotel.

The Doubletree Hotel in East Memphis has some good things going for it. The wi-fi is free and it really works throughout the property, with no annoying log-in codes. There's an indoor/outdoor pool, the rooms are a decent size,and the beds are comfortable.

But take a look out the window and you get a depressing look at what's wrong with urban development in any Sprawl City, USA. From this first-floor room, someone pulling up to park could see which sites you are surfing with your laptop on the desk. If these windows actually opened, you could whisper to the driver as he or she got out of the car and still be heard.

Across the parking lot, it's a strip mall mish-mash: Subway, a pet store, a dentist, and a music shop. Strain your head to look further to the left and right and it's just more parking lot and more shops.

There is an ironic twist to this location, however. It's one of the few places outside downtown where you can just leave the car parked come meal time. A short walk leads to several good sit-down restaurants and a Wild Oats outlet. Even a wine bar and a nice multiplex cinema. So despite being built for anyone but pedestrians, if you put up with the lousy view and strategically navigate the sea of parking lots on foot, you can save a bit of gas after arrival.

Related Stories:
· Doubletree Memphis reviews [TripAdvisor]