HotelChatter

Tags: HotelChatter Reviews / Memphis Hotels / → All Tags

Lowering the Benchmark at The Benchmark Hotel in Memphis

Where: 164 Union Ave [map], Memphis, TN, United States, 38103

Last week, we found ourselves on an unplanned Easter road trip and ended up in Memphis on Good Friday. Having paid our Graceland dues, we decided to shack up for the night, and soon realized that the town was pretty full for the weekend.

Our options? The Peabody had a double room for $200, but the Benchmark had one going for $130. The lobby looked a little worn but the staff were nice, we were tired, and we hadn't seen the warnings on TripAdvisor so we gave it a go.

more ›

Tags: Cubicle Dreamin' / Elvis Hotels / Memphis Hotels / → All Tags

Cubicle Dreamin': An Inn That Has Everything But Elvis

Where: 50 Harbor Town Square [map], Memphis, TN, United States, 38103

Cubicle Dreamin' is a feature in which we ask the hotel mavens to take some time out of their busy work day, surf the Internet, and tell us what hotel they wish they could beam themselves to right that very second--all on the slave driving companies dime, of course. Oh, like these people aren't surfing aimlessly anyway--at least now their purposeless clicking will be cobbled together into useful hotel stories--we hope. Have a destination hotel you are just dying to leave your cube for? Send the story our way.

In this episode, Hotel Maven Jennifer Merritt puts on her blue suede shoes and heads to Graceland. Enjoy.

I'm not much of an Elvis fan, but for some reason I've always wanted to go to Graceland. Because I'm not one of those jumpsuit-and-wig-wearing fanatics, I want to make sure my trip to Memphis isn't all Elvis, all the time. It appears that the River Inn of Harbor Town may be the solution to that conundrum.

more ›

Tags: Memphis Hotels / Hotel Reviews / Celeb Scoop / → All Tags

Madison Hotel: Style Magnet for the Whole Spectrum, Even Tom Waits

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

[Ed. Note: Hotel Maven Tim Leffel continues his summer jaunts by checking in on the hotel scene in Memphis. Enjoy.]

At the Madison Hotel in Memphis, jocks, rock stars, and us regular folk can all enjoy a dish of style with the blues and barbeque.

In the dark days of Memphis hotel history, there weren't a lot of choices for the discerning traveler. You either stayed at a faceless chain hotel or you stayed at the grand and historic Peabody. Since the Madison Hotel opened in a restored bank building at the end of 2002, however, Memphis visitors have been able to add some much-needed pizazz to their options. (And celebrities can stay somewhere that isn't designed for their grandmother's tastes.)

When you step into the lobby of The Madison, your senses get a welcome jolt: dark blue and red velvet sofas, colorful paintings, and a soundtrack that is a million miles from Muzak--real Memphis music with soul. The homage to the city's history continues with oversized photos of the blues greats, framed cymbals,and a hotel logo that's formed from two music notes. A "Smashed Brass" sculpture by the mezzanine stairway is composed of four saxophones, two trumpets, and two trombones--all run over by a truck and framed in their flattened state.

More on the hotel including its famous clientele after the jump

more ›