First off - welcome to Tennessee!! You will have a blast in the cities you are visiting. We like to stay at the Hampton Inn downtown Nashville and it is walkable to everything and is reasonable for location. In Memphis we LOVED Talbot Heirs Guest House - it is across the street from the Peabody Hotel (with the ducks) and is very convenient. Each room is a little different but ours had a small kitchen, balcony and sitting area. The people that run the place are awesome. Are you flying into Nashville? There is not a lot to see between Nashville and Memphis (in my opinion) but there is so much to see in each town!! If you want suggestions for each city, just say so and you will get lots of information. It seems to me from your post that you may have the city stuff "covered". Again, welcome!

Thanks for the Hotels recommended .We are just starting to plan the trip and do not know very much about the cities .We hope to take Highway 61 and stay in some of the little towns on the way. Any other suggestions for the trip would be greatly appreciated

We've been visiting Memphis regularly for years and our current favorite downtown hotel (which is the area you'll want to stay) is the Marriott Residence Inn. Each unit has a fully equipped kitchen, the free breakfasts are very tasty and there's a rooftop deck that's quite lovely. In September it will be HOT (especially in New Orleans, where the humidity can be quite brutal).

One more thought that might interest you. Years ago we stayed in the Quarter House in the French Quarter of New Orleans. It's a timeshare that rents to non-owners and since there will be 6 of you, that might be a really good solution. The unit we stayed in was huge and had a fully-equipped kitchen and washing machine and dryer. You might look through the pictures on their website.

http://www.quarterhouse.com/

Thank you Susan for your information . Will run the Hotel and timeshare by my friends .The timeshare seems the way to go .
thanks again.

I don't know about moderate pricing, but well located in Nashville are the Marriott Courtyard and the Doubletree hotels. In New Orleans I like the hotels near Canal St or on St Charles next to the trolley car line.You can get better prices if you move a few blocks off Canal. Anything in the French Quarter will be very expensive.I found a Residence Inn, about 7 blocks from the Quarter that was reasonably priced. I usually go in late April for Jazz Fest, when prices are higher.

I will look at Hotels om St. Charles and near Canal St. and look outside French Quarter.
Thanks