My husband and I are taking our 8 years old daughter to Memphis in July to visit Graceland. Any suggestions for hotels that are kids friendly would greatly appreciated.

Don't forget to go see the "Ducks" at the Peabody Hotel.

I suggest you stay downtown. Our current favorite hotel is the Marriott Residence Inn. We've not only seen lots of children there, but it's a pet friendly hotel, too! They also have a great (and free) breakfast. You'll have to drive - or take a cab - to Graceland, but there's really no place near Graceland that I'd advise you to stay.

I definitely agree with the above poster about seeing the ducks come down (or go up) at the Peabody. I personally prefer seeing them coming down...I think it's around 11 in the morning but I'm not sure.

ChristinaA: Maybe you have reasons other than Graceland for visiting Memphis - and I'll probably take a lot of heat for this review but.....if not, here is a bit of unsolicited advice. Unless your daughter is a huge Elvis fan, I think she will be bored stiff at Graceland and with Memphis in general. Graceland is a lot of waiting on line to see a tacky house -- tacky in a good way if you're a fan because its a slice of an era - a time capsule of sorts. But an 8 year old will probably find little to capture her attention.

While the ducks at the Peabody Hotel are cute, go ever so early or your daughter will not be able to see a thing. The crowds are vast and its impossible for a short person to see their little march to the elevator (and that is all that happens) unless up front on the main floor or in the first tier around the balcony.

My husband worked all last summer in Memphis and I visited him. We are big blues music fans and love southern food. That said, even I was bored after two days. If it hadn't been for a great Italian art exhibit at the Memphis museum, I would have been reading by the pool.

The Peabody Place near Beale St. has a Jillian's. It is like a Dave and Busters. If you aren't familiar it is like an upscale Chuckie Cheese where you purchase a game card and play all kinds of games from which you earn points and can win prizes. It also has a level that is a full service restaurant. My son loved the virtual bowling. There was also a glow in the dark putt-putt golf in Peabody Place it too was fun. There is the Mud Island tour and a riverboat tour. Downtown has some decent restaurants. Chains that come to mind are Joe's Crab Shack and The Spaghetti
Warehouse. Memphistravel.com may help for other vacation ideas.

I don't think anyone mentioned the zoo. Haven't been but I hear its very nice and it does have Pandas so how can you go wrong?

The zoo is very nice. Along with pandas, there are kamodo dragons that your daughter may find interesting. I tend to like cat country with all the big cats, myself!!
You can also check to see if the Redbirds (baseball) are playing. The stadium is right down town, across the street from the Peabody hotel.

We went to Memphis several years ago for a day trip while visiting family in Tennessee. My 7 year old cousin was with us and he enjoyed the ducks, riding the street car, running around outside the pyramid sports stadium, wandering around down by the river, and dancing on Beale St to a live band that was playing on the street. We also visited the Civil Rights museum, which was very good. My cousin was kind of bored, but a good sport about it. We didn't make it out to Mud Island, although that looked like fun.

The Hampton Inn at Peabody Place is the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in within that chain of hotels. It has a small indoor pool and a great continental breakfast. Clean rooms and the friendliest staff I have ever met. I think it is in a great location across from peabody place which houses Jillians. The kids will enjoy that. The zoo was fun and I think they would love the Panda bears. I really enjoyed the civil rights museum. The Auto Zone ball park is great so try to catch a game there. Have a wonderful time.

Wow! You all are wonderful. Thanks so much for all the suggestions. I can now start planning our trip. Thanks again.