nashville
 

I am planning atrip to Nasville in Aug. Any suggestions on best location/hotel to stay. Would like one that has a shuttle to major attractions

I am guessing for the shuttle situation, you would be best with something near Opry Mills/Gaylord complex area. Maybe Music City Sheraton? I think Opryland Hotel is beautiful but overpriced. Depending on the attractions you want to see, you may want to stay closer to downtown. Price, of course, makes a difference, too. I like the Hotel Preston, it's pretty convenient and they have some cute little perks. Don't know about any shuttle, though, but it's close to both the airport and the Opryland area, so a taxi shouldn't cost much. I hope you enjoy Nashville, it's a great city! Eat at Tin Angel!

The Loews hotel near Vandy is lovely. We used taxis to get around Nashville, without much problem. There are many nice restaurants within walking distance if that is a consideration.

Also stayed at the Hermitage downtown if you want to be more central. It is also very nice.

I stayed at the Hilton Suites downtown and it was very nice, was very reasonable...and we could walk to a lot of places, or a quick cab ride.

If you like a good steak, make sure you eat at the Stockyard...and it has it's own free shuttle service to/from the area hotels.

I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express downtown. Just a few blocks away from the main tourist area with all the bars and night scene. Nice and not too expensive.

Hey dchoate,

If funds are no issue, I'd suggest the Hermitage Hotel downtown. Great central locaction,wonderful restaurant the Capital Grill, the Oakroom cocktail lounge and you can walk to all the downtown attractions, Tootsie's,Ryman Auditorium, Country Music Hall of Fame, etc. I would further suggest you book a tour with Nash Trash Tours. This is not your typical boring tour. It shows you the seedier side of country music with 2 girls whom you will not soon forget.

What are the "major attractions" you want to see? If your itinerary involves honky-tonks, the Ryman, the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Frist and the Schermerhorn, I would stay downtown. For those, you're fine if you stay downtown without a car, and really even without a hotel shuttle (in my opinion). All those are within a short cab ride or walk of one another, and there are several hotels downtown, as others have mentioned.

However, if you want to see things like Belle Meade Mansion, Cheekwood, the Parthenon, Hillsboro Village, and other things not in the immediate downtown area, I would think about renting a car or at least taking a tour. Nashville has a lot to see outside downtown.

I hope you are only staying in Nashville a few days, its not a very good place to stay longer, we travelled from England and were so disappointed, it was dirty, seedy and too many pandhandlers, the best place was the centenary park with the bells that play a tune every hour, also a great timeline wall the whole length of the park. Bel meade mansion a definite visit. Opryland hotel is just a big greenhouse, horrid! We enjoyed Memphis more.

coldplay - Wow! Do you have an opinion on Nashville? ha ha

Grew up around Nashville and still love the area. Not sure what parts you saw, but I think you got the rip-off 10 cent tour. Hope to move back to Nashville area someday.

And Opryland Hotel - "just a big greenhouse"? could be the understatement of the year in my opinion. There are a lot of things to see and do that are great - and some really good shopping, too.

sorry Lakeside77 I think we just had a bad experience all round that trip, Tornado's torrential rain so Nashville got the brunt of our bad mood. I had heard so much about Nashville, and me being such a country fan I just expected more if you know what I mean. Glad you think the same about the Opryland Hotel though.

coldplay - I'd be curious to know what all you saw on your trip, besides what you already mentioned. Downtown is not my favorite part of town. Although it's where most of the tourists go and think they've seen Nashville (and there are some major attractions there), there really is much more to the city. Being a music fan, did you make it to the Bluebird, or see anything you enjoyed besides Belle Meade? I don't think it's any "seedier" than most other cities, certainly not more so than Memphis, so it's interesting to me that you preferred Memphis.

Guess I phrased that wrong. To call Opryland Hotel an oversized greenhouse is misleading in my opinion. It's so much more than that - and very enjoyable to see. I lived there for about 15 years and always enjoyed multiple visits to the hotel for an enjoyable stroll.

I think we should have done more research into the place as it seems there may be more to Nashvile than what we saw. We did go to the Bluebird and enjoyed it very much, we were hoping for more places like that. Sorry I upset anyone who lives in Nashville. Memphis seemed to have more upmarket bars and restuarants.