Location, Location, Location and service
For Christmas, my husband bought me tickets to see Little Big Town at the Ryman in Nashville. We had been to Nashville before and were excited to be headed there for another long weekend. When I looked for lodging, my first priority was to be near the Ryman which also puts you near Broadway, the heart of Nashville. The Hampton Inn is located on 4th Avenue South, just a few blocks from the Ryman. It was also just a few blocks in the other direction from the home of Nashville’s hockey team, who happened to be in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Prime real estate for this weekend for sure! Our base room charge was $379 but taxes and fees added another $60 to the cost. The final result was a Hampton Inn for $439 per night.
To be fair, it was a BIG weekend in Nashville. Who knew that would be the case way back in December. Also, the staff could not have been more accommodating. They had a commercial refrigerator with a glass door that was ALWAYS stocked with water, no limit. They had umbrellas to lend at the front desk and most importantly, in addition to the complimentary breakfast, they had afternoon hot dogs and big urns of tea, sweet and unsweet. Probably not $400 hot dogs or tea, but they certainly found two of our favorite things.
In addition to being near the important venues, the hotel was about a 20 minute walk to the Gulch District, an area between downtown and music row that is just FULL of restaurants, shops and music venues. We ate at John Besh’s Marsh House and were more than pleased with the selection of seafood and bourbon. You are in Tennessee. You need to have bourbon.
Johnny Cash Museum
We had time before the concert, so we went to the Johnny Cash Museum. Located on 3rd Ave S, it was also just a short walk from our hotel. General admission is $18.95 with a dollar discount for AAA members. Cindy Cash, Johnny Cash’s daughter says “Whatever anybody needs to know about my dad that they don’t already know, is in that museum.” There were exhibits about Johnny Cash’s career and family life, but I was really intrigued by his drawings. We spent about 2 hours there and enjoyed every minute.
Now for what brought us to Nashville in the first place. We went to the Ryman Auditorium to see Little Big Town. The acoustics are fantastic and the show far exceeded expectations. With so many country stars living in Nashville, they often make guest appearances at each other’s shows. We were thrilled to see Luke Bryan and Lee Ann Womack. All in all it was a Christmas present to remember. I love Christmas in May.