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Where to Stay in Memphis - Peabody Hotel
It is said that the Mississippi Delta begins in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel and ends on Catfish Row in Vicksburg and that if you stand near its fountain in the middle of the lobby, ultimately, you will see everybody who is anybody in the Delta. It plays a big role in the social life of the city – so push the boat out a bit and stay here – even if just for a night – if you can.
If you want an alternative, more wallet friendly option, you could opt for the Hilton Double Tree opposite – same great city centre location and still very comfortable, but less than half the price of the Peabody. You can still see the ducks march, use the hotel lobby, bars and restaurants after all – even if you are not a resident. You can visit the penthouse suite that houses the duck’s palace too. If you can’t get to the Peabody Hotel yourself – then have a look at the ducks marching below!
Foodie Firsts
Do try the Peabody’s Hotel’s signature cocktail – the Jack Daniel’s Peach Sour.
They use “Peabody Select” Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel to make it.
Those Peabody ducks get everywhere?!
Although it is a very grand hotel with a fantastic lobby and lots of history (The cheque that RCA wrote to buy Elvis Presley from Sun Studios was written on Peabody Hotel notepaper), there is a lot to irritate you about the Peabody:
- A VERY long walk from self-parking to the lobby with poor signage – not a very warm welcome.
- An additional $24 a night charge for self-parking – even more for valet parking.
- Overly aggressive attempts at upsetting: We were offered a $50 a night upgrade for a room with 2 king sized beds (no thanks – 1 is fine!). The concierge was also very keen to push the hotel’s own restaurant and grill and gave us no other recommendations. We decided to give it a miss because of that – they were very expensive anyway and there are lots of other options around here.
- No tea/coffee in the rooms – if you make a special request, they will (eventually) bring you a machine and a bag of supplies for it, but they don’t wash it out or refresh supplies during your stay.
- The corner bar had little atmosphere.
- There is merchandise everywhere – it feels like you are always being sold something. There is even a rubber duck on offer in the bedrooms with a $9.95 price tag. Given the price of the room here, it would have been a much nicer touch if they had just left you a free one on your bath tub as a bit of fun..
- There is a deli and desserts area which offers a continental tip breakfast and complimentary coffee between 6am and 10am. There was an array of tempting desserts on display, but by the time we had got back from dinner at 9pm, the place was all shut up(?).
