Notes from the Road: Nashville

Music City, in Moments

Nashville is known far and wide for being a country music-lover’s dream destination, a Southern U.S. cultural epicenter and the place to be if you’re searching for the holy grail of hot chicken sandwiches.

Lesser known, but in no less abundance, is the elegance, character and refinement you’ll find in its meeting venues, hotels and its streets. By the end of my three-day stay there, amid all its glitz, food and fun, I can assure you, I never wanted to leave.

Where to Meet and Stay

Right upon arriving at Nashville International Airport (BNA), you can take your attendees on a five-minute stroll over to Hilton BNA Nashville Airport. Not only are the 298 guest rooms modern and comfortable, but the rooftop restaurant and bar BNA Lounge are the very best places to watch the planes land and depart. Guest comfort is top of mind: From nowhere inside the hotel, excluding the rooftop, can you hear the noise of the airport. It’s not your average airport hotel; this space makes the airport into a destination, with aviation-infused design and meeting spaces, totaling 24,000 sq. ft. in all, named after famous aviators.

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In downtown Nashville is Hilton Embassy Suites. Directly up the main lobby’s escalator is 32,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, with five flexible ballrooms, a boardroom and registration built in—plus a plush mixed-use boardroom/think-tank with skyline views. Plus you’re a heartbeat away from the nexus of Nashville nightlife, Broadway Street (more on that later!).

For a perfectly unique, stylish stay, you’ll want to meet at Hotel Fraye, Curio Collection by Hilton, where every inch of space emulates the character of historic Nashville local legend and suffragette Lady Fraye. From grand art installations to hidden easter eggs, every detail emulates her story. It offers 200 guest rooms and 6,000 sq. ft. of meeting space.

Experiencing Music City

A visit to Nashville isn’t complete without a stroll down the Broadway music scene. Live music pours out of every venue, from rock to country. It’s an evening outing certain to gift your attendees with laugh-out-loud memories of dance parties that leave them bonded not only as professionals, but human beings. Dancing in the front row to a cover band’s rendition of “When We Were Young” by the Killers at Tootsies, one of the most famous venues on the street, is one memory I’ll cherish forever.

For more on the city’s role in music history, take your group to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Beginning on the second floor, I experienced an awe-filled walk through of its life-size timeline of country music, from its beginnings to the modern day, complete with installations of famous stage clothing, musical instruments and even Elvis’s cherished gold Cadillac. To see what these stars wore, what they loved; to read about how they innovated ideas and storytelling through music, was both deeply educational and truly inspiring.

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Of course, Music City holds so much more. The timeline theme continues on a stroll through Bicentennial Capital Mall State Park. There, you’ll find another display showcasing the city’s history. You can even see the site where the city of Nashville has buried a time capsule, to be opened in 2090. And just by walking through the city, you’ll come across vibrant, massive murals, showing that although Nashville is celebrated for its music scene, it holds art everywhere, in all forms.