The Hermitage Hotel

The Hermitage Hotel

Downtown Nashville has repeated the phrase 'Meet me at The Hermitage' for more than a century, and the Beaux Arts lobby beneath its lit fireplace still works as the city's actual meeting point, a few blocks from the State Capitol and Legislative Plaza. The hotel keeps 122 rooms across nine floors, each fitted with a DUX bed, Molton Brown bath amenities and a marble bathroom, the kind of detail that separates a renovated grand hotel from one merely old. What no comparable Nashville address has is Jean-Georges Vongerichten running the kitchen: Drusie & Darr serves his American menu for lunch, dinner and brunch, while The Pink Hermit handles morning coffee and evening small plates in the same building. A spa, massage rooms and a 24-hour fitness center cover the practical side, and the hotel takes dogs without weight limits, a real difference for anyone who travels with one. The Grand Ballroom, at 2,448 square feet and built for 250 people, means this reads better for a conference delegate or a wedding party than for someone chasing anonymity, since the concierge desk and 24-hour reception tend to know regulars by name. Room views vary by category, so ask before booking if the Capitol skyline matters to you. Check-in runs from 4pm, check-out at 11am, and a $150 nightly deposit applies on arrival, with extra beds priced at $75 a night. It is a hotel built for people who want a downtown address with history attached to it, not a retreat from downtown itself. The Hermitage Hotel is downtown Nashville's century-old meeting point, with 122 rooms, DUX beds and Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Drusie & Darr in the same building. It suits conference guests, wedding parties and travelers with dogs; anyone wanting anonymity should look elsewhere.