Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is one of America's most beloved music gatherings, held each June on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee with over 80,000 camping attendees enjoying a four-day programme of rock, indie, electronic, hip-hop, and folk across multiple stages. Celebrated for its community spirit, art installations, and diverse lineup, Bonnaroo has been a cornerstone of the American festival scene since 2002. Nashville — just 60 miles away — serves as the primary hotel base for those who prefer off-site accommodation, and city hotels fill quickly during Bonnaroo weekend.
Nashville's finest hotel is also one of the great American art hotels — a 297-room tower with an extraordinary permanent collection of works by Kara Walker, Ellsworth Kelly, and Kehinde Wiley, anchored by the exceptional L.A. Jackson rooftop bar and Yolan fine dining restaurant. The design by Deborah Berke Partners sets a standard for Music City luxury.
The tallest building in Nashville (43 stories) anchors the Convention Center complex with panoramic views from its upper floors and three restaurant concepts including the acclaimed Etch restaurant by Deb Paquette. The location above the pedestrian bridge over Broadway makes it the most conveniently placed luxury hotel in the city.
Tennessee's only Forbes Five-Star hotel, opened in 1910, with a Beaux-Arts lobby of breathtaking grandeur — green marble columns, barrel-vaulted ceiling, and the original Art Deco mahogany check-in desk. The Capitol Grille restaurant and the Oak Bar are Nashville institutions, and the ladies' lounge (open to all) is one of the most celebrated Art Deco interiors in the South.
A genuinely fun boutique with a retro-Nashville personality — named for Bobby's Idle Hour Tavern, the rooftop bar with Airstream trailers as cocktail bars, mid-century-inspired rooms, and a lobby that feels like a design magazine shoot. Steps from Broadway's honky-tonks but manages to feel detached from the tourist frenzy.
The Louisville-based contemporary art museum hotel brand's Nashville outpost occupies a restored 1905 building with rotating contemporary art exhibitions accessible 24 hours a day, the excellent Gray & Dudley restaurant, and rooms that double as gallery spaces. The best hotel in Nashville for serious art lovers.
A 1930 Noel Hotel converted into a stylish boutique with Tennessee whiskey-barrel–staved headboards, local artist installations, and the destination Makeready cocktail programme in its lower-level bar. The rooftop Denim bar is casual and genuinely fun, with some of the best Broadway-adjacent views in the city.