A stay-cation night at The Guest House at Graceland – Review as featured on The New Tri-State Defender
With summertime coming up, many of us tend to start thinking about vacationing, stay-cationing and housing guests. Recently, I toured and stayed the night at one of Memphis’ newest destination points – The Guest House at Graceland. It was magnificent.
My family and I had been there before for dinner at Delta’s Kitchen, which I prefer over the more casual fare at EP’s. It’s great for game watching. There are 11 screens!
The stay was pleasant and the staff was delightful, especially Ms. Delores at the concierge desk. I was very well taken care of and not because they knew about the article.
We carry on a lot about terrible customer service in this city, but The Guest House has no such problem. The space itself is very cool with – natch – some subtle and not so subtle Elvis influence throughout. The white staircase and royal blue drapes just past EP’s mirror one of the rooms in the mansion; the accent chairs in the lobby are reflective of the collar on Elvis’ cape; and the pattern on the ceiling and carpet in the lobby were inspired by the design on the back of his famous white cape.
The devil is in the details and I’m a gal who appreciates fine points, nuance and cool design elements. So, basically that’s boutique hotels over chains.
That pool!
(Photo: Joy Doss)
The pool area was magnificent, great for the kids or just for some adult time. You can play shuffleboard and other games. You can chill by the fire pit and take advantage of the lap pool. This pool is way nicer than the ones at some of the country clubs in town. Hands down. And you don’t have to invest in a membership that’s more than your car note!
The rooms – So comfortable
When I tell you I slept GOODT (with an extra “t”), I mean I slept very well. I needed that brief respite too, just a mini time out. I told next to no one about this stay. No uninvited guests and pop ups! Nope!
But back to the room and its amenities; bless them for the dual showerhead. I had the most wonderful Calgon shower. Absolutely shower #goals. I had a lovely view of the pool area and the wooded area at the back of the property. They don’t have all of your favorite cable channels but what I can appreciate more is that you can log in to your Netflix, Hulu AND Pandora accounts from the TV. Welcome to 2017 ladies and gentlemen!
There are lots and lots of ways to entertain yourself, whether its nightly entertainment in the lounge/lobby bar or doing karaoke at EP’s. I missed the karaoke but that may be a good thing! Cause sometimes y’all do the most with the least – and at high decibel levels!
Oh, and there is a movie theater. I was thinking a screening room but, no, a full theatre. Probably about the size of one of the larger theater rooms at the Paradiso. It was huge; lots of potential there. You can also host business meetings, ballroom events an even weddings in the green space outside near the pool.
The Graceland/Guest House team has done a fine job in bringing this vision to fruition. It makes my heart happy that Memphis has another high-caliber hotel option. We desperately needed it as a city and Whitehaven needed the shot in the arm. Hopefully this will boost revenue in the immediate area and encourage other developers and small business owners to build around it.
My takeaway: it’s the perfect place to treat yourself to a stay-cation or a reboot or to house relatives. At the least, the ones you like. Rooms ring in on average just under $200 per night, which I find to be reasonable for a higher-end boutique hotel and a bit less than comparable hotels downtown. But it’s not reasonable for relatives you don’t like. No shade!
It was only one night but I felt welcome, rested and productive. I plan to visit again this summer, before Elvis activities in August, with babygirl in tow. I highly recommend!
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Reposted from TSDmemphis.com
Written by: Joy Doss
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