Welcome to Memphis!
I was aware of how hot it was going to be in Memphis and had prepared myself accordingly when I visited the first time. I had visited a few years previously with two girlfriends and when we stepped out of our car, I was shocked at the thick, hot, damp weather that greeted us. But we soon adjusted to the weather and settled in to enjoy ourselves in this lovely city, so my husband and I did the same thing on this trip. I had no idea that Memphis was so large and scenic and had plenty of things to do and to see.
I had contacted the local tourism people at the Memphis office and they were wonderfully helpful and shared all kind of ideas about places to stay and things to do in town. It was a pretty popular time to visit the city though so I also contacted the last place I had stayed, right on the river at the quite lovely River Inn of Harbor Town and was absolutely thrilled when they welcomed us back and offered a room for a couple of nights, along with their fabulous hot breakfast, ordered every morning from a menu in Paulette’s, one of the three restaurants on the property.
We drove through town and headed right out to the hotel which is directly across the street from the lovely Mississippi River. I had forgotten how quite lovely this hotel was with incredible views of the river and the surrounding area, including the Greenbelt Park across the street.
Entrance to the Charming Hotel
We found a parking space on the side street right beside the entrance and went inside to get checked in. We asked the friendly people at the front desk about parking and were informed there was plenty of free parking, just find it for ourselves. How great is that?
Plenty of on the street parking!
We parked and loaded up a cart with our luggage and sundries, then they helped us get ourselves and our stuff onto the elevator. There are only 28 rooms and suites in the hotel so it’s wonderful and cozy, not too huge and overwhelming. The last time I stayed here, I was on a girlfriends getaway with my sister and sister-in-law and we had a perfectly lovely hotel room. So that’s pretty much what I expected as our wonderful and friendly helper from the front desk unlocked our door and ushered us into our room.
But no.
No. This was not a regular, small hotel room. We stepped in to a wonderful, spread out suite with a separate bedroom, living room, and a middle foyer which led into a huge bathrooms with a wonderful tub and a separate shower. I used the hot bath several times during out stay and it was quite fabulous.
After checking out our room, we headed out to check out the area and walked around the hotel grounds, then crossed the street to the nearby park.
Beautiful hotel grounds.
Entrance drive to the hotel
It was a gorgeous, warm day and just perfect for strolling around the Greenbelt Park.
Map of the park area
The park is located right on the river which was full and had taken over part of the park because of the recent rain.
The full, flooded river
We walked along beside the river, enjoying the view of the park and the surrounding area, then crossed the street back to the hotel to relax for a little while before dinner. We talked about going out to dinner but ended up eating at the hotel during our entire stay as it was so easy and the food was marvelous.
Hotel lobby
We relaxed in our suite for a little while, then headed out to dinner. There are three restaurants in the hotel – Paulettes, Terrace at the River Inn on the rooftop right near our room, and Tug’s a Casual Grill. We didn’t actually eat anywhere else in Memphis, since it was so nice and convenient to just head to one of the restaurants every night and the food was wonderful. The first night we stepped out of our suite and walked across the hall to have a light dinner at Terrace at the River Inn and what a great decision!
View from the restaurant
From our table, we could easily see the river across the street and watch activities happening on the grounds of the hotel so it was a perfect setting. And the food made it extra delicious! We visited the other two restaurants for meals – breakfasts were included in the price of the hotel at Paulette’s and the food was equally good. I especially loved their freshly made pancakes for breakfast but everything we ordered and ate was delicious.
We were anxious to see more of Memphis, but ended up just relaxing in our fabulous suite and made plans to visit them the next day. We were just too comfy in our fabulous suite! The hotel offers a wonderful turn down service with wine and chocolates, so we found ourselves waiting for them every night.
Tomorrow we would begin to see the city. Graceland would be our first stop, then a tour of the city. We couldn’t wait to see more of Memphis!