City: Memphis, TN

Category: Accommodations

Telephone: (901) 527-7300, (888) 557-8740

Address: 250 North Main Street

Description: The Memphis Marriott Downtown has become the city’s largest hotel, with 600 rooms, now that it has added a 13-story tower. Across Main Street from Memphis Cook Convention Center, this hotel is very popular with visitors attending events and conventions at the center as well as other business travelers. Marriott has spent some $50 million on the property during the last decade. The investment is driven by the recent $100-million-plus expansion of the convention center. The hotel has all the amenities you would expect from a full-service Marriott hotel, including room service; a spacious, well-equipped fitness center; an indoor pool; a whirlpool; and a sauna. The lobby is a lofty atrium with white marble floors, tall large windows looking out onto Main Street, and a number of sitting areas. An escalator goes up to the meeting rooms as well as to the covered crosswalk over to the convention center. The rooms, which seem bigger and fresher than most downtown rooms, are outfitted with cheerful furnishings. Three concierge floors feature slightly more expensive rooms with added amenities such as terry robes and bottled water as well as access to a lounge that serves a free continental breakfast in the mornings and honor bar and hors d’oeuvres in the early evenings. The hotel lobby restaurant, Magnolia Grille, serves a southern menu and daily breakfast buffet, whereas Trolley Stop Bar features appetizers and snacks plus a full bar. Valet parking is available for $18 (unlimited in and out); self-parking is $12 for each entry.