The Hermitage Hotel

Character and identity

A 1910 beaux-arts landmark across from the Tennessee State Capitol, The Hermitage is Nashville's grande dame, freshly emerged from a 2020-2022 floor-to-ceiling renovation. The restored stained-glass lobby ceiling is the property's signature flourish, best admired from the new lobby bar or over weekend afternoon tea. 122 rooms average a generous 500 square feet, pairing period crown molding and marble baths with in-mirror televisions and clean contemporary lines. Downstairs, Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Southern debut Drusie & Darr and the all-day Pink Hermit café anchor the dining. Service is attentive and well drilled, recently softened in tone (and uniform, courtesy of Draper James) without losing its old-school polish.

Who's it for

Bottom line

What makes this hotel is the combination of genuinely landmark architecture, unusually large rooms for downtown Nashville, and two of the city's hottest restaurants under one roof. Book a standard king for the space-to-rate value, push to a suite if you want to entertain, and time a stay around a Friday-to-Sunday window to catch afternoon tea under the stained glass.