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Sometimes, you have to get away from the everyday grind, as it can weigh you down. I know it can be for me every now and then. When those moments come up, it’s best to plan a trip and Head somewhere easy for a relaxing trip.
You can choose to mix it up even more and go somewhere far away enough to feel like you’re nowhere near your home base, which is what we did when we booked a stay at the Hyatt Centric Beal Street Memphis Hotel down Tennessee way.
Traveling to the Hyatt Centric Beal Street Memphis is simple— I flew from New York’s LaGuardia to Memphis International Airport. That was a quick flight, but still enough to relax and watch a movie on my iPad. My pick going there was The Tarnished Angels on The Criterion Channel, and coming back was Party Girl.
Soon enough, I was in Tennessee and on my way to the destination.
The Hyatt Centric Beal Street Memphis is just a 15-minute car ride away from the airport and it was enough to hop into a Lyft. Enough time to take in the sights of the area, which is steeped in history you can feel. I felt like I had stepped back in time, looking out on sites that look like they haven’t been touched in decades. Then I arrived at the Hyatt and was struck by the gorgeous modernity of the establishment.
The Hyatt Centric Beal Street Memphis is a striking building and has a special place in Memphis history. This is the first hotel on the legendary Beale Street, and it’s massive, with 227 rooms along with plenty of other amenities.
Once I checked in and got my key from the front desk, I went to my room, which was unbelievable. It was like an apartment with a living room, a dining area, a big bathroom, and a sizable bedroom with an unbelievably comfortable bed. If I wasn’t right in the heart of Beale Street, I might have stayed in the room the whole time.
You don’t need to stray far for a good time, either. There is a 24-hour fitness center in the building, along with a pool on the first floor. In fact, this is the only resort with a full pool in downtown Memphis.
You even have options for food in the hotel as well. In-room dining, as well as the Beck & Call Rooftop Lounge, where you can enjoy some bites and drinks while looking out on the gorgeous scenery of downtown Memphis. There’s the CIMAS Lounge Bar for drinks and CIMAS proper to grab some delicious cuisine. For quick bites, you can even hit up the 24-Hour Lobby Market for treats and coffee.
It was great to participate in the amenities available at the Hyatt Centric Beal Street Memphis, but I was in Memphis and would not let that opportunity pass to check out the city.
Speaking of food, that scene in Memphis is out of control. I went to a fantastic BBQ spot called Rendezvous, which is just a few minutes walk from the hotel. It felt very Memphis, however, I also ate at B.B. Kings Blues Club, which has some fantastic food with live blues music. And I also ate at Ibis, a classy restaurant that opened only a few months ago, and it’s sure to become a staple.
Dinner wasn’t the only time I ate down there. I went to such amazing spots as Sunrise Memphis and The Arcade, two homey establishments delivering a knockout dining experience. For lunch, I walked a few blocks from the hotel to Court Square Park to participate in Food Truck Thursday, with a good selection of local eating in a gorgeous park. Food and sunshine: nothing better than that.
Since this was the town where Elvis got his start, it only made sense to visit Sun Studio— the spot where Elvis exploded onto the scene as a young man. Talk about history: that building has such an energy that evoked the historic nature of the legends who had been in the same space.
As a big whiskey fan, it was fun getting to tour the local distillery, Old Dominick Distillery. Getting to see what the process is that makes our favorite liquor was quite the experience. Even better was sitting at the bar and drinking some of the homegrown booze that was super smooth.
Since Memphis is such an old city with a lot of history, it was only logical for me to find a local ghost tour and walk around Downtown Memphis to get a sense of the local history. As a big history buff, it was a treat to see some local buildings with a lot of history and hear some yarns about the past that haunts the walls.
If you are inclined, you can take a walk (or a quick car ride) to the Big River Crossing, which is a bridge that connects Tennessee to Arkansas. You can look out over the water while crossing another state off of your bucket list.
That sounds like a pretty busy trip, doesn’t it? Well, it was. That’s because there’s so much to do down in Memphis. I barely even scratched the surface: so much food left uneaten, so much history left unearthed.
Beale Street itself can keep your nights busy for an entire trip. As a wrestling fan, it was a trip to grab a drink at King Jerry Lawler’s Hall of Fame Bar & Grille.
Even still, I left a lot of fun on the table, so I will need to plan another trip there the next time I can. So much fun was had, and at the center of it all for me was Hyatt Centric Beale Street Memphis. If you’re looking to get away and enjoy some good food in a fun environment, Memphis is the place to go. And you can’t do much better than staying in the luxurious rooms Hyatt Centric Beal Street Memphis provides.
Book a trip to the Hyatt Centric Beal Street Memphis today!
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