Noelle
A 1930s Art Deco office building on Printers Alley, restored down to the original Tennessee marble and terrazzo, then filled with Makeready's design instincts and bar program. Five distinct bars and restaurants mean you could stay a weekend and not leave the building — though Rare Bird's rooftop view is worth stepping outside for.
Noelle occupies Noel Place, an Art Deco landmark from the 1930s, and the renovation kept what made the building worth saving — soaring arched windows, original Tennessee marble, terrazzo floors — while building a thoroughly modern hotel around it. Makeready, the Nashville hospitality group behind some of the city's best-regarded bars, handled the interiors and the drink program, and it shows: this is a hotel where the design and the cocktails get equal billing with the rooms.
The building holds five separate bars and restaurants, each with its own identity. Lona serves modern Mexican from chefs Richard Sandoval and Pablo Salas; Rare Bird is the rooftop, with craft cocktails and a clear view over downtown; Hidden Bar is a speakeasy tucked below Printers Alley itself; Trade Room is the lobby bar, pouring Tennessee whiskey flights alongside small plates; and Drug Store Coffee is a street-level café serving Sump Coffee next to a vinyl collection. The on-site KEEP shop stocks goods from local makers, another sign this hotel is trying to be a Nashville experience and not just a place to sleep near one.
Rooms range from Classic and Superior Kings up through suites — including a Ryman Vinyl Suite and a Penthouse — and the location is hard to beat for a first-time visitor who wants everything in walking distance: one block off Broadway, close to the Ryman Auditorium and Bridgestone Arena. It suits design-minded travelers and couples who want a downtown base with genuine nightlife built in, more than families or anyone hoping to avoid Broadway's crowds entirely.
Highlights
- —Rare Bird rooftop bar overlooks downtown and is one of the better hotel-rooftop drink programs in the city
- —Hidden Bar is a speakeasy tucked below historic Printers Alley
- —Lona serves modern Mexican from chefs Richard Sandoval and Pablo Salas
- —KEEP, the lobby shop, sells goods from local Nashville makers
- —One block from Broadway; short walk to the Ryman and Bridgestone Arena
Insider tip
Rare Bird gets loud and crowded once Broadway's bars start closing out around 11pm on weekends — go up earlier in the evening for a table, or duck into Hidden Bar downstairs if you want a quieter conversation.