Stay in Elvis's old room, by the Crossroads where Robert Johnson 'sold his soul', or above Morgan Freeman's blues club
Uptown Square/Lauderdale Courts
Lauderdale Courts has come a long way from its public housing days. The the former projects on the north end of downtown have been converted into an upscale apartment and condo complex called Uptown Square. Though most of the residences are private, tourists can book a night in the Elvis apartment, which is the apartment that the future King of rock'n'roll lived in while he was attending Humes High School. In keeping with its history, the two-bedroom apartment is decorated in authentic 1950s style, and you can spend the night in the room where Elvis slept as a teenager: it's got a guitar, comic books and a wall covered in lipstick kisses from visitors.
• 252 North Lauderdale Street, +1 901 523 8662, lauderdalecourts.com. Sleeps up to four, $250 a night
Pilgrim House Hostel
It's entirely possible to stay in a clean, safe, friendly place in the heart of Memphis for $15 a night. That is, if you don't mind sharing and cleaning up after yourself. The Pilgrim House, Memphis' only hostel, has private, semi-private and dorm-style rooms, a full kitchen, Wi-Fi access and a library. As the name suggests, it's located within a section of the First Congregational Church in the heart of Cooper-Young, a buzzing and creative Midtown neighbourhood packed with bars, shops and restaurants. They're partnered with a local bicycle co-op and you can rent the recycled rides for $15 a day if you want to explore the city by bike.
• 1000 S Cooper Street, +1 901 273 8341, pilgrimhouse.org. Shared bunk rooms from $20 per person, private rooms $30 for one person and $20 for additional guests
The Madison
The Madison is a chic, urban, boutique hotel – the sort of place where everyone from hipsters and tourists to rock stars and heads of state can feel equally at home. The building is historic, but the rooms are modern, sleek and sexy. While you're there, head up to the roof for a cocktail and take in the sweeping river view at the new Twilight Sky Terrace lounge or have dinner at Eighty3, an attached restaurant with an extensive menu of small plates meant for sharing.
• 79 Madison Avenue, +1 901 333 1200, madisonhotelmemphis.com. Doubles from $169
Talbot Heirs Guesthouse
The Talbot Heirs is located through a nondescript door sandwiched between a restaurant and a convenience store on Second Street. Inside, all of the rooms are less like hotel rooms and more like eclectic studio apartments, each decorated differently with work by regional artists. Each room also has a full kitchen, and if you call ahead, the hotel staff will go grocery shopping for you so that there's food waiting upon your arrival. Rates are incredibly reasonable for what you get, usually running less than $200 per night.
• 99 S 2nd Street, +1 901 527 9772, talbotheirs.com. Rooms from $130, weekly and monthly rates also available
Peabody Hotel
The Peabody, which aptly bills itself as the "South's grand hotel" is a massive, historic boutique hotel in the centre of downtown Memphis. The rooms are well-appointed, the roof top views are incredible, and the lobby bar is beloved by locals and tourists alike. The amenities are impressive: there's a full service salon and spa, an indoor pool, gym, a small museum, and there's plenty of shopping to be had at the half dozen boutiques in the lobby. All of the hotel's grandeur doesn't mean it skimps on quirky southern charm, though: every morning, a gaggle of live ducks marches from the "Duck Palace" on the roof to the lobby, where they spend the day splashing about in the marble fountain.
• 149 Union Avenue, +1 901 529 4000, peabodymemphis.com. Doubles from $249
Cedar Hall
Located just a few minutes east of Memphis, Cedar Hall is the perfect setting for a romantic getaway – so romantic that the building's day job is a wedding reception venue. But the pre-Civil War mansion is so elegant someone has seen its potential and it is currently being converted into a B&B (don't let the flouncy bridal pictures on the website put you off, they haven't updated it yet). Inside, you'll find perfectly preserved Antebellum architecture, a dramatic sweeping staircase and six guest bedrooms. Outside, the main house is surrounded by 10 acres of lush grounds, fountains and English gardens.
• 3712 Broadway Road, cedarhall.com. Call +1 901 377 4099 or email dusthoff@comcast.net to book. Doubles from $250
Shack Up Inn, Clarksdale
The Shack Up, housed on a former cotton plantation, is in the backwoods and proud of it: "the Ritz we ain't", boasts the website. The inn is just down the street from the famous Crossroads where Highways 61 and 49 meet in Clarksdale, where Robert Johnson reputedly sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his extraordinary ability to play blues guitar. Stay the night in a converted sharecropper shack, seed house or outer building, then spend the day exploring the plantation's grounds, which are dotted with vintage cars, picnic tables and the unique lawn art of the Mid-South. Though the rooms are located in shacks, comfort isn't an issue, as each room has indoor plumbing, heating and air conditioning, as well as a coffee-maker, refrigerator and microwave.
• 1 Commissary Circle, Clarksdale, +1 662 624-8329, shackupinn.com. Shacks from $70 a night, two-night minimum weekends
Delta Cotton Company Apartments, Clarksdale
There's no reason to drive back to a hotel in Memphis after dancing all night at the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, co-owned by actor and Delta resident Morgan Freeman. Instead, book a stay in one of the Delta Cotton Company Apartments, above the club in an converted cotton warehouse. Each apartment is completely furnished and has a full kitchen and laundry access, as well as free Wi-Fi. The party doesn't stop when you head upstairs for the night – you can still hear the sounds of the south's greatest blues musicians drifting up from the club below.
• 252 Delta Avenue, Clarksdale, +1 662 645-9366, groundzerobluesclub.com. Doubles from $125, rooms for four from $150
River Inn of Harbor Town
The River Inn is an intimate boutique hotel located in Harbor Town, a cute, self-contained neighbourhood on Mud Island, just across a bridge from downtown Memphis. Each room in the 28-room hotel is decorated differently, but they're all equally charming, blending European style and classic Southern hospitality. Hotel amenities include free Wi-Fi, a glass of wine or champagne at check-in, a complimentary gourmet breakfast and port wine and chocolate truffles at turndown. The River Inn's location just across the park from the Mississippi river means that many of the rooms, as well as the rooftop bar, have unobstructed views of the water.
• 50 Harbor Town Square, +1 901 260 3333, riverinnmemphis.com. Doubles from $245
James Lee House (opening soon)
The James Lee House is a brand new bed and breakfast opening in Memphis's Victorian Village, a neighbourhood full of well-preserved Victorian homes once owned by some of the city's wealthiest citizens. The 160-year-old house is full of history: it was once a majestic single-family mansion owned by bankers and steamboat magnates before serving as the original Memphis College of Art. The five-suite hotel is being carefully restored back to its late 19th-century glory. Also heck out the Mollie Fontaine Lounge, the (possibly-haunted) cocktail bar across the street.
• 690 Adams Avenue, +1 901 359 6750, jamesleehouse.com. Suites from $170
Prices do not include local and state taxes
Kerry Crawford is the founder of hyperlocal blog I Love Memphis. You can follow her on Twitter @ilovememphis
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