Nashville and Dolly Parton are the two things I adore most in life, virtually to the exclusion of everything else.
I actually moved to Nashville for college to study music since I am a huge fan of country music, and when I was there, I worked part-time as a backstage tour guide at the Grand Ole Opry.
During such visits, I would show visitors the dressing rooms, paying particular attention to room #19, which was dubbed "Wagonmaster" in honour of country music icon and Grand Ole Opry member Porter Wagoner.
There, I would share the tale of how Dolly composed one of the most well-known songs in history, "I Will Always Love You," as a farewell song to Wagoner before starting her solo career.
As much as I adore Dolly and country music, I also adore hotels, which is why my "9 to 5" job .
But as luck would have it, Music City has a place where all of my passions and life experiences can come together in glitzy, kitschy country style: the Graduate Nashville, a Midtown hotel where every room is decorated with Dolly Parton-themed art, a tapestry of Minnie Pearl welcomes you in the lobby, and one of the city's most Instagram-famous bars occupies the roof.
I recently had an extra night to kill in Nashville due to a midday flight cancellation, so I opted to "dry my worthless tears and pull myself together" before checking into the Graduate for an unexpected, but long-awaited, chance to stay in a hotel I'd consider a "diamond in a rhinestone world."
Vibe
There are subtle allusions to Vanderbilt University across the street (I attended Belmont), as well as regional culture and history, in this property from the rapidly expanding Graduate Hotels network.
Dolly and country music are the main attractions at this particular hotel, which also features bursts of pink, velvet, and many other eclectic textures and patterns on different parts of the building.
The wide-ranging color scheme makes it one of the most Instagrammable hotels I've ever been to, despite the whimsical but not obnoxious decor.
Although I saw a variety of visitors staying there, including families on vacation and a group of girls celebrating a 50th birthday, the hotel and its rooftop bar, White Limozeen, are "must-stops" for any bachelorette party in town, so you should avoid staying there if you're trying to avoid that.
Beyond that, I thought this hotel was just adorable.
From the time you enter, it delivers a stay that seems genuinely genuine and local.
The check-in area in the lobby was created to resemble an old stereo cabinet.
A genuinely enormous hooked rug by artist Margaret Timbrell, portraying Minnie Pearl (more on her later), hangs on the wall behind the reception counter.
A vintage poster and Dolly's birth date serve as her "student ID" number, and even the keys are decorated in her honour.
Simply go to the stadium-style couch area in the lobby, where I saw many people unwinding or using their laptops, if you wish to hang out there.
Taco Bell and Checkers are pictured above it in pop art created in the style of Andy Warhol and placed close to Vanderbilt University.
The hotel has little nuggets of pop culture or history tucked inside in every nook, as well as useful furnishings like desks and carefully chosen music and art books that gave the rooms a unique personality.
How to get there
The action of Downtown and Lower Broadway can be reached in five to ten minutes by vehicle, quick trip on a Bird or Lime scooter from The Graduate Nashville, which is situated in the city's Midtown neighborhood close to Vanderbilt University.
Depending on traffic, the distance by automobile from Nashville International Airport (BNA) should take 15 to 25 minutes.
You should expect to pay $20 to $30 for an Uber or Lyft in either direction.
Booking information
Sadly, Graduate Hotels doesn't offer a loyalty programme where members may accumulate or use points.
I spent $280.72 for a Graduate King room during my visit, which took place on the final night of the CMA Music Fest (one of the busiest and most costly weekends in town).
Since I was there on a specific date and had seen rooms at this hotel go to over $600 per night (or more) on many earlier occasions, I thought this rate was fantastic.
Parking is $45 per night + tax if you drive.
Unique characteristics
• The interior styling is genuinely so whimsical and stylish while yet being rustic and quirky.
• Dolly and other country music luminaries are constantly being honoured.
• The rooftop bar, White Limozeen, is a fantastic, Instagram-worthy bar with a pool open to non-guests.
• My accommodation was properly put out and quite comfortable, despite being lively and flamboyant, especially the amazing, warm shower.
Drawbacks
• Although the hotel is conveniently situated in Nashville, it is not necessarily close to any of the city's top sights, such as the Lower Broadway's clubs and honky tonks.
• Even though I got a terrific deal on a Sunday night, prices on Friday and Saturday nights might vary greatly based on what's going on in the city.
• Everywhere you turn, bachelorette parties and throngs of would-be social media influencers are waiting.
• The bartenders at White Limozeen provided sluggish service.
The room
One of the main reasons I'd wanted to stay at the Graduate Nashville was the images of the incredibly adorable rooms I'd seen circulating online and on social media.
If the rooms were as adorable as they appeared in the high-quality, professional photographs, or if they truly erred toward the tacky, as in Dolly's famous remark, "It takes a lot of money to look this cheap," I was curious.
For my part, I didn't think my Graduate King room appeared overpriced or cheesy.
The Grand Ole Opry, vintage country music, and Dolly all received the ideal homage from it.
The room's focal point was a dark wood four-poster bed with a Thulian pink headboard and a canopy with two patterns: pink stripes on the inside and a soft-yet-bright floral print on the outside.
A painted image of Dolly from the 1970s, complete with her flowing blonde hair and contagious smile, hung in the center.
Safe to say, an actual angel was sleeping on top of me.
The bed was surrounded by two nightstands, each of which had a lamp in the chinoiserie style with inbuilt ports for charging your electronics.
A giant, Federal-style golden mirror on one wall with electric and acoustic guitars being held in an eagle's beak brought some delightfully overdone glitz to the otherwise somber palette of the area. The light pink and white stripes on the walls added texture to the room.
A velvet wing chair with matching curtains was placed close to the window on the opposite side of the room from the rest of the furniture.
As you can see, The Graduate covered every square inch of carpeting with a pattern that resembles a hand-sewn quilt, and it all came together perfectly.
A rotary phone, a charming squirrel paperweight, an electric kettle with a selection of teas and coffees, and a cute tiny lamp with an illustrated cowboy design on it were all on the desk across from the bed. It made me think of my youth growing up in West Texas.
The area was filled with framed mementos, including a picture of iconic Grand Ole Opry performer Minnie Pearl (real name Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon), who was known for bellowing "Howdyyyyyyy" and donning hats with price tags still attached.
In the entryway, a small closet held extra towels and toilet paper, an iron and an ironing board.
The bathroom was dark and moody, with a small sink, a gold mirror, a white tiled shower with excellent water pressure, as well as Malin+Goetz bath products, in complete contrast to the pinks and patterns of the room.
It was the ideal shower to wipe away the muck from a sticky June day in Nashville.
Food and beverage
I didn't get to sample all the food and beverage options at the Graduate because my visit wasn't scheduled, but I did get to make it up to the well-known rooftop bar White Limozeen, which was named after Dolly's 29th studio album, which was published in 1989.
The interior of the bar is filled with enormous green plants, pink velvet couches, and lounge chairs where patrons may relax while listening to the snap, snap, snap of 100 million images being snapped by other guests.
I visited the bar when it was busy but not packed, but I'd suggest making a reservation in advance just to be safe.
The Queen of the Rodeo, a "gussied-up cosmo," and the Just in Time, a Tito's espresso martini, both cost $15 and are available on the menu.
A complete meal menu is also available, with prices ranging from $4 for oysters to $13 for smoked fish fritters with brown butter almondine dip, as well as larger dishes like the White Limo pappardelle and even a $36 New York strip steak.
My girlfriend and I ultimately decided against eating at White Limozeen in favor of one final authentic BBQ dinner.
However, we didn't forgo alcohol.
We had a mediocre rose and a margarita that took more than 20 minutes to arrive from the bar in order to combat the heat — and boy, was it hot.
We snagged a couch outside since, despite the heat, we wanted to take in the city views. A really considerate server saw how long my partner had been attempting to order his margarita and was able to speed up his order.
Additionally, he provided us with a complimentary round of the most stunning Jell-O shots I've ever seen.
The most intriguing work of art in the entire hotel may be discovered on the roof, where a pink bust of Dolly made of chicken wire by artist Ricky Pittman can be located.
The Governor's Pool, another pool in White Limozeen, is accessible to non-hotel guests.
No matter if you're staying at the hotel or not, a three-hour time slot costs $50 per person on Monday through Thursday and $75 per person on Friday through Sunday.
Reservations are necessary and I advise making them well in advance because the pool is small and can only accommodate a maximum of 20 people.
Poindexter Coffee is located downstairs in the foyer and is open from 6:30 am to 6 pm.
Pastries, coffee, $15 to-go cocktails, made-to-order cuisine including sandwiches and biscuits, and a few grab-and-go selections are also offered there.
Cross-eyed Critters Watering Hole is a tavern that is open from Thursday through Saturday on the site.
We missed it because it was Sunday night while we were there, which makes me extremely sad because the location is characterized as a divey karaoke club with a "trio of robotic musicians" and an outdoor taco truck.
Accessibility
According to the ADA, Graduate Nashville is an accessible hotel.
Wide hallways, wheelchair-accessible registration areas, accessible entryways, and parking spaces are a few examples of accessibility features seen in public areas. There are also accessible elevators with braille directions.
The hotel offers a variety of accessible rooms and suites with amenities including grab bars for the toilet, shower or bath benches, low door peepholes, accessible bathroom vanities, adapted telephones upon request, and more.
Accessible rooms can be reserved straight on the internet, but as always, I advise phoning to confirm your reservation and have any special requirements recorded in it.
A check-out
The Graduate Nashville encircled my little finger with its heart, I have to admit.
Nashville is now experiencing something of a hotel boom, with numerous new five-star hotels like the Four Seasons and Conrad debuting and bringing a new standard of luxury to Music City.
Although I enjoy the glitz of such hotels, only in Nashville can something as charmingly camp as a hotel with a Dolly Parton motif be so genuine.
Everything at White Limozeen, from the prints on prints on prints to the gold-dusted Jell-o shots, was just as I had imagined.
Do you think you could spend a week at this kind of hotel?
Most likely not.
But it is the kind of hotel that may add even more charm to a journey that is already spectacular.
Sadly, the sun was still down when my Uber arrived at 3:30 a.m. for my rescheduled trip home, so I was unable to experience the light of a blue clear morning on the way out.
But as I was leaving, I knew I would return to this tiny taste of Dolly's mountain home in Tennessee.
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