Noelle

An iconic hotel gets a luxe second act in Nashville

Written by Jeffrey Cohen

in the heart of downtown Nashville, there’s a wealth of history housed within Noelle’s walls. The building opened in 1930 as The Noel Hotel, and was erected in only 11 months, a feat that speaks volumes about the demand for work in the Music City during the early days of the Depression.

For 42 years, The Noel was the gem of the city, thanks to the industrious and visionary brothers Oscar and John Noel. Their namesake hotel played host to numerous celebrity guests, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Babe Ruth, Bob Hope, Roy Rogers, and Jayne Mansfield. The public spaces included the hotel lobby, a coffee shop, a bakery, a ballroom, a restaurant, and several small retail shops along Church Street. Deep underground lay a natural spring that fed the original settlement at Fort Nashborough, and runs beneath the hotel today.

Noelle offers luxurious spaces for guests to relax.

At 12 stories, the 250-room classic revival style Noel was at the time the city’s tallest building, and was promoted as its ‘smartest hotel’, boasting state-of-the-art technology (for the time period) at a moment when the downtown business district was booming and seemingly recession-proof, with new hotels and department stores on nearly every street corner. The hotel closed in 1972, and the venerable old building that subsequently became a bank and office building has been reimagined as Noelle, a luxury hotel that pays homage to the original, but offers so much more. Certainly, its location on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Church Street, a short walk from the Ryman Auditorium, the Grand Ole Opry, and the Country Music Hall of Fame, couldn’t be more perfect.

Having undergone a sensitive and creative restoration, today’s Noelle teems with striking design from floor to ceiling throughout, from the restored terrazzo floors, original brass railings and soft pink Tennessee granite walls of the Trade Room bar, to fresh new touches like geometric Art Deco millwork carved into the wooden ceilings in the guest rooms. Throughout, dozens of Nashville-based artists, designers and makers were tapped to create exclusive works that contribute vastly to the guest experience. Everything appears to have been done with intention and attention to detail: architect Nick Dryden and his team were inspired by and expanded upon the original terrazzo, marble and brass elements to recreate a quintessentially Art Deco design. It’s like looking back at history through a modern lens.

It was to Noelle that my wife and I recently traveled to spend a few days while our son and his high school baseball team played in a three-day tournament in Nashville. The team was staying on the outskirts of town, and having perused his schedule prior to our trip, we realized we would only get to see him at games and might be better served situating ourselves downtown, where we could partake in the city’s wonderful restaurants and museums, not to mention the 24/7 bustle on Broadway and in Printers Alley. The hotel literally backs up to the latter; there’s even a backdoor to make things more convenient for guests.

The Country Music Hall of Fame

Music has always provided an essential soundtrack to my life; country music, not so much. My tastes have hitherto resided west of Nashville in the home of rock and roll, Memphis, or even further afield in my hometown of New Orleans, whose jazz sounds bathe me in nostalgia. For our son, however, like so many kids of his generation, Country is king. I’m sure he spent the drive down with his teammates glued to his Spotify playlists, singing along to the likes of Morgan Wallen. For my part, it was more like Fats Waller, but each to his own.

We were greeted with seamless Southern hospitality, from the valets who met us at the door, to the welcoming front desk staff and the efficiently helpful bellman. Ascending to our beautifully appointed suite on the hotel’s 10th floor, we quickly unpacked, then made our way up to the rooftop bar, Rare Bird, for cocktails before dinner. Enjoying the delightfully balmy weather, as opposed to the still-frigid temperatures of Indianapolis, we took in what we had heard is the best view in the city. No arguments there. As we sipped our drinks, we marveled at the so-called Batman Building (more formally referred to as the Nashville AT&T Building) with its distinctive design that resembles the comic book superhero’s mask, and Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans.

The rooftop bar, Rare Bird

Specializing in small plates, craft cocktails and, apparently, big hats (nearly every male guest, and a few females, sported the cowboy look), Rare Bird provided the perfect jumping-off point for an evening of food, drink and music. After drinks, we repaired to the proper restaurant in the hotel’s lower level, Makeready L&L. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week, Makeready offers a bright, lively atmosphere with a warmly welcoming and modern color scheme. Here, we enjoyed several dishes from the contemporary, Italian-infused menu, including a couple of negronis and blue crab croquettes to start. For our main course, I chose the Corvina sea bass, while my wife, true to form, enjoyed the New York strip with goat cheese and pumpkin seeds. Even though it was Sunday night, and we were tired and should have known better, we couldn’t resist heading out the backdoor to a nearby bar for a nightcap and a little live music.

Rare Bird offers one of the best views of Nashville.

The following morning, I pursued my usual fitness center regime followed by a takeaway Americano from the hotel’s Drug Store coffee shop, which happens to feature a state of the art sound system and a massive vinyl collection, of which I quickly availed myself. A few hours later, a friend picked me up for lunch at Milk & Honey, a short drive away. Serving all-day breakfast and lunch to an extremely high standard, the place was hopping; despite a 90-minute wait for a table, we managed to score a couple of seats at the bar and got down to the business at hand, namely cocktails and brunch. Meanwhile, my wife and another friend went shopping at The Mall at Green Hills, and to lunch at Puckett’s (they raved above the shrimp and grits), before we headed to the ballpark for the boys’ games.

The Drug Store offers coffee and other refreshments.

That evening, after watching baseball and reuniting briefly with our son, we went to dinner, but not before meeting up with more friends, my colleagues who publish our magazine’s Nashville edition, in Noelle’s lobby bar, Trade Room. In essence, this gathering place is the heart of the hotel, with a regal marble bar that originally served as the check-in desk. Trade Room has become one of the hottest spots in town for a great cocktail and appetizer. Afterwards, having prodded my wife to return, we walked a couple blocks to Puckett’s so I too could try what I must say were some of the most flavorsome shrimp and grits I have ever tasted. Then we wandered about Broadway, ducking in and out of bars and honky tonks, listening to more live music.

Trade Room, Noelle’s chic lobby bar

The next morning, we sauntered over to the Country Music Hall of Fame, which was almost exactly as I had expected, full of glitz, glam and rhinestones. Here was Elvis Presley’s gold-plated Cadillac and costumes worn by Taylor Swift, Luke Bryan, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, and many more. By the way, I’ve had a soft spot for Dolly since my days as a young photographer—I was at the front of the stage taking photos at her concert at the Indiana State Fair Coliseum when she reached down to me, grasped my hand and said to the crowd, “I’d like to dedicate this next song to my little redhead friend right here, ‘Me and Little Andy,’” and proceeded to hold my hand throughout the song. I guess I must have looked like a really young photographer. As we continued through the museum, I knew our son would love seeing Morgan Wallen’s stage attire and setlists, so I made sure to text him photos to up my cool factor. Even my wife (generally not a country music fan) was impressed.

Hidden Bar is a gem, craftily located behind a storage closet.

Following another late afternoon of baseball, we returned to Noelle, where we eventually repaired to the hotel’s lower level and its hidden speakeasy, Hidden Bar, the entrance to which is located at the back of Makeready, past some two-way mirrors at the end of the hall, then left through a storage closet. My wife and I had a lot of fun there, enjoying the curious cocktails and surprise pairings, and it was the perfect wrap-up to a hectic few days of food, drink, music and baseball. Our stay at Noelle had been nothing short of perfect, and I would heartily recommend a visit to anyone spending time in Nashville.

The drive back home the next day was mercifully uneventful. But I think I hummed along to a few of our son’s tunes. I even know the words to some of them now.

Trade Room has become one of the city’s hottest gathering spots.

For more information, visit noelle-nashville.com