Hotel Review: In Nashville, Time Traveling to the '70s

Rooms from $259.

The Fairlane occupies a former bank building in downtown Nashville that dates to 1973, so perhaps it is not a total surprise that when the New York design team of Reunion Goods & Services converted the space into an 81-room boutique hotel, they drew inspiration in part from the shagtastic ‘70s. The property, owned by the Oliver Hospitality group, opened in March, and is part of a wave of some 5,000 hotel rooms being added to the city this year.

The hotel is around the corner from Printers Alley, a storied block for the city’s night life. Saloons filled it until Prohibition, when they were converted to speak-easies, then later to clubs. The present-day music and entertainment in the alley’s lounges can run risqué; at Skull’s Rainbow Room, the “French night” the bar’s doorman mentioned to me turned out to be a burlesque show. On the more wholesome side, the hotel is not far from the Tennessee State Museum and the state Capitol.

Checking in on a summer Thursday, I was upgraded from a standard to a king-size corner room with floor-to-ceiling windows (although the huge TV blocked a portion of the view). The bed featured a nifty forest-green velvet headboard with a center console that could pull down to hold drinks in its built-in cup holders, or fold up so as not to get between two guests.

The full-length windows extended into the bathroom, although the toilet was thankfully tucked into the corner farthest from the exposing glass. The shower featured sheer peekaboo panels into the room within its Nicaraguan-walnut paneling.

The minibar featured Dickel Tennessee Whiskey and other boutique spirits to drink and habanero pepper-fried pork rinds and Nashville hot chicken crackers to nibble on, along with local artisan chocolate and bourbon-nib brittle from Olive & Sinclair. There was a modest fitness center for working off the rich snacks.

I had room-service breakfast from Mile End Delicatessen. The lox omelet ($17) was warm and creamy but didn’t include the side of fruit I’d ordered. Ellington’s Mid Way Bar and Grill, the fourth-floor dining room, wasn’t yet open during my July visit but serves classic American fare and martinis.

Ideal for a traveler looking for a little retro attitude, the Fairlane has fun with its swinging ‘70s style.