The Peabody Memphis

The Peabody encompasses old elegance in the South and has always been on the list of places to stay when in Memphis. My wife and I decided to celebrate a close medical call and splurged with the larger King-sized room. The room was spacious, although sparsely appointed. There was ample closet space and a hidden dresser, which we appreciated. The vanity area lighting though is woefully inadequate for a woman and her makeup, and we experienced some real issues with our room. The AC was visibly leaking from the ceiling, resulting in a large wet area of the carpet in our entryway. The bathroom mirror, with internal LED lights (from the looks of it), was experiencing some real problems and the lights around the perimeter would flash and strobe at random times. As the primary light in this space, it was annoying at best. Our shower head had most of its holes clogged (hardwater minerals), and was leaking badly at various places, resulting in very little flow. I brought these issues up to management, and the shower head was promptly replaced, the mirror was told could not be fixed, and the hotel claimed the AC was fixed during our 2nd day there. It was not. It took my personal presence in the room to point out the leak and a very good maintenance tech named Clint who took it onboard to really get the problem fixed, the 2nd time around. The hotel operator kept trying to connect me to the manager and the call dropped at least 5 times. I was then asked to come down to speak to the manager on duty (wrong answer). Ellijah did the right thing and came up to the room, and the AC was finally fixed.... Turn down service was advertised in the room but turned out it wasn't really being offered at the time (not sure why). Housekeeping also did not refill our shower amenities nor our toilet paper on two days. I was offered 50% off the first night, and 25% off the 2nd (we did not want to move rooms), but at a place like this, I honestly expect more from the very start. Jamil, the first manager I spoke with, had a wine and a snack and snack tray sent up, which is also nice. Outside of the room, the hotel offers a unique experience. Afternoon tea, a terrific dinner in the Italian restaurant, THE DUCKS, and relatively inexpensive self-parking. Terrific location! I can't say that I would stay here again (value), but I am glad that I was able to stay this time around.

Great check-in if you are lucky, Diamond will be on the desk when you check in she really goes out of her way to welcome you and ensure a wonderful stay. I'm a titanium level with the I prefer frequent guest program and was treated to an upgrade. Nice big Corner Room on a high floor away from the elevator, my favorite room type. Daily room service nice workout facility and pool. Watching the Ducks go up to their Penthouse at night as a must at 5:00. Lobby Bar is very nice, and they have life jazz piano. The rooms are quite comfortable and restful. Things to be aware of if you use Lyft they have trouble figuring out which side of the building to let you off on and they only have one entrance open so you got to walk a city block to get checked in. Be very careful if you walk around or leave the hotel on foot. There are homeless and mentally disturbed people walking down the street panhandling and openly smoking illicit drugs.

As usual, the Peabody was wonderful. We always enjoy getting to spend some time away at the Peabody.

I can’t understand the fuss about this hotel. It’s fine, but nothing amazing compared with other hotels we’ve visited over the years. I think it relies on the fact that there isn’t a huge choice of luxury hotels in the area so doesn’t have much competition. I booked an executive king room for 2 adults and 2 children. I entered this on the website when booking, and the online information says that this room type accommodates 4 people. This is incorrect. The room had 1 bed for 2 people. The sofa could not be turned into a sofa bed as we had expected. We made the staff aware of this who, to their credit, tried to sort it. Jeffrey is great! We were told by front desk that the only option for 4 people was a double queen (a cheaper room type). We had no option but to accept. The room was small, and the bathroom was probably the smallest we’ve ever seen. The delay caused by sorting this out meant that we only had 5 minutes before the duck parade at 5pm. The children got a space near the front but we adults could barely see. Note that the foyer is full of people trying to see this, so guests of the hotel may struggle to see it. On check out, I discovered that we were still being charged for the more expensive room type. This was corrected when I pointed it out. We then spoke to the overall manager about our overall experience who didn’t seem very interested and dismissively said he’d knock a further $50 off our bill. We are still waiting for that refund several days later. I doubt we will ever see it. The pros are that it’s in a relatively safe area, convenient for visiting local attractions, and clean. If you’re visiting as a family, I’d look elsewhere unless you want to book 2 rooms.

The hotel is beautiful, but I had a stuffed animal important to my children go missing from my room. I can only imagine it was somehow accidentally removed (maybe in the changing of sheets?) during the housekeeping process. When I asked the front desk for help locating it, they were rude and dismissive, and told me it was on me to call Lost and Found. I also had a room service charge added for food I didn't order, which I still need to get sorted out.